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For more information and actions to take please refer to the following links: http://www.terrisfight.org/campaigns.html http://www.terrisfight.org/actionitems.html http://bellsouthpwp.net/p/c/pc93/FedCourtDktCaseNo8_03-cv-1860-T- 26TGW.txt http://hyscience.typepad.com/hyscience Join the Terri Blogburst Campaign http://hometown.aol.com/Gww1210 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1333205/posts?q=1&&page=1 (Feb 2005 Thread also search under Terri Schindler Schiavo, etc.) http://www.m-blog.com/terri_schindler_schiavo http://www.m-blog.com/terrischiavo http://www.yahoogroups.com/groups/helpterri http://www.yahoogroups.com/groups/FriendsofTerri http://tbihome.org/cgi-bin/terri.pl http://www.discoverhiddensecrets.com/KimberlyAnne.html http://www.cogforlife.org/schiavo.htm http://heavenlyhands.net/terrislinks.html http://www.catholicmediacoalition.org/press_releases.htm#THERESASCHINDLERSCHIAVODAY http://www.apfn.org/apfn/Terri_felos.htm http://becki-snow.blogspot.com/ http://www.hoosierreview.com/tibbs_files/tibbs62.html Terri's Hope Balloon launch: Launch some green balloon(s) for Terri or display some from wherever you think might be good. For Thanksgiving. If you would like you might even attach a message about Terri for someone to find, etc. Perhaps you have another idea of how to celebrate and give a message for Terri this Thanksgiving and for her coming 40th Birthday. Feel free to share your idea(s). Please also display your ribbons for Terri on your servers and in the outside world an actual green plaid (green if you can't find plaid) ribbon on a tree or other suitable location. The sky is the limit! +++ Some of you have brought up an issue about wildlife safety and releasing balloons for Terri on Thanksgiving. Last night I read some things about the issue. The major concern is the newer type foil balloon and/or string attached. These balloons take a long time to biodegrade and can cause problems. Also ribbon and string can tangle wildlife and cause serious problems. It is supposed to be better to use the old style balloons, the type we had before the foil kind. They deflate and degrade much faster, but if you choose to release the balloons- please take off string or ribbon used to hold them with, and make sure they are hand tied, no plastic clips or wire. Everyone has to decide what is the best way for them personally to connect with Terri's fight. We have never ask anyone to go against their feelings or beliefs about anything. This balloon launch for Terri was supposed to be a simple and inexpensive way to show connection to Terri. As far as I understand the idea was for each person to let go of a single ordinary green balloon to show connection with Terri's fight. Florida has wildlife laws about balloon releases and the law states it is legal as long as you are releasing 10 or less. They recommend a type that degrades fast and no string or ribbon attached. Balloon releases are done at many occasions and are still done all the time, even in Florida. If you have concerns about releasing balloons, then don't do it. I suggest as an alternative if you don't want to release one is to securely tie an old fashioned balloon to your porch or near the front of your house-or one for each family member that supports Terri. The old kind will deflate on their own in a short time and you can remove and dispose of them. Tammy +++ Please join us in Celebrating Terri's "40th" Birthday! Wednesday, December 3, 2003 (time yet to be determined) Loc: Hospice Woodside / 6774 102nd Avenue North / Pinellas Park, FL / 33782-2909, US We are hoping to have a MASS turn-out of supporters and will be requesting that Terri be allowed to come out of the facility and join us at her birthday party! * Michael will look mighty foolish if we have hundreds of folks there to celebrate Terri's 40th birthday party... and no Terri ! :-( LET'S SEE HOW WELL "Michael" WILL WEASEL OUT OF his next National TV interview when asked: "WHY WASN'T TERRI ALLOWED TO GO TO HER OWN BIRTHDAY PARTY? More info: http://www.terrisfight.org/birthday.html +++ Local Students Reach Out to Terri Schiavo +++ We're going to try this announcement again once more with feeling: This coming FRIDAY, I was informed that the Schindlers are doing something on Oprah again and also that they will be on Larry King Live at 9:00 pm est. If it doesn't happen, nobody kill the messenger. There were scheduling conflicts the other two tries for LKL. I believe this coming Friday is a go. Please tell your friends. If it's Tom Jones again instead, "it's not unusual" (part of one of his songs). from: floriduh voter +++ Report of Jay Wolfson: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/media/acrobat/2003-12/10455191.pdf Jeb, his lawyers, key senators, Bob Marshall and others (as my witness) were e-mailed, etc. the following: All, Guardian Ad Litem Jay Wolfson is now on record (see below) anent being aprised that Terri Schindler Schiavo is being denied her retained rights to rehabilitation and being brought to full capacity at the soonest possible time - something which he failed to address in his report. Wolfson's bias to see Terri dead readily shows from his report and readily shows from the conversation below. Since when does getting rehabilitation for a certain period of time (if his assertion is true) preclude the retained rights under law regarding rehabilitation? There is no time limit in the laws in regards to rehabilitation as it is a retained right. It doesn't stop after the asserted (supposed) time period of 4 years. Contrary to what Michael Schiavo's attorney George Felos asserts: that every day that Terri's feeding tube is not removed is a violation of her rights, my contention is that every day that goes by that Terri does not receive rehabilitation and attempts are not made to bring her back to full capacity at the soonest possible time are violations of her rights (retained rights of the disabled) under State of Florida laws. One individual I am in contact with states that it took 3 years to bring her daughter to the point of being able to pass a swallow test, 3 years of rehabilitations, therapies, etc. just for this purpose. Terri should not be made to perform at the snap of the fingers, etc. She should not be tested and judged thereby without the rehabilitations, therapies that would lead up to being tested. In regards to responsiveness I would also assert that if Terri is highly medicated that may be a factor in regards to responsiveness as well. I cannot stress enough the importance of the fact that Terri is being denied rehabilitation and being brought to full capacity. This all leads to purposeful neglect (another violation under State of Florida laws). When are our elected officials going to do right by Terri? Where is the DCF? All I can say is that an accounting is being made, officials are being aprised, and the failure to act is being duly noted. It is not enough that Terri is getting hydration and nutrition. Please let us know what is being done to get Terri the urgently needed, regular and meaningful rehabilitations, etc. Regards and thanks in your helping of Terri, Juan Schoch / Concerned Florida Resident / United States Citizen http://bellsouthpwp.net/p/c/pc93/terri_schindler_life_ribbon_campaign.htm P.S. I am cc'ing others to be as my witness. ___ Thought you might be interested in reading this. My contact with Wolfson sometime before 11:46:51 AM 12/4/03: aaos93: Don't you think it would be smart not to start out with negative premises in regards to Terri's condition. That is not the way to help someone get rehabilitation that they are unlawfully being denied. aaos93: It can take up to 3 years of therapy for someone to even pass a swallow test. aaos93: There are many TBI people who have experience in these matters in regards to their own and their loved ones experiences. aaos93: A rebuttal will be prepared of your report and be made global. aaos93: Terri is being denied retained rights for 10 years yet you fail to mention violation of these rights. Officials will be made accountable and you are acting in an offical capacity. aaos93: Are you listening? aaos93: This is Juan Schoch. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. Hlthlawyer: sorry -- i did not know who was sending messages aaos93: Oops. Hlthlawyer: i am whelmed with e mails and phone calls as you might imagine aaos93: Yes. I can appreciate that. aaos93: I am just getting a little fed up with the whitewash that is going on here. aaos93: There are laws being broken as we speak. aaos93: Denial of retained rights are felonies. Hlthlawyer: i appreciate your position, and this was not, as you must know, a casual process for me aaos93: I know. I am glad you are taking it seriously. But I do make some good points. aaos93: And others. aaos93: Terri needs to be with those who love her. That is the only way someone can progress. aaos93: One cannot leave out that factor. Hlthlawyer: yes you do. and i have worked closely with the disability community and attorneys and physicians and ethicists on many sides of this matter -- and worked as well, very, very closely with Theresa -- and with the medical records -- many of which nobody outside has ever seen aaos93:
But you stipulated that she has no consciousness.
Hlthlawyer: there are profound philosophical
issues that divide the parties. but the record of the dispute
focuses on swallowing and neuro function aaos93:
And those functions can take years to gain back. aaos93:
She has 10 years coming and the rest of her life for rehabilitation
under her retained rights as a disabled person. Hlthlawyer: that is the medical information
that meets what i believe to have been the highest standard of
scientific medical measurment. Hlthlawyer: again, most people on the
outside have not seen terri or her records Hlthlawyer: it is not fair to her to impose
others expectations on her aaos93: I
was typing up Science and Sanity of Alfred Korzybski when I became
aware of Terri's plight and even I can see that there are massive
injustices occurring to Terri. aaos93:
Semantically speaking people are playing games. aaos93:
They need to be concerned about Terri and not themselves. Hlthlawyer: things look different from the
outside than from the inside, would you agree? aaos93:
Michael has no standing. Hlthlawyer: michael has legal
standing aaos93:
Define your terms. Hlthlawyer: which? aaos93:
'outside' aaos93:
That things look different from the outside, etc. aaos93: In
terms of the unspeakable level we all have that in
common. aaos93:
Terri has inherent rights. aaos93: It
doesn't matter if she can swallow or not.. She still has retained
rights. Hlthlawyer: those who are not familiar with
the facts in the case -- the actual facts, the medical records,
terri personally -- it is like a neighbor passing judgment on what
she thinks is happening in your house Hlthlawyer: it is difficult to see from the
outside things that occur on the inside in real time and real
life aaos93:
And those rights have been denied for 10 years in regards to
rehabilitation and being brought to full capacity withiin the
soonest possible time. Hlthlawyer: it is diffucult as well, i
agree, to see sometimes from the inside because of bias and hope and
belief. that is not true. she received four years of aggressive
rehab --very aggressive rehab aaos93:
She has 10 years of real time rehabilitation coming to her and more
as her retained rights. What are not people getting under Florida
Laws? aaos93: 10
years of denied rehab. What is not registering? Hlthlawyer: i agree with you -- this is a
difficult and challenging case. but i return again to the
possiblility that you are not aware of the facts and the details --
that creates more of what you might hope and want -- rather than
what may be - aaos93: I
am. aaos93: I
know. Hlthlawyer: we all, each of us come to the
table with what we know and what we believe Hlthlawyer: that makes us wonderfully
human Hlthlawyer: and flawed, which is part of
being human Hlthlawyer: michael and the shindlers, you
and i are all human Hlthlawyer: we are flawed aaos93:
Yes. But misjudgement on the part of individuals with their own
agendas has gotten in the way and the scales of the balance will be
righted. Hlthlawyer: this has been argued, i could
suggest, on both sides aaos93:
And those who have not been for Terri under the laws will be
prosecuted. aaos93: As
there is an attempt of murder on her life. Hlthlawyer: i appreciate your position. but
i must return to my work -- i wish you the best. thank you for your
thoughts. +++ Link to
the article: http://www.clwbar.org/Res%20Ipsa%20Newsletter%20Oct-Nov.pdf
Response:
Mr.
Dickinson III:
Your
article "Governor Infringes on an Independent Judiciary" in the
Oct./Nov. 2003 issue of Res Ipsa Loquitur begins weakly and ends in
a humiliating display of impotence. I offer you corrections on the
slim hope that there may be a vestigial part of the being in you
that once knew honesty. If you have not yet foreclosed your self,
you may benefit from reading what follows. If not, others will. It
is with displeasure that I enter the morass of manipulative verbiage
you pass off as insight. You call the Governor's letter
"thought-provoking", but whatever it provoked in you must have been
aborted long before it gestating into anything resembling
thought. You had
reason to abstain from thinking, since you prefer feigning
puzzlement over why the Governor "felt it appropriate to write" his
letter. The Governor's own straightforward explanation of the six
short paragraphs evidently did not relieve your confusion, because
the obvious escapes the scrutiny of faked discernment. A sixth
grader could have read the letter and explained what it was about.
You chose a circuitous approach in order to allow the "Clearwater
Bar Association's Board of Directors" the dubious distinction of
conducting a "thorough review". Even that proved inadequate and had
to be topped by "a lengthy discussion". The
pretentious text of the resolution you subsequently passed merely
gives the impression that the lengthy discussion aimed at the
banality of determining whether Governor Bush and the Honorable
George W. Greer serve different branches of state government. As if
at last satisfied that they in fact do, the Board then "unanimously
approved and resolved" that the Governor had attempted to "influence
the decision of a Circuit Judge" thereby impairing "the independence
of the judiciary". Clap, clap. Consequently you found the Governor in
violation of the "constitutional doctrine of separation of powers."
In Florida where the judiciary has been known to moonlight deciding
an election, the doctrine seems rather malleable. As no doubt
intended before the "lengthy discussion", the Board concluded that
the Governor's paragraphs "warrant the rebuke of the citizens of the
State of Florida". May we count among the rebukers the quarter
million citizens who asked the Governor to keep an eye on the
Honorable George W. Greer's vigilante-type bench? Your
thorough review and lengthy discussion brought you no closer to
grasping the Governor's message. One shudders at your arduous labor
divining the purport of six paragraphs in prose. You finally
defaulted to the desperately contrived conclusion that "what is
important is that the Governor's actions threaten the independence
of our judiciary as well as infringe on basic constitutional
principles. "The truth is that the Governor intended to save the
judiciary from losing its independence to the Honorable George W.
Greer's chronic infringing on the basic constitutional rights of a
disabled Florida woman. The
citizens asked Governor Bush to intervene because the Honorable
George W. Greer suffered the "partisan influence" of George J.
Felos, Esq. and other board members of the Hospices of the Suncoast.
Shady activities ranging from sickly book deals to the illicit
hospice detention of a non- terminal patient are what threatened to
"compromise the independent judiciary", not the Governor's kindness
in raising a warning voice. Citizens
were understandably perturbed by the Sixth Judicial Circuit's
apparent fraternizing with the Hospice of the Suncoast, an operation
under federal investigation, with a convicted felon staffing its
finance department and two class action suits litigated by defrauded
donors. You identify the substance but obfuscate the particulars by
writing "the Governor's actions undermine and threaten the public's
confidence in the independence and objectivity of the judiciary."
The public's confidence was indeed undermined and threatened but not
by the Governor, as you well know. The public
rued the rule of law because the Honorable George W. Greer had
arrogated too much independence from the constraints of Florida laws
and Judiciary Canons. He disgraced the bench through a visible lack
of objectivity in his findings on Terri Schindler-Schiavo. The
public rose against the terror of law he wielded with insulting
arrogance. The citizens appealed to the Governor because the
Honorable George W. Greer's alien brand of jurisprudence "undermined
the State of Florida's ability to impartially administer
justice." Again you
enslave the truth to your awful agenda of complicity by writing,
"the Florida Supreme Court and The Florida Bar" should "address this
matter". Be assured that what the citizens demand from these
venerable bodies is not addressing the Governor's humane letter, but
the egregious miscarriage of justice against Terri Schindler-Schiavo
that was orchestrated by George J. Felos, Esq. before the Honorable
George W. Greer's private bench. The
Clearwater Bar Association Board of Directors never did reach the
understanding that a simple reading of the Governor's short letter
would convey. From this point, your writing spirals downward with
increasing velocity. On your own now without the Board, you compound
errors in an exponential progression. You begin by citing "the Terri
Schiavo case, a case involving a husband's/guardian's right to
refuse or withdraw medical care from his spouse in accordance with
the spouse's previously expressed wishes." Your
mislabeling of the case has the watermark of George J. Felos, Esq.
The June 1999 issue of the Clearwater Bar Associacition's newsletter
hints at cozy bonds. Jo Flower, CLA in her "Legal Assistant's
Update" took note of the exceptional dinner meetings speakers that
year, among them George J. Felos, Esq. It seems that he charmingly
initiated the Pinellas County Chapter of Florida Legal Assistants
into the refined pleasures of "The Living Will and right-to-die
issues." He also used the occasion to define himself as "guardian of
an incompetent person kept alive against her wishes." This was
before the Honorable George W. Greer had fully adopted George J.
Felos, Esq.'s vision of a brave dead world. The statement that Terri
Schindler-Schiavo was then being "kept alive against her wishes" was
a somewhat indiscreet revelation of things to come. Absent an
understanding with the Honorable George W. Greer, it is difficult to
see how George J. Felos, Esq. could unilaterally determine that
Terri was being kept alive against her will. Regardless, the Felos
doctrine found its ways into meetings under the auspices of the
Clearwater Bar Association as early as 1999. It is not surprising to
see its pervasive presence in your article. Terri
Schindler-Schiavo's case is not a "husband's/guardian's right to
refuse or withdraw medical care from his spouse in accordance with
the spouse's previously expressed wishes." The Honorable George W.
Greer's extrapolated "clear and convincing evidence" from an
anecdote by Mr. Schiavo of a casual comment his wife made "sometime
in the mid-1980s" in the afterglow of an emotional TV show. Not only
should evidentiary rules safeguard against such hearsay's usurping
the force of a Living Will, but the story was unborn in Mr.
Schiavo's mind for some thirteen years. Neither a malpractice jury
trial six years earlier, nor successive litigation until 1989
revived the lost memory. It sprang forth only when George J. Felos,
Esq. began proceedings to have Terri's feeding tube
removed. If this
does not meet the threshold of suspicion at the Clearwater Bar
Association, perhaps the sequel will. It is said to have taken two
more years after the spontaneous recall to produce corroborating
statements. That is when Mr. Schiavo's brother and sister-in-law had
similarly astonishing epiphanies that they had heard it from Terri
too. The Honorable George W. Greer expanded to find "clear and
convincing evidence" from this, and contracted to exclude
contradictory testimony from Terri's good friend Diane Meyers to
whom she indicated after watching a movie about Karen Quinlan that
she would never want anything like that to happen to her. What could
have swayed the Honorable George W. Greer's impartiality to such an
extent? Feeding tubes were not even considered artificial life
support until a 1999 amendment to the Florida Statutes included
them. For nearly fifteen years after Terri's alleged declaration,
the removal of a feeding tube to hasten death would have been a
felony offense. The Honorable Greer's retroactive grafting of the
procedure onto Terri's declaration of intent is the kind of unsound
jurisprudence that "undermines the public's confidence in the rule
of law." But why
focus on the Honorable George W. Greer's lapses of judgment? Your
own fabrications, Sir leave ample room for criticism. You write:
"Mrs. Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state since she
suffered a heart attack in February of 1990. Sadly Mrs. Schiavo's
husband and parents have not been able to agree on a course of
treatment for her and the resulting legal disputes have continued
since July 1993." Heart attack? Do you still believe in the Easter
Bunny too? Does the concept of a history of trauma mean anything to
you? Recent petitions to suppress deposing medical testimony? Bone
scans of multiple fractures sealed on order of Mr. Schiavo for a
decade? I will not even begin talking about the phenomenal money
trail. I am sure that your sources are at least as good as mine
are. While it
is true that two neurologists contracted by George J. Felos, Esq.
gave a diagnosis of PVS, two presented by the Schindler family
diagnosed brain damage but not PVS. The Honorable George W. Greer
appointed a fifth expert as independent tiebreaker whose opinion
made 3:2 in favor of PVS. On the strength of this slim majority
Terri's feeding tube was ordered removed. The court-appointed
physician Dr. Peter Bambakidis is said to have later been found
lacking qualification to provide an impartial review of the medical
evidence. George J. Felos, Esq. ran afoul of bench rules by failing
to disclose his relationship with the Bambakidis family. It appears
that he shared membership in the Greek fraternal organization AHEPA
with one of the brothers, Gust Bambakidis. To a layman's
understanding, such a conflict of interest should disqualify the
Bambakidis part of the opinion, leaving an even 2:2 split over
Terri's supposed persistent vegetative state. The next
point you make leaves you dangling over an abyss of raging nonsense.
You write: "Although the legal issues involved in the Schiavo case
are important, they are not the subject of this column. What
concerns me more is that the Governor felt it appropriate to involve
himself officially in a pending lawsuit in which neither he or the
State is a party or witness..." With the facile term "legal issues"
you try to sweep away an entire mine field of statute breaches,
civil rights violations and denial of due process! You also deprive
yourself (and your hapless readers) of the very ground wherein
resides the answer to your question concerning the Governor's
standing. Allow me help you. Has it
escaped you that your skip-hop over the problem is miscalculated?
You say that the "legal issues may be important" but not relevant to
your inquiry into the Governor's involvement. And what would you
call this if not a legal issue? Would "constitutional issues" be
more to your liking? Very well, let us talk constitutional then. I
assume that you are familiar with the self-evident constitutional
rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? I
challenge you to demonstrate your pet issue of the separation of
powers as superseding the personal liberties guaranteed by the
Constitution. It is the Governor's sworn duty to uphold and enforce
law in all its aspects. It can be ascertained that Terri's rights
were and are being violated by the Honorable George W. Greer. First
among these violations is the denial of the constitutional right to
life. It is well within the Governor's province to risk the
appearance of a constitutional infringement when the matter concerns
the prevention of an egregious constitutional violation already in
progress. Will
George J. Felos, Esq. assert his influence over you again now with
implied limitations of rights due to Terri's incompetence? All you
are going to accomplish with that is the tedium of getting to read a
list of violations of rights guaranteed under the Americans with
Disabilities Act and violations of Florida law under FS 415.104. All
pertain to past and ongoing abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult
and obviate the continuation of any other litigation until the
issues are resolved. Each of the following violations of Florida law
is the result of actions or omissions by Mr. Schiavo. By
unlawful guardianship actions Terri's estranged husband denied her
"the right to be restored to capacity at the earliest possible
time". For ten years up to the present time Mr. Schiavo explicitly
forbade medical personnel to provide therapy for Terri that could
accomplish speedy restoration to which the law entitles her. By this
he knowingly and willfully contravened Section 744.3215(1)(c) of the
2003 Florida Statutes. Mr. Schiavo also denied his disabled adult
ward essential rehabilitative therapy guaranteed under the Americans
with Disabilities Act, and rights enumerated in the 2003 Florida
Statutes as "retained rights". By this he knowingly and willfully
contravened Section 744.3215(1)(i), which states that "The right to
receive necessary services and rehabilitation is a retained
right." Although
adjudicated incapacitated, there is significant disagreement among
medical experts of similar standing concerning Terri's diagnosis of
PVS. Regardless of the eventual outcome of the debate, Terri retains
the rights. The law states that retained rights, including the right
to necessary rehabilitative therapy may not be delegated to the
guardian (Section 744.3215(3)), because the ward retains these
rights for the duration of guardianship. THE LAW
DOES NOT PERMIT THE COURT TO WAIVE, REMOVE OR DELEGATE THE RIGHT TO
RECEIVE NECESSARY SERVICES AND REHABILITATION. SECTION 765.401
(PERTAINING TO TERMINATION OF LIFE-PROLONGING PROCEDURES) DOES NOT
AUTHORIZE THE GUARDIANSHIP COURT TO PROHIBIT SUCH THERAPY, OR TO
CONVEY ANY RIGHT TO DO SO TO TERRI'S GUARDIAN. Mr.
Schiavo seized the non-existent authority from the generous but
unauthorized hands of the Honorable George W. Greer. He is thus
delinquent in the exercise of guardianship and stands in violation
of Florida law, particularly by obstructing Terri's retained right
to the service necessary for rehabilitating her swallowing function.
The need for this rehabilitation is underscored by the guardianship
court's recent order to have Terri's feeding tube removed. Without
adequate use of swallowing muscles Terri is in danger of death.
There is furthermore sworn testimony that Terri took food and water
by mouth before Mr. Schiavo ordered the feeding tube inserted for
reasons only known to him. Swallowing
rehabilitation is now necessary only because Terri was forcefully
habituated to tube feeding. Medical expert opinion states that Terri
can be de-habituated with proper protocol, which is her retained
right. Even adverse medical opinion would not remove Terri's
retained right to access therapies specified in a contested opinion.
Mr. Schiavo's persistent efforts to have the feeding tube removed
that he previously forced on Terri, make it imperative that the law
guaranteeing her necessary therapy is upheld and enforced against
the willful machinations of her guardian. While the
guardianship court deferred to Mr. Schiavo's claims that his wife
wished to remain free of artificial life support, this cannot be
construed to indicate a wish for dying from lack of food and water.
AVERSION TO ARTIFICIAL LIFE SUPPORT DOES NOT EQUATE WITH AN AVERSION
TO BEING FED AND HYDRATED BY MOUTH. NOTHING INDICATES THAT TERRI
WOULD CONSIDER ORAL FEEDING OR THERAPY FACILITATING IT A VIOLATION
OF HER PRIVACY. THEREFORE TERRI CANNOT BE SAID TO HAVE RELINQUISHED
HER RETAINED RIGHT TO RECEIVE NECESSARY REHABILITATIVE
THERAPY. Mr.
Schiavo has been and is in the process of committing class 2 and
class 3 felonies under Sections 825.102(1), (2) and (3) pertaining
to abuse, aggravated abuse and neglect of an elderly person or
disabled adult. Among other crimes, he is alleged to have violated
the law in the following specific instances. He is said to
have: …forbidden
the performance of basic oral hygiene on Terri, thereby increasing
the possibility of dental disfigurement and loss. …forbidden
the application of standard joint mobilization movements for
countering the debilitation of a bedridden existence, thereby
slowing Terri's lymphatic activity and suppressing her immune
system. …endangered Terri's life by instructing his
lawyer to threaten medical personnel with lawsuits, should they obey
the law by reinserting Terri's feeding tube. …forbidden
the administration of the Last Rites of Terri's faith, in particular
the spiritual comfort of Holy Communion, thereby causing spiritual
anguish and loss of salvatory hope. [2003 F S
825.102(1)] …forbidden
the placing of a washcloth into Terri's hands to prevent her
fingernails from cutting into her palms, thereby increasing the risk
of painful, disfiguring lacerations and health-threatening
infections. …failed to
repair or permit the replacement of a broken wheel chair that would
allow Terri to be taken outdoors, thereby depriving her of the
comfort and the health-giving effects of fresh air, sunshine and
auditory stimulation. …reduced
the possibility of beneficial therapy by holding Terri in a death-
oriented hospice, despite the fact that she showed no signs of
impending physical death for the entire three years. [2003 F S
825.102(2)(b)] …endangered Terri's life by seeking to
prevent the realization of an executive order by Governor Bush to
replace Terri's feeding tube, despite the fact that the Florida
Legislature empowered the Governor through passage of a law
mandating the tube replacement. [ 2003 FS
825.102(2)(c)] …forbidden
the administration of standard antibiotics for infections resulting
in pain, possible disfigurement and potentially fatal
sepsis. …failed to
allow Terri's examination by renowned neurology specialists, despite
the fact that the service was offered free of charge, thereby
diminishing Terri's opportunities to benefit from new therapies
discovered during the ten years that her guardian deprived her of
therapy altogether. …failed to
allow Terri to receive treatment by a renowned speech therapist,
despite the fact that the service was offered free of charge,
thereby depriving Terri of opportunity to demonstrate consciousness
and communication facility. …ordered
the removal from Terri's room of faith inspiring and comforting
symbols of her religion, thereby neglecting Terri's spiritual well
being. …ordered
the removal from Terri's room of pictures of her loved ones, comfort
giving items from her past and objects that could provide beneficial
sensory stimulation, thereby diminishing Terri's opportunity for
gaining in responsiveness. [2003 FS
825.102(3)(a)1.] …failed to
request an investigation indicated when a bone scan revealed
multiple fractures and head trauma. In defiance of a court order, he
then failed to inform Terri's family of the discovery and proceeded
to have the record of these injuries sealed for over ten
years. [2003 FS
825.102(3)2.] …failed to
provide the mandatory guardianship report and plan for the past
three years. [2003 FS
744.3215(1)(a)]: The right of persons determined incapacitated to
have an annual review of the guardianship report and
plan. …illegally
moved Terri into hospice three years ago without the mandatory
diagnosis by two physicians that Terri was in a terminal state,
thereby preventing her from being in a more health-supporting
environment. N.B.:
Terri's parents and siblings uphold a long standing request to have
Terri move back into their home, where they would provide her with
an environment commensurate with Terri's preference prior to the
incapacity. [2003 FS
744.3215(f)] …forbidden
free and unsupervised visits to Terri by her parents and siblings,
despite evidence that their presence provides warmth and comfort to
her, thereby depriving Terri of the subtle effects of love on the
dynamics of healing. [2003 FS
744.3215(m)] …caused
the dismissal of and failed to replace Terri's guardian ad litem for
a protracted period, thereby depriving her of counsel and access to
the courts. [2003 F S
744.3215(l)]: The right of persons determined incapacitated to
counsel and [744.3215(k)]: The right of persons
determined incapacitated to have access to the courts. Even a
liberal assessment makes it clear that due process failed. Because
of these and numerous other irregularities, the proceedings under
the Honorable George W. Greer did not meet the standards of
jurisprudence delineated in Florida Statutes, particularly those
pertaining to retained rights. It is for this reason that a public
outcry prompted the Florida Legislature to intervene on behalf of
Terri. The
passage of Terri's law empowered Governor Bush to issue an executive
order. While Terri's Law may eventually be found unconstitutional,
this is not ground for the conclusion that the Governor cannot ask
for the case to be re-opened under a different judge. Defending the
constitutionality of Terri's Law is secondary to rectifying the
miscarriage of justice that necessitated Terri's Law as an eleventh
hour measure preventing the victim's death. All you,
Sir have to weigh against this mass of statute violations, denials
of constitutional rights and due process is theatrical outrage over
a six- paragraph letter by Governor Bush to the Honorable George W.
Greer? This is not unlike suggesting that General Eisenhower was in
serious breach of international law by not applying for a visa
before invading Germany in 1945. Are you sure that you want to be
known as the trivia king of the Clearwater Bar Association? You can
search The Federalist Papers or any other classic of the American
Republic, but you will not find a more fundamental and defensible
principle than the Right to Life. Thousands
have read Governor Bush's letter to the Honorable George W. Greer
without distress. Its salient points are an urgent request to abide
by Florida Statutes such as the retained right of a disabled person
to counsel and access to the court. The Honorable George W. Greer
removed Terri's guardian ad litem and put himself in his place. If
you suggest that this was an act of upholding Florida law then I
would like to offer you some fine oceanfront property in the Sonora
Desert. The
Governor also urged the Honorable George W. Greer to "ensure that no
act of omission or commission adversely affect Mrs. Schiavo's health
before the September 11 hearing…" Protection of Florida citizens is
the Governor's sworn duty. The Honorable George W. Greer had on more
than one occasion turned a blind eye to egregious human rights
violations by Mr. Schiavo against his disabled wife. He was also
made aware of George J. Felos, Esq.'s "exit protocol". At the time
when the Governor's letter was written, Terri was in the throes of a
life-threatening illness. Mr. Schiavo's addiction to denying basic
medical care to Terri was known to the Honorable George W. Greer.
The Governor was not amiss in communicating that no further
underhanded exit protocol scenarios by the trigger-happy pair would
be tolerated, whether or not found worthy of censure by the
Honorable George W. Greer. You, Sir
can howl all you want over perceived attempts by the Governor to
influence the decisions of the court. If you choose to make yourself
the laughing stock of clearly thinking persons, it is your right to
do so. Your cries of foul are so transparently disingenuous that
they present a rather pathetic sight. There are not many people who
will be fooled by ersatz> integrity. The article you wrote could
benefit from being composted. It is a manifesto of deceit and
cowardice. It knows nothing of decency and dignity. Your references
to hallowed works of the Republic are like graffiti on a treasure. I
trust you can do better in the next attempt. +++ From:
Pamela Hennessy To: Pamela
Hennessy Sent:
Monday, November 24, 2003 2:35 PM Subject:
Project "Get your act together, Bill" As you may
already know, St Pete Times writer, Bill Levesque, penned this
article titled "Schiavo Clash is rooted in Cash": http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/23/Tampabay/Schiavo_clash_is_root.shtml This is
troublesome for a variety of reasons. Mr. Levesque appears to be
going for the National Enquirer brand of journalism and completely
ignoring some pretty important parts of this case. As I told him in
an email this morning, he's made a mountain over a minor and
peripheral issue that was neither here nor there to the Schindler
family and - he utterly missed the point. He reports that the
Schindler family felt put upon because they did not receive proceeds
from the Schiavo medical malpractice trial. The fact is that the
Schindler family was unhappy because of the therapy Terri was
promised and that her guardian failed to deliver. As will prove
this, a letter from Mr. Schindler to Mr. Schiavo dated
1993: http://tomeaker.com/ts/SchindlerLettertoSchiavo.jpg Whether or
not Mr. Schiavo owed the Schindler family any amount of money is of
little, if any, consequence to the family. Mr. Schindler points out
in his letter, as well as his conversation with Mr. Levesque, that
such things were incidental to him. His concern and Mary's concern
was Terri's lack of therapy, rehabilitation and safe
environment. In this
article, Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, is quoted as
saying: "I think one might conclude looking at the facts that a
possible motivation on the part of the Schindlers is
revenge," Mind you,
testimony from a 1999 deposition of Michael Schiavo would seem to
illustrate that Mr. Schiavo may well have been the one with
'revenge' on the mind. Why else would he have to be REMINDED why he
was doing all of this? http://tomeaker.com/ts/DepoMS092799-Guardianship.pdf These
items were sent to Mr. Levesque, but he, apparently, chose to ignore
them. With your letters to the editor, on letters@sptimes.com or
directly to Mr. Levesque on Levesque@Sptimes.Com, you may be able to
shed some light on to a matter that has been falsely and unethically
reported. +++ It's Not
Only About Terri Schiavo by Nat Hentoff - http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0348/hentoff.php +++ Terri’s
Law is "presumptively unconstitutional"? Is that so Judge Baird?
Seems to me the Supreme Court of Florida disagrees with you
concerning legislation passed by the State’s Legislature: +++ From: Fight4terri08@aol.com
Canon 1. A
Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary
Canon 2. A
Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in
all of the Judge's Activities Canon 3. A
Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and
Diligently Canon 4. A
Judge May Engage in Activities to Improve the Law, the Legal System,
and the Administration of Justice Canon 5. A
Judge Shall Regulate Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk
of Conflict With Judicial Duties Canon 6.
Fiscal Matters of a Judge Shall be Conducted in a Manner That Does
Not Give the Appearance of Influence or Impropriety; etc. Canon 7. A
Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Refrain From
Inappropriate Political Activity +++ To:
Attorney General John Ashcroft Ref:
Continuation for Request of Intervention on behalf of Terri
Schiavo (October 21st) As in
previous letters dated October 21st, 22nd and 23rd, this letter
serves as our request for urgent action on behalf of Terri Schiavo
by Federal officials. We are asking for: An
immediate criminal investigation of Michael Schiavo, Judge George
Greer and the Federally funded Woodside Hospice Center in Pinellas
Park Fl, all who have grossly violated Terri Schiavo’s rights under
both State and Federal statutes. We further
request an immediate intervention to provide protective custody and
care for Terri Schiavo. Please see
attached statements which overwhelmingly substantiate the need for
urgent action on your part Sincerely, Debra L.
Vinnedge Cc:
Robert & Mary Schindler, Robert Schindler Jr., Suzanne
Carr (family) Attachment
Pages 1-4 ___ Attachment
1 Criminal
Investigation of Michael Schiavo 1) Nurses’
testimony: Heidi Law, Carla Sauer-Iyer, Carolyn Johnson have been
ignored and dismissed without hearing; each testified that Michael
was abusive to Terri and may have attempted to kill her by insulin
injection and attempts to induce pneumonia by turning the thermostat
in her room to 64 degrees. 2) Michael
Baden, top forensic pathologist in country and interviewed on Fox
News National Television broadcast October 25, 2003 on Terri’s bone
scan and injuries states that: a) Terri’s injuries are
not consistent with a heart attack; no cardiac evidence to support
it 3) Dr.
William Hammesfahr, Nobel prize nominee and neurologist testified
that Terri’s neck injuries are consistent with only one type of
injury: that of strangulation. 4) Terri’s
doctor, Dr. Gambone resigned; he had previously testified Terri
would die within a few days of starvation/dehydration. Terri has an
obvious will to live. 5) Michael
has enlisted the services of a new doctor, Stanton Tripodis, who has
5 malpractice suits against him. Clearly, Michael is attempting to
provide sub-standard care for his wife. Case no. 97007946C1
filed 11-25-97 6) Michael
is committing adultery by living with another woman who has already
born one child with another on the way, thereby creating an obvious
conflict of interest as guardian. 7) Michael
has committed both perjury (2 counts) and insurance fraud by
promising to provide care and therapy for his wife in exchange for
the court award of 1.2 million dollars in 1993. No care has ever
been provided to Terri. 8) Michael
Schiavo has also prevented Terri from undergoing a barium swallow
test, a procedure necessary to ascertain the consistency of foods
able to be taken by mouth. 9)
Co-conspirator George J. Felos combined and conspired with Michael
Schiavo to arrange for Terri's "free" stay at Hospice Woodside as
part of an "exit protocol" designed to advance Felos' self-perceived
messianic mission of "helping" incapacitated people to die by
categorizing them as "terminal," warehousing them, and depriving
them of therapy and rehabilitation services. (Attorney Felos is
Director of Florida Right to Die and has testified that he can
ascertain a person’s desire to die by “looking into their eyes and
letting their spirit speak directly to him”) 10)
Investigate Insurance company established in Jan 2001 at the home of
Michael Schiavo and his girlfriend/fiancee Jody Centonze. (Jerger
and Centonze Insurnace Agency Inc.) Michael is listed on the Board
of Directors for the corporation. Note: Insurance is deliberately
misspelled in the State of Florida Corporate filing, possibly to
avoid investigation. 11)
Michael continues to deny Terri the right to receive Holy Communion
as part of her Catholic and civil right. Criminal
Investigation of Greer for Prejudice and Judicial Misconduct
1) Refusal
to hear credible testimony Judge
Greer refused to acknowledge testimony of 10 doctors and 3 nurses
who have cared for Terri and who testify that: a) Terri is not in a
persistive vegetative state b) Terri is able to be
rehabilitated with care and therapy c)
Terri’s original injuries are questionable and consistent with
spouse abuse and attempted strangulation d) Terri
has been abused and neglected by her husband; denied treatment for
infection and possible attempted murder while in nursing home care
(discovery of empty insulin vial and temperature in room set at 64
degrees) Judge
Greer instead chose to believe contrary testimony by two of
Michael’s representatives who are: a) A
doctor who rarely sees Terri (Dr. Gambone who has now resigned as
Terri’s doctor) b)
Ronald Cranford, Hannipeg County Medical Center , Minnesota who
makes an avocation of testifying in cases such as Terri's
throughout the country, always on the side of dehydration and
starvation. Example of
testimony ignored: 2)
Judicial Canon violation – motion to dismiss Greer a) Greer
revealed information about the case, predisposition as to how he
would rule, merits of the case, testimony he had received to local
reporters without counsel present. b)Judge
Greer advised Tampa Atty General office that if Gov Bush was a
lawyer, his letter to the judge would be a grievous offense under
Fl Bar rules; statements made without counsel present. c)
Motion to Disqualify Judge Greer filed on Fri. Sept 5th at which
time Judge Greer contacted Deputy Atty General John Carassas and
Sheriff Rice in an attempt to attack the factual basis of the
motion and affidavits. 3)
Conflict of Interest and Prejudice Judge
George Greer is not impartial. He has worked side by side as county
commissioner with Barbara Sheen Todd (county commissioner) for eight
years. Barbara Sheen Todd is on the board of the hospice. Also,
Judge Greer's fellow judge, Judge John Lenderman is the brother of
Martha Lenderman, also on the hospice board. Greer accepted as the
basis of his rulings, the questionable testimony of Michael Schiavo
that Terri would wish to be killed, yet Michael never stated this
until he had received the 1.2 million dollar settlement. Greer also
accepted as the basis of his rulings, the "opinion" of a third
doctor who is the brother of a close associate of George Felos,
right-to-kill attorney, and very significantly, former Chairman of
the hospice board. 4) Denial
of Guardian appointment to Ensure Medical Care Judge
Greer refused to allow a non-biased guardian to be appointed for
Terri’s care, despite numerous citations of the violation of Terri’s
rights under State and Federal Law for disabled persons, including
assignment of guardian as a requirement under Fl Law, Section 744.
Moreover, in the state court proceedings initiated by defendant
Michael Schiavo, Terri Schiavo, a severely disabled individual, had
no guardian ad litem and no lawyer for the majority of the
proceedings. Attorney Pearse who was assigned by the court in 1998
was dismissed from the case by the state court on motion by Michael
Schiavo’s attorney George J. Felos. 5) ABUSE,
NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION OF ELDERLY PERSONS AND DISABLED ADULTS
"...
825.103 Exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult;
penalties.-- (1)
"Exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult" means:
(a)
Knowingly, by deception or intimidation, obtaining or using, or
endeavoring to obtain or use, an elderly person's or disabled
adult's funds, assets, or property with the intent to temporarily or
permanently deprive the elderly person or disabled adult of the use,
benefit, or possession of the funds, assets, or property, or to
benefit someone other than the elderly person or disabled adult, by
a person who:[Felos and Greer need to be investigated by the State
of Florida and the US Attorney General.] 1. Stands
in a position of trust and confidence with the elderly person or
disabled adult; or 2. Has a
business relationship with the elderly person or disabled adult; or
(b)
Obtaining or using, endeavoring to obtain or use, or conspiring with
another to obtain or use an elderly person's or disabled adult's
funds, assets, or property with the intent to temporarily or
permanently deprive the elderly person or disabled adult of the use,
benefit, or possession of the funds, assets, or property, or to
benefit someone other than the elderly person or disabled adult, by
a person who knows or reasonably should know that the elderly person
or disabled adult lacks the capacity to consent. (2)(a) If
the funds, assets, or property involved in the exploitation of the
elderly person or disabled adult is valued at $100,000 or more, the
offender commits a felony of the first degree, punishable as
provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. [Terri's fund
reportedly only has $50,000 left. Felos himself has admitted
receiving $500,000 to assist in killing Terri.] (b) If the
funds, assets, or property involved in the exploitation of the
elderly person or disabled adult is valued at $20,000 or more, but
less than $100,000, the offender commits a felony of the second
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
775.084. (c) If the
funds, assets, or property involved in the exploitation of an
elderly person or disabled adult is valued at less than $20,000, the
offender commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. History.--s. 4, ch. 95-158; s. 5, ch.
96-322; s. 1, ch. 97-78. Criminal
Investigation of Hospice On the Following Counts: 1)
Conflict of interest; violation of federal policy: Mary Laybak, CEO
of Woodside Hospice has direct ties to Euthanasia Society of America
and Hemlock for Hospice, an organization that seeks to accelerate
the dying process. Federal funds may not be used for these purposes
(see below) 2) Hospice
is a federally funded program designed for terminally ill and those
whose death is eminent. Terri has been in Hospice illegally for
three years under Medicaid payments. 3) US Dept
of Health and Human Services is currently trying to collect $14.8
million from Florida Suncoast Hospice, owed to them since 1997.
4) Hospice
is accused of patient brokering and several lawsuits filed by
Attorney Jonathan Alpert are pending. 5)
Violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 6) The
Americans With Disabilities Act (A.D.A.), 42 U.S.C. Sections 12101
et seq., provides that necessary and appropriate rehabilitation
services and physical/motor skill therapy not be denied a
substantially disabled patient in the United States of America.
Moreover,
the pertinent federal regulations for implementation of the A.D.A.
specifically provide that "Nothing in the Act or this part
authorizes the representative or guardian of an individual with a
disability to decline food, water, medical treatment, or medical
services for that individual." (cf. 28 C.F.R. Ch. 1, Subpart B,
Section 35.130) The failure and refusal of defendant Michael
Schiavo, acting under the color of state law, to furnish Theresa
Marie Schiavo with necessary and appropriate speech and motor skills
therapy, rehabilitation services, and the basic essential medical
services, and his demand that she be deprived of food and water,
violate her rights under the A.D.A. and constitute unlawful
discrimination against her because of her disability. 7) Under
Federal Statute TITLE 42 CHAPTER 138 Sec. 14402. Sec. 14402. -
Restriction on use of Federal funds under health care programs
(a)
Restriction on Federal funding of health care services Subject to subsection (b) of this
section, no funds appropriated by Congress for the purpose of paying
(directly or indirectly) for the provision of health care services
may be used - (1) to
provide any health care item or service furnished for the purpose of
causing, or for the purpose of assisting in causing, the death of
any individual, such as by assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy
killing; Nothing in subsection (a) of this
section, or in any other provision of this chapter (or in any
amendment made by this chapter), shall be construed to apply to or
to affect any limitation relating to - (1) the
withholding or withdrawing of medical treatment or medical care;
(2) the
withholding or withdrawing of nutrition or hydration; (3)
abortion; or (4) the
use of an item, good, benefit, or service furnished for the purpose
of alleviating pain or discomfort, even if such use may increase the
risk of death, so long as such item, good, benefit, or service is
not also furnished for the purpose of causing, or the purpose of
assisting in causing, death, for any reason. ___ Attachment
2 October
23, 2003 To:
Delegate Bob Marshall Ref:
Denial of Civil Rights Continues: Letter
3 Oct 22nd
(AM) 3:15pm 5:15pm 6:30 Wed Night
(time of arrival unknown) Mr.
Ashcroft, it is clear that Mr. Schiavo and his attorney have
absolute disregard for the best interests of Terri Schiavo. After
starving her for 7 days with no food or water, she has now once
again been prematurely released from the hospital. On August
14th of this year, Terri was admitted to the hospital
with pneumonia and three days later, Michael ordered her to be
released. She would spend the next two weeks in and out of the
hospital due to the instruction of Michael to have her sent back to
hospice, despite her fever and obvious labored breathing from a
collapsed lung. Michael
Schiavo has attempted to further her debilitation and weaken her
condition and must be immediately removed from any guardianship
concerning her medical care and therapy. He has continued to spit in
the face of Governor Bush, the Fl Senate and House with no regard
for the care that Terri was awarded by the courts. The court
today ordered a guardian ad litem to be assigned for litigation only
and this will not provide the relief and protection regarding
medical and therapeutic care that Terri is entitled to as a disabled
American, under both Federal and Florida law. We ask for your
immediate intercession to remove Terri from her husband’s
care. Sincerely, Debra L. Vinnedge CC:
Robert & Mary Schindler, Robert Schindler Jr., Suzanne Carr
(family)Dr. Jay Carpenter, Dr. William
Hammesfahr, Jana Carpenter, RN, Eleanor Dreschel, RN, Msgr. Thaddeus
Malanowski ___ Attachment
3 October
22, 2003 To:
Delegate Bob Marshall Ref:
Continued Denial of Civil Rights – Terri Schiavo October
21st October
21st 5:00PM In
addition, two medical doctors had been summoned to Hospice and were
denied entrance to perform the procedure as indicated by Governor
Jeb Bush. They were also denied access to observe the patient and
her condition. 6:30PM Michael
Schiavo has denied visitation at the hospital to all members of
Terri’s family. A request
for immediate appointment of a guardian ad litem to protect Terri’s
medical interests and physical well being was denied by Judge David
A. Demers. In light
of the fact that the court order to provide therapy for Terri
Schiavo under the malpractice settlement has been denied by the
husband; that he has access to Terri and can cause her harm and that
he clearly does not represent her best interests, we request
immediate intervention to: 1) Appoint
a guardian ad litem to protect Terri Schiavo’s interests and ensure
she is given proper medical treatment. 2) Open an
immediate criminal investigation which has never been conducted in
this case. 3) Block
the cremation of Terri’s body should death ensue, so that evidence
is not destroyed. 4) Restore
the rights of visitation and access to the family. Sincerely,
Debra L.
Vinnedge ___ Attachment
4 Date: October 21, 2003 To:
Attorney General John Aschcroft On Behalf
of Theresa Maria Schiavo - Violation of Civil Rights Against the
Handicapped We the
undersigned family, friends and medical caregivers of Theresa
(Terri) Maria Schiavo request an immediate investigation and
emergency intervention to stop her starvation dehydration death due
to the following violations of her civil rights under the US
Constitution: Denial of
Civil Rights by Michael Schiavo, husband: By court
order in a malpractice suit filed by Michael Schiavo in 1993,
$700,000.00 of the settlement was to be used exclusively for
Theresa’s rehabilitation. To date, no rehabilitation, medical or
physical therapy has ever been provided to Terri. Upon
receipt of the award in 1993 medical records were ordered sealed by
Michael Schiavo. Ten years later these records were unsealed and
would reveal massive injury and a history of possible domestic
violence and abuse. While
under nursing home and hospice care, Michael Schiavo ordered no
physical therapy, oral feeding or treatment for Terri. He further
directed that Terri only be sustained in a nursing home which is
contrary to the intent of the award money. Michael Schiavo has on
two occasions unsuccessfully attempted to end Terri’s life by
instructing her caretakers not to medicate Terri for potentially
fatal infections, the first of which occurred less than nine months
after receiving the malpractice award money. As Terri’s
legal guardian, her husband has used her medical fund money to
offset the legal costs when his guardianship of Terri was initially
challenged and to pay the current legal costs to have Terri’s life
ended. May 1,
2000 A Court hearing was cancelled after Michael Schiavo verbally
committed to sign an agreement that Terri will get the necessary
medical treatment at Hospice. Denial of
Civil Rights by Judge Greer: February 2000 – Judge Greer condemns
Terri to death by dehydration/starvation without any clear and
convincing evidence as required by statute. There is no written
living directive. March 2000
– Sworn affidavits provided to the court by three physicians that
Terri is able to eat. Judge Greer denies a petition to the court to
perform swallowing tests on Terri, part of her court-ordered
therapy. Judge
Greer further authorized personal security personnel costs for
Michael Schiavo to be taken from Terri’s medical fund.
May
7, 2001 – Dr. Hammesfahr (neurology), filed a six page affidavit
with the court stating Terri was not in a Persistent Vegetative
State, accompanied by a formal letter requesting Schiavo’s
permission to allow Terri to begin rehabilitation treatment; request
denied. September
26, 2001 – A three-member panel consisting of Judges Jerry
Parker, Chris Altenbernd and John Blue presided at the Appellate
Court "oral argument hearing." The core of the appeal is that Judge
Greer did not follow the Appellate Court's July 11, 2001
instructions. Judge Greer admitted he ignored the doctors’ sworn
opinions and summarily rejected additional evidence that
unmistakably proved Michael Schiavo lied to the court at the
original trial. NOTE: NO
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION HAS EVER BEEN CONDUCTED IN THIS CASE AND
ATTEMPTS TO DEMAND SUCH INVESTIGATION HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY DENIED AND
BLOCKED UNDER COURT ORDER OF JUDGE GREER. IMMEDIATE CREMATION OF THE
BODY WILL OCCUR UPON HER DEATH, THUS DESTROYING ALL CRIMINAL
EVIDENCE. Denial of
Civil Rights by Michael Schiavo’s appointed physicians: There is no court order to deny Terri
Schiavo oral feeding. This was put in place by Michael Schiavo’s
appointed doctors, in direct violation of the previous court orders
to provide therapy and rehabilitation for Terri. Denial of
Civil Rights by Pinellas Park Police, Michael Schiavo and his
attorneys: On October
15th at 2:00PM Terri’s feeding tube was removed. Although
the court does not deny the right to provide oral hydration or
feeding, the doctor’s orders to hospice are to prohibit any type of
oral feeding. On October
18th, 19th and 20th Monsignor
Thaddeus Malanowski was refused the right to administer Holy
Communion to Terri as part of her Catholic Last Rites. This order
was expressed directly by Michael Schiavo, his attorneys and the
local police guarding Terri’s room who told the priest they would
“stop him if he attempted to give her Holy Communion.” It is a
criminal violation to abuse, neglect or exploit a disabled person,
all of which have been perpetrated on Terri Schaivo and we petition
your immediate intervention and investigation. Presented
by: Debra L. Vinnedge
Mary and Bob Schindler
Robert Schindler, JR
Suzanne Carr
William Hammesfahr, MD
J.D. Young, MD
James Eckart, MD Jay
Carpenter, MD
Eleanor Dreschel, RN, MS
Jana Carpenter, RN, MS
Msgr. Thaddeus Malanowsk STATE OF FLORIDA +++ Today -
November 18, 2003 The Second
District Court of Appeals in Lakeland, Florida has lifted their stay
in the case of Schiavo v Bush. Governor Bush is being given until
5.00 Wednesday, November 19, 2003 to complete his filings with the
court. We will bring you more news as it develops. Story from
AP: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-1118schiavo,0,6704462.story?coll=sfla-news-florida. Please
visit http://www.terrisfight.org/
for more information. Volunteers
who wish to make contact can contact the following Florida Agencies
demanding that a full investigation be made into allegations of
abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult under Florida Statute
415.104 (Protective investigations of cases of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation of vulnerable adults; transmittal of records to state
attorney.) Suncoast
Region - Adult Services Program (813)
558-5580 State
Attorney, McCabe Bernie 14250 49th
St N Pinellas
County Sheriff's Office ++ Terri
Schindler Schiavo is being denied necessary rehabilitation (in
particular but not limited to range of motion therapy which has been
denied her for approximately 10 years) because Michael Schiavo has
knowingly acted to refuse same. "The right
to receive necessary services and rehabilitation is a retained
right. Section 744.3215(1)(i), Florida Statutes (2003). What are
they doing or are going to do about this? Michael Schiavo is
breaking the law. Terri is
being denied the right to be restored to capacity at the earliest
possible time in contravention to: Section
744.3215(1)(c), Florida Statutes (2003). and has
been for approximately 10 years because Michael Schiavo has
knowingly acted to prevent same. What are
they doing or are going to do about this? Michael Schiavo is
breaking the law. Terri is
currently being neglected and has been for the past 10 years.
Michael Schiavo as guardian of Terri has been the cause of this
neglect. Michael Schiavo is breaking the law and is guilty of
committing felonies under: Section
825.102 (3)(a) under the meanings of said Section 825.102 (3)(a)
Items 2b and/or 2c. and therefore is a felony crime and punishable
pursuant to statutes 775.082, 775.083, 775.084. Again, ask
them what they are doing or are going to do about this. Call the
following people and tell them that you want some
answers: Executive
Office of Governor, Legal Team to Jeb (ask to speak to the following
individuals): Robert H.
Fernandez (Deputy General Counsel to Governor) ->
fernanr@eog.state.fl.us
Raquel A.
Rodriguez (General Counsel to Governor)->
raquel.rodriguez@myflorida.com
Christa
Calamas (Assistant General Counsel to Governor) -> calamac@eog.state.fl.us 850 /
488-3494 (voice) 850 /
488-9810 (fax)
Jeb Bush,
Governor -> jeb@myflorida.com,jeb.bush@myflorida.com
850 /
488-4441 (voice) 850 /
488-7146 (voice) 850 /
487-0801 (fax)
Executive
Office of the Governor 400 S.
Monroe Street
The
Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001
Ask to
speak to Lauren O'Conner Attorney
General Charlie Crist -> ag@oag.state.fl.us 850 /
414-3990 (voice) 850 /
487-2564 (fax) State
Attorney Bernie McCabe Sixth
Judicial Circuit of Florida berniemccabe@fdle.state.fl.us 727 /
464-6221 (voice) 727 /
464-6534 (fax) Request
that Mr. McCabe open a criminal investigation CC: your
emails and letters to Governor Bush Florida
Department of Law Enforcement 850 /
410-7000 (voice) Civil
Rights & Civil Liberties Complaints Office of
the Inspector General U.S.
Department of Justice 950
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Room 4322
Washington, D.C. 20530 hotline:
800 / 869-4499 hotline
fax: 202 / 616-9898. US
Department of Homeland Security/FDLE/FLA Michael
P.S. Dwyer 813-872-7213 727-541-5335 mpsdwyer@aol.com FBI
Tampa Room 610,
FOB REF:
Florida
Statutes (2003) 744.3215
Rights of persons determined incapacitated.-- (1) A
person who has been determined to be incapacitated retains the
right: (a) To
have an annual review of the guardianship report and plan.
(b) To
have continuing review of the need for restriction of his or her
rights. (c) To be
restored to capacity at the earliest possible time. (d) To be
treated humanely, with dignity and respect, and to be protected
against abuse, neglect, and exploitation. (e) To
have a qualified guardian. (f) To
remain as independent as possible, including having his or her
preference as to place and standard of living honored, either as he
or she expressed or demonstrated his or her preference prior to the
determination of his or her incapacity or as he or she currently
expresses his or her preference, insofar as such request is
reasonable. (g) To be
properly educated. (h) To
receive prudent financial management for his or her property and to
be informed how his or her property is being managed, if he or she
has lost the right to manage property. (i) To
receive necessary services and rehabilitation. (j) To be
free from discrimination because of his or her incapacity.
(k) To
have access to the courts. (l) To
counsel. (m) To
receive visitors and communicate with others. (n) To
notice of all proceedings related to determination of capacity and
guardianship, unless the court finds the incapacitated person lacks
the ability to comprehend the notice. (o) To
privacy. … History.--s. 34, ch. 89-96; s. 19, ch.
90-271; s. 36, ch. 93-39; s. 13, ch. 94-183; s. 44, ch. 96-169; s.
6, ch. 96-354; s. 1782, ch. 97-102. ++ 825.102
Abuse, aggravated abuse, and neglect of an elderly person or
disabled adult; penalties.-- (1) "Abuse
of an elderly person or disabled adult" means: (a)
Intentional infliction of physical or psychological injury upon an
elderly person or disabled adult; (b) An
intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in
physical or psychological injury to an elderly person or disabled
adult; or (c) Active
encouragement of any person to commit an act that results or could
reasonably be expected to result in physical or psychological injury
to an elderly person or disabled adult. (2)
"Aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult" occurs
when a person: (a)
Commits aggravated battery on an elderly person or disabled adult;
(b)
Willfully tortures, maliciously punishes, or willfully and
unlawfully cages, an elderly person or disabled adult; or
(c)
Knowingly or willfully abuses an elderly person or disabled adult
and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or
permanent disfigurement to the elderly person or disabled adult.
(3)(a)
"Neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult" means: 1. A
caregiver's failure or omission to provide an elderly person or
disabled adult with the care, supervision, and services necessary to
maintain the elderly person's or disabled adult's physical and
mental health, including, but not limited to, food, nutrition,
clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical services that
a prudent person would consider essential for the well-being of the
elderly person or disabled adult; or 2. A
caregiver's failure to make a reasonable effort to protect an
elderly person or disabled adult from abuse, neglect, or
exploitation by another person. (b) A
person who willfully or by culpable negligence neglects an elderly
person or disabled adult and in so doing causes great bodily harm,
permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the elderly
person or disabled adult commits a felony of the second degree,
punishable as provided in s. 775.082,
s. 775.083,
or s. 775.084.
(c) A
person who willfully or by culpable negligence neglects an elderly
person or disabled adult without causing great bodily harm,
permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the elderly
person or disabled adult commits a felony of the third degree,
punishable as provided in s. 775.082,
s. 775.083,
or s. 775.084.
History.--s. 3, ch. 95-158; s. 2, ch.
96-322. +++ *Please
keep those letters, emails and phone calls rolling! Demand a
grand jury investigation. States Attorney Bernie McCabe is trying to
shirk his responsibility. We need to hold him responsible for
getting Michael Schiavo investigated, etc. Do not let up in your
efforts! 727 /
464-6221 (voice) 727 /
464-6534 (fax) Demand a
grand jury investigation
+++ "Terri
Lights" Shine Bright - Nationwide! October
18, 2003 Gathered
by Julie Kay Smithson, a friend of Terri's, like so many more 'out
there' JSmit10695@aol.com 'From the
great Atlantic Ocean to the wide Pacific shore,' the song
says. Candles
are burning tonight in windows across America, for Terri Schindler
Schiavo and her family. Please add your lights and let them shine
bright! From the
Lighters: Tennessee's Mom Vickie: Just a thought, but
maybe if some reporter friend could get it started somewhere,
everyone on Terri's, and her family's side, in the Nation, that
can't go down there, could light a candle in their window each night
for her. Right now people can buy those electric candles they put
out for Christmas, that what I'm using here in Tennessee, and don't
have to worry about a fire. Ohio's
Jacque: Mine are getting lit in the windows right now, as well as
a long
burning contained prayer candle so that everyone who comes into my
home will know what it is for. In fact, I will label it. Thanks for
the idea. Pass it on! Light your candles and say your prayers. God
is bigger than this mess! There is a prayer candle burning in
Ohio... Ohio's
Julie: I certainly shall pass it on, with a prayer of thanksgiving
to both you
and Vickie in Tennessee! My Ohio candelabras are in the
window! Ohio's
Toledo 91: National Candle Vigil in Solidarity with Terri ...
Let's light up
the night for Terri! Put your "Terri Light" in the window and keep
it burning.
It will remind you to say a prayer for Terri ... and it may add
others to this
mighty army of prayer warriors that cherish life and
innocence! California's EEPACINC: I will put a candles
in the window of my house and pass the word along to everyone I
know. I will also try to get a hold of some local radio stations out
here in the SF Bay area to spread the word. I will do my
best. Indiana's
Bee: candles in the window of my house ... AND INDIANA... Florida's
Cecelia: I'm in Florida ... we have candles too ... we call
them "Terri
Lights" Put your "Terri Light" in your window, your love for life to
show! California's Jayne: My "Terri Lights" are on
in Santa Clarita, California, praying
desperately for the life of Terri. Please
email me with your name and state and tell me that you've lit a
candle for Terri. God bless you! http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/articles4/terrifrms.htm http://www.friendsofterri.org/bone.html _ Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) --
Grassroots supporters of Terri Schiavo, the disabled woman whose
husband is attempting to starve her to death, are asking pro-life
people to participate in a nationwide vigil to support her. Terri's
family has not been alone in their efforts to save Terri's life.
More than
150,000 people signed a petition to Governor Bush asking for him to
intervene and prevent Michael Schiavo, Terri's estranged husband,
from killing her. Others joined a prayer vigil outside Woodside
Hospice, where Terri has been living for years. Bush
responded to the grassroots call for help and worked with the state
legislature to pass Terri's Law, that allowed him to ask doctors to
reinsert the feeding tube that is allowing her to stay alive.
Now,
supporters across the country have started a new campaign to
spotlight Terri's plight and save her from death via starvation and
dehydration. Julie
Smithson of Ohio began "Terri's Lights," an effort to encourage
those who back Terri's right to live to put candles in their window
as a sign of support. Terri's Lights" will be displayed until Terri
is safe from harm and permitted to return to the care of her family.
Pro-life
advocates around the country are already participating. Vickie, a
mother in Tennessee, said she is supporting the effort and is using
electric candles that are available during the Christmas season.
Meanwhile,
Jacque, a woman from Ohio, said her candles are "getting lit in the
windows right now." She also has a prayer candle lit "so that
everyone who comes into my home will know what it is for."
The
grassroots campaign has lifted Terri's family's spirit during this
trying time. "We are
truly overwhelmed and grateful for the many thoughts and prayers for
Terri," said Mary Schindler, Terri's mother. "It helps
to know that there are so many people who recognize that Terri is
merely a disabled woman who deserves to be given a chance,"
Schindler added. Terri's
family is also encouraging supporters to back a green plaid ribbon
campaign to raise awareness for Terri. Terri's
Lights are already being displayed throughout the United States and
have reached as far as Australia. Related
web sites: Terri's
family - http://www.terrisfight.org/ +++ In
response to Mr. Nohlgren's (nohlgren@sptimes.com)
article: http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/10/Tampabay/Schiavo_tapes__snippe.shtml Dear Mr.
Nohlgren: I found
your article on Terri Schiavo's videotapes both uninformed and quick
to judge. For ten
years my husband has been in a state virtually identical (anoxic
encephalopathy) to Terri Schiavo. The Schindlers are fighting an
incredible battle in their effort to penetrate the prejudiced,
entrenched thinking that just won't yield to a new understanding of
the functioning of a severely brain injured--please,injured,not
damaged--person. Like the
Schindlers,I began taping my husband responding by crying
appropriately to music and emotionally evocative statements. When
the insurance company sent a neuropsychologist to evaluate my
husband, I was prepared to show him what I had taped. However, the
Dr. conducted his clinical evaluation first and got no responses
from my husband. Based on his evaluation alone, the diagnosis would
have remained PVS. After viewing the video, along with my
demonstrating in person how I could elicit crying responses from my
husband, the diagnosis was changed to minimal consciousness. I am
certain that many brain injured people are being treated as less
than human (I've witnessed this many times over a period of 3 1/2
years) because professionals and family members alike do not know
how to elicit responses that can be measured objectively. On the one
hand, everyone agrees that Terri is severely brain injured. Yet,
when she can't perform consistently, the way a normal person would,
it's concluded that the responses weren't valid but only reflexes
and coincidences. Neurologists and neuropsychologists of all people
should be aware of this and sensitive to Terri's struggle to move
purposefully and respond immediately. The command or request has to
be processed first. Maybe it makes it to completion, enabling Terri
to respond, while other times it doesn't. If the processing isn't
always successful, that doesn't mean the times Terri did respond
aren't valid and should be dismissed as coincidences. Also,
responding is hard work for Terri and very fatiguing. Of course
there would be long periods of taping with no obvious cognition
going on. Why would anyone expect Terri to succeed all the time? She
is severely brain injured, remember? If you
have not read the NY Times article: What if There is Something Going
On in There?(September 28,2003), you and all the other skeptics
should read it. The neuropsychologist researching PVS patients
states:"If I say'Touch your nose,' and you touch your nose, and then
I say 'Touch your nose,' six more times and you don't do it, how do
we account for the one time you did?" He also explains: "Some are
straightforward climbs to consciousness...Still others form a series
of conscious peaks and vegetative valleys." The article ends with a
Dr. commenting on a patient's performance:"He's aware of himself,
he's happy, but it took a lot of skill to see it. If he ended up in
a nursing home and started doing things like this, no one would have
noticed." "It took a
lot of skill to see it," the Dr. said. +++ Posted by
a5478 to pc93 On
News/Activism 11/12/2003 11:54 AM PST #236 of 280 Thank you
for article site and the address for reply. I am concerned that
media people will push for this being a "right to die" case. Here is
what I sent to the writer of the article: Dear Mr.
Nohlgren, Surely you
would agree that your nonprofessional and totally uneducated
evaluation of the full four hours of the Schiavo video tape has no
bearing on the issue. If various professionals can disagree on the
interpretation of this video tape, then your opinion is all the more
moot. The issue
is that a disabled woman has been denied her basic rights of
treatment and rehabilitation for the last ten years. Such treatment
having been funded by a court decision. That she has received even
basic treatment is the result of her parents' constant vigilance.
Her husband has denied this woman even the most basic humane
interactions. It is at
most a flimsy right to die case. It is distinctly a gross and abject
mistreatment of a disabled woman whose funds for treatment and
rehabilitation have been channeled elsewhere, anywhere but to her.
It is most definitely criminal misappropriation of funds set aside
by a jury on the grounds that this disabled woman could benefit from
and deserved treatment. And it is this abomination that has stirred
the interest from hundreds of thousands of people across this
country. +++ Judge
Greer counted. "By the
court's count, (Hammesfahr) gave 105 commands to Terri Schiavo and,
at his direction, Mrs. Schindler gave an additional six commands,"
Greer wrote. "He asked her 61 questions and Mrs. Schindler ... asked
her an additional 11 questions. The court saw few actions that could
be considered responsive to either those commands or those
questions." Comments:
Florida
Law says PVS is NO cognitive behaviour of ANY kind. Even the Judge
acknowledges that she had a few actions that were! FS765.101
Definitions; (11) "Living will" or "declaration" means: (a) A
witnessed document in writing, voluntarily executed by the principal
in accordance with s. 765.302; or (b) A witnessed oral statement
made by the principal expressing the principal's instructions
concerning life-prolonging procedures. (12)
"Persistent vegetative state" means a permanent and irreversible
condition of unconsciousness in which there is: (a) The absence of
voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind. (b) An inability
to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment.
That's a)
and b). Not or. She is not unconscious and showed a few voluntary or
cognitive behaviors according to Judge Greer. That's not the same as
NONE of ANY KIND>per the statute. +++ Posted to
Oprah message board re: Terri http://64.124.46.168/WebX?13@85.2KbnbLwal8h.1@.f0049ba/73 Test case
for the Death Enthusiasts +++ PLEASE
POST A LETTER LIKE THIS - PLEASE!!! Posted By:
Karen Lee Kranz Date: Wednesday, 12 November 2003, at 10:59 a.m.
Remember a
few days ago Pat posted this very hurtful article - written in such
an insensitive manner: http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/10/Tampabay/Schiavo_tapes__snippe.shtml And then I
replied that I thought we should all send the writer, Mr. Nohlgren,
a letter. Well, here
is a great letter from my friend Mike. He makes so many great points
that I wanted to post it to give you some ideas. Yesterday I had
also posted some comments from Pamela that provide another slant on
why Terri might be so slow to respond. Please see: http://tbihome.org/cgi-bin/terri.pl?read=813 as that
describes very briefly some of the points that Pamela makes which
could be integrated into the letter that Mike wrote. I hope you
find this helpful. I'm going to write my own letter as soon as I am
finished with some medical procedures scheduled for today and
tomorrow. Love and
Hugs, Karen Mr.
Stephen Nohlgren St. Petersburg Times nohlgren@sptimes.com
Dear Mr.
Nohlgren, I am
writing in reply to your article of November 10, 2003 entitled
"Schiavo tapes: snippets, then not much." Simply
put, I am appalled at your ignorance. The
fundamental question is, how many times should Terri respond to
stimuli or prompts "by choice" in order to validate her state of
consciousness and cognizance? The answer is: Only Once, if she so
chooses to do so. Either she
is there, or she is not. Pure and simple. How could you have missed
such a basic principle? Everyone
loves to talk about "choice" these days. Have you ever tried to get
the attention of a small child while he is busy playing or tired?
Sometimes he will ignore you, and that's not because he does not
hear you or see you, he does. He simply chooses to ignore you. Some
of us adults will do the same. I submit
to you that this observation is even more pronounced with people
like Terri, given that she has severe brain injury, been deprived of
therapy for years, lives in a hospice environment that is not
conducive to stimulating the senses, as well as her own physical
limitations. In
addition, Terri is probably very frustrated and suffers some degree
of psychological problem that compounds the difficulty of "response
on demand". It could also be that Terri is just simply tired most of
the time and does not wish to be bothered. In light
of this, I consider Judge Greer's assessment of Terri's "lack of
sufficient response" equally ignorant as well. Mr.
Nohlgren, if you are convinced that Terri gave a genuine response
only just once through those video tapes, then in good conscience
you are obliged to affirm her cognizant ability and advise readers
of your finding. There are
many peripheral issues but I would just leave it for now.
Thank you
for your time and I hope you will write another article very soon to
address this particular concern. (name)
(city) +++ Oprah and
Terri's Plight - Fri. Nov. 14, 4PM EST Imagine my
surprise coming home from work and the tube in my bedroom had the
news on and I hear the local news channel talking about Terri etc.
(whom they never said anything about every time I saw them talking
on past occasions).. then they say that Oprah is going to be
covering Terri's case on Friday at 4PM EST. I thought wow this might
be good. But now that I went to her site I see that they are
spelling Terri's name Terry and they are talking about Living Wills,
etc. nothing about what is really going on. Then I join up on their
message board and some woman is saying Terry already decided and her
decision was to die. I for one am not going to sit idly by and not
say anything so I responded but I think others may want to as
well. Name of
the thread Should Terry Schiavo Live or Die?: http://boards.oprah.com/WebX?14@74.2U2cbbuDmrs.8@.f0049ba!skip=0&view=C +++ +++ Terri
Schiavo has been momentarily rescued from the embrace of death. Now
the spin and the damage control begins for those who plan. . . and
plot. . . and scheme. A man in a
black robe has spoken; one man, whose judgment decides Terri
Schiavo's fate. Her life hangs in his balance. His decision
regarding the appointment of a new guardian for Terri: Terri's
parents and her 'husband' have five days (from October 22nd) to
agree upon a guardian ad litem or he will choose one for
them. Actually, the choice is already made, as you will read in the
Orlando Sentinel article below this. NOW. . .
would Michael Schiavo, who's spent the last ten years and the lion's
share of Terri's medical fund trying to get her dead, ever agree to
a guardian her parents suggested? Or
could the Schindlers (Terri's parents) dare even consider
agreeing to anyone Schiavo would choose? Not in a
million years! It isn't going to happen and the judge knows that. Of
course, the judge answers to a higher power, and we know that power
isn't from the Heavenly abode. The new
court-appointed guardian ad litem has been named as Dr. Jay
Wolfson, director of the Florida Health Information Center at the
University of South Florida in Tampa. He is also a lawyer. The
University of South Florida is intimately connected to Hospice and
Hospice of the Florida Suncoast (the corporate owner of the hospice
where Terri was being dehydrated and starved, and where she is once
again interned). The USF
website gives information on continuing professional education to be
held November 6th by the University of South Florida's Center for
Hospice, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Studies. The University of
South Florida, Dr. Jay Wolfson's employer, has a partnership with,
among other hospice organizations, the Hospice of the Florida
Suncoast. Read here
about Wolfson's attack on a secretary in 1994, and an insurance
claim against him. Sounds like a real nut case. Terri
Schiavo's situation is not so unique, as we're all beginning to
realize. Death by dehydration has become the fad today all over the
country as a way to rid the system of useless eaters. Why? Because
"all fifty states allow it", according to Kenneth Goodman, director
of bioethics at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He told
LifeNews.com that Terri would "not feel a thing". Goodman then
added: "There is
nothing unusual about terminating hydration and nutrition.
"The
reason why Florida law allows it, and the other 49 states allow it,
is obviously that this can be done in a way that is pain-free and
dignified. That is why it is legal.'' Really?
She won't feel a thing? It's pain-free and dignified? How is that?
According to Dr. David Stevens, countless ethical physicians and
according to people who've lived through that unspeakable horror
with their loved ones, death by dehydration is an agonizing
death. Terri has
been receiving sustenance again after being deprived of water and
food for six and a half days. That's approximately one hundred
fifty-six hours! Try it! Miraculously, according to reports Terri
has suffered no kidney damage and her father, Robert Schindler, Sr.
says "she looks great!". The
$64,000 question is: 'Why have all fifty states made this agonizing
method of killing off useless eaters legal?" Answer:
Creatures like Goodman obviously lobbied for the law, lulling the
rank and file legislators into a dream state, convincing them that
dying by dehydration is a great way to go. Or. . . they just voted
for a bill that their bought-and-paid-for legislative leaders told
them is a "yes" vote. They cannot rock the boat, for if they make
too many waves they lose their committee seats, perks and even their
office. People
live and die by legislation. Orwellian laws are born of apathetic,
uninformed 'law-makers' who don't write the bills, don't read the
bills, and never give a thought to the monstrous results of their
negligence. Sadly, the
lure of office, money, prestige and whatever else rings their bell
is much more important today than the life of an unknown woman - or
hundreds of thousands of 'unknowns'. When we
review the particulars in Terri's case, it reads like pulp fiction.
A slew of good ol' boys from judges, doctors and lawyers to their
countless accomplices have ridden roughshod over the laws and
constitution of Florida state, as well as the 'constitution for the
united states of america', obviously unaware of the sanctity of
life. . . of the life of one Theresa Marie Schiavo. Terri was
incidental to their bigger agenda. The only
difference now is that Terri's case has been pulled out of the pits
of hell where the players have thus far frolicked unnoticed by the
sleeping giant (the voice of the people) into the light of day.
Hundreds of thousands of e-mails, phone calls, faxes and letters
have poured in to the governor, state legislators, judges, and the
controlled media. Too many people know the facts and are making
their voices heard. Too many to be ignored. The first
act of damage control was to pass emergency legislation calling for
immediate cessation of the deprivation of life-giving sustenance to
Terri. That act got the governor off the hook who had stated time
and again that he couldn't intervene because "the laws gave
authority over guardianship issues to the courts", and his
intervention would "violate the constitutional separation of
powers". Hogwash!
Those statements were made in total contradiction to nearly
everything stated in the Memorandum of Amicus curiae
presented to the court on October 7th by Jeb Bush's Legal
Department, the same Legal Department he claims has informed him
that he cannot intervene. The
emergency legislation wasn't necessary to 'give the governor
authority to intervene', although it did serve to appease the
uninformed and make the government machine look good; we might go so
far as to say it looked benevolent. AND. . . and this is a big
'and': it gives them the opportunity to challenge the whole event on
constitutional grounds while the amicus curiae brief is all but
forgotten, along with the FACT that the governor can and should
intervene. I am
disturbed that the family and attorneys aren't pushing that fact,
along with the six opinions by other lawyers from outside of Bush's
administration. And. . .
don't be fooled: this whole charade would never have happened
without the outcry -- the roar, actually - from that sleeping giant
that could not be ignored. They would have gone on happily killing
Terri without a hitch. Even the
controlled media is beginning to pick up the tempo a bit, asking
questions, dropping a few tidbits of truth -- only because they show
their face too clearly if they continue to ignore the information
being fed into their offices. When a
hitch does occur, then the think-tanks get busy. "What do
we do here? How do we use this to our advantage? "No
problem. We've covered the bases, and now we play our ace in the
hole. The Florida constitution! The 'right to privacy' issue. After
all, a citizen has the right to die if they so choose! The Court has
already determined that Terri Schiavo wants to die because Michael
Schiavo said so. That is 'clear and convincing evidence', and by
Satan, we'll uphold that right! Our WILL be done!" Surely the
educated sophistocrats use more subtle language than that.
Nevertheless, that is exactly what they're saying. And that is what
they are plotting. If Terri's attorneys miss this boat Terri is
condemned - by un-law - to die. The
following article is a masterpiece of laying the foundation for
their scheme. The hue and cry is: "the legislature had no authority
to interfere"; Terri has the "right to die under the privacy clause
in the Florida constitution"; and "the courts will settle it once
and for all". It is
clear that not only does the governor have authority and power to
intervene, he has a MANDATE under the Florida state law, the Florida
Constitution, and the constitution for the united states of america
to intervene, and to enforce his authority to the extent of calling
on the state militia if necessary. He needed
no emergency legislation giving that authority. The authority exists
by virtue of the laws already on the books, that are in pursuance to
the constitutions mentioned, and passed by the law-making branch of
the Florida state government. It has
been announced that Schiavo's lawyer, George Felos, will file a
brief Monday challenging the Constitutionality of the emergency bill
passed by the legislature. For full
particulars on our assertion that there is no conflict with the law,
nor was the legislative action necessary, see the item titled Jeb Bush
Knows He Can Intervene For Terri. We've quoted extensively from
his amicus brief, citing specific laws already in force in Florida.
It
couldn't have been made any more clear that the law was broken by
Judge Greer when he mandated the withholding of sustenance from
Terri, and again when he forbade oral feeding. Both of those actions
are forbidden under the Florida statutes. The order to forbid oral
feeding could be offered as proof that the courts and Michael know
Terri is not unconscious. A vegetable cannot eat and drink, so
therefore, the order would be unnecessary. Remember,
Terri isn't out of the woods yet. Quite possibly our calls, e-mails
and faxes will be even more urgent this time round. 'Terri's Bill'
gave the governor authority for a "one-time stay" which could be
interpreted either: 1) that it
was solely for the case of Terri Schiavo OR 2) the
governor could intervene only once. My sinking
feeling is they will construe it as a 'one-time-only' intervention
for Terri. Then, if the courts decide the actions taken by the
state legislature and the governor were unconstitutional, there
could end up being no further remedy for Terri. At that time, her
only hope would be to be rescued by the militia. Thousands of people
coming to her aide, carrying her away to safety, for after all, that
IS the real meaning of the militia, isn't it? Able-bodied men and
women defending our country, our countrymen (and women) and the
constitution. Be ready
Monday to gear up the outcry (roar) once again. Have your ducks in a
row, and make the contact count, by using facts, reason and logic.
Cite the laws, let them know we know what they're doing - if it
becomes necessary. -- Jackie -- Sunday
evening: 11:15 PM October
26th, 2003 http://www.sweetliberty.org/bulletins/terri/guardian.htm +++ Diane
Coleman of NDY to debate George Felos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.tigerbayclub.com/Meeting.htm Diane
Coleman of Not Dead yet will debate Michael Schiavo's Attorney
George Felos on Nov. 14. My
understanding is that this may be broadcast on local cable access.
When I have more details I will post them. Note: the
venue, The Tiger Bay Club is where Dr. Dean recieved such a warm
welcome for his statements taking Jeb Bush and the Fl. Legislature
to task for interfereing with Ms. Schiavo's death. www.notdeadyet.org/ for more on NDY and
Attny. Colemen. _ Edited by:
UZER1 at: 11/8/03 7:26 pm +++ Posted by
Republic: -----Original Message----- From: <
name withheld > Sent:
Sunday, November 09, 2003 3:50 PM To: <
Undisclosed-Recipient > Subject:
update A battle
of pro-life and pro-death forces - http://www.tigerbayclub.com/Meeting.htm -
Coleman
vs. Felos!!! Some of
you may want to be there or even picket Felos. One of our members
made an excellent suggestion - that we keep encouraging Bush to
protect Terri and thank him for previous efforts -
jeb.bush@myflorida.com I have
been told that on Montel tomorrow at 3 PM either the Schindlers will
be on or someone discussing Terri. The Larry King show may possibly
be rescheduled from last Fri. to next Fri. but I will let you know.
Don't
forget http://www.tropicwaveradio.net/H2H/--Tue.
at 9 PM. A leading
forensic specialist will be talking about some Hospice deaths and
also about Terri's bone scan, etc. Many
thanks for all the efforts you all are making! < name
withheld > Coleman v.
Felos--Full Text of Opening Remarks Tiger Bay
Club - November 14, 2003 Coleman v.
Felos: Opening
Statement of Diane Coleman on Terri Schiavo Case You've
been hearing for a long time that the only opposition in this case
is coming from the religious right. But a dozen national disability
groups filed friend of the court briefs in the state and federal
proceedings, and in the last month, 25 national disability rights
groups have adopted a statement in favor of feeding Terri Schiavo.
Surely, it will not be argued that the National Spinal Cord Injury
Association, the National Downs Syndrome Congress, the Disability
Rights Education and Defense Fund and all the rest, are now or ever
have been puppets of religious conservatives. So why have all these
groups come forward? Because we don't think guardians should have
carte blanche to starve and dehydrate people in guardianship, people
with severe brain injury, birth defects and Alzheimers. Many of us
had hoped that the appellate courts would come through, uphold the
limits on guardians that tens of thousands of people depend on.
Unfortunately, we've been disappointed that
the higher courts instead upheld a lower court judge who ignored
much of the evidence and, more importantly, ignored constitutional
standards for evaluating that evidence. Nor is it reassuring that
the press releases, legal briefs, opinion pieces and letters issued
by disability groups have pretty much been ignored in the public
debate about this case, ignored by both conservatives and liberals.
We applaud the Tiger Bay Club for wanting its members to consider
the disability perspective. But why
should you care what we think? If you don't buy the pro-life puppets
argument, then you might also hear that our concerns are at best
misguided, or perhaps even paranoid. Recently, a reporter asked me
if someone like me has anything in common with Terri Schiavo. I just
turned 50, joined AARP, and I know I might someday get Alzheimers,
or have a stroke. Temporarily or long term, any one of us might
someday be unable to make and/or communicate our wishes. If you
don't have a living will or health care proxy, a guardian will be
designated for you by operation of law, like in Terri Schiavo's
case, and there's a hierarchy spelled out in state law. It doesn't
take into account things like the U.S. Surgeon General's report that
the overwhelming majority of elder abuse and neglect is perpetrated
by the spouse or adult child, who also happen to be priority
statutory guardians. You might also be interested to know that if
you don't have any relatives willing or able to be your guardian,
then you get a public guardian, employed by the government. And
guardianship laws haven't taken into account the financial
pressures, and even conflicts of interest, involved with public
guardians. If doctors
don't think you're up to making your own decisions, they'll explain
your condition, and tell your guardian that he or she is permitted
to exercise your right to refuse treatment. This may include
refusing a feeding tube if you're not in a condition to feed
yourself. When it comes to feeding tubes, I need to point out a few
facts. First, they were invented in the 1800's. About a month ago,
the NY Times ran an article about how people with dementia were
being put on feeding tubes, not because they couldn't eat orally,
but because about 20% of folks in nursing homes need help to eat,
and there are staffing shortages. And, according to another recent
study, people with dementia get put on feeding tubes earlier in
their disease process if they're African-American, in an urban
setting and in a for-profit nursing home. People
hope that we can always trust the health care system and our
guardians, acting in privacy, to do the right thing. Unfortunately,
human nature being what it is, sometimes there are mistakes, and
sometimes there are conflicts of interest. That's why there are
supposed to be standards governing the behavior of doctors and
guardians, and sometimes government needs to be involved to enforce
those standards and let everyone know that our society doesn't
approve of the medical killing of people who didn't ask for it, even
if their lives are seen by some as burdensome or meaningless or
costly. The constitution requires that a guardian's decision be
based on written documentation or other clear and convincing
evidence of the person's wishes. The question is, how are those
standards working in our health care system and our courts today?
You should
think of disabled people as the canaries in the coal mine. We spend
a lot of time in the health care system. Twenty-five national
disability groups are coming forward because it is our lived
experience that, when a surrogate exercises their right to refuse
someone else's treatment, the safeguards against mistakes and abuses
are not working. Behind closed doors in hospitals, hospices and
nursing homes, conscious people with disabilities, old and young,
are being deprived of food and water, in the absence of a living
will or other clear and convincing evidence that they would choose
this for themselves. This is being done based on physicians'
predictions and judgments about present and future quality of life,
predictions and judgments that numerous research studies prove are
scientifically unreliable, negative and inconsistent with the views
of people with disabilities ourselves. Disabled
people also know that we can't count on the courts to protect us
against a doctor or family member who feels that we would be better
off dead or they would be better off without us. Florida
statutes limit a guardian's right to starve a person, but provide an
exception if the person is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS).
PVS is strictly defined in Florida to mean NO evidence of
responsiveness. Medical journals report a 40% misdiagnosis rate for
PVS. UCLA neurology professor Michael Wienir is one of many
professionals who've publicly stated their opinion that Mrs. Schiavo
displayed at least minimal consciousness based on the videos. Judge
Greer admitted the experts were divided, but ruled that she's in PVS
anyway because her responsive actions were not "consistent" or
"reproducible." When he ignored Florida's strict definition of PVS,
he violated Terri Schiavo's constitutional right to due process.
There's
also conflicting evidence about what Mrs. Schiavo would have wanted
if she were considering her situation from the vantage point she had
prior to her disability. Basically, the husband's hearsay evidence
only came up after he won the big malpractice case, with none of the
money going to professional rehabilitation therapy like he said it
would. This is not the kind of evidence of her wishes that should be
considered to meet constitutional due process standards and that's
what the first guardian ad litem reported. Disabled people are not
comforted that the court threw out his report and accepted such
flimsy and contradicted evidence to justify starvation of a disabled
woman who has no terminal disease. But what is really horrible is
that the appellate courts upheld these unconstitutional decisions.
Until now, courts have said that conflicting evidence and doubts
should be resolved on the side of providing food and water, and
other ordinary medical care. After all, if the mistake you make is
to kill the person, you can't go back and fix it. That's what this
case is really about. It's one in a series of food and water cases
in which certain people are saying that the risk of error should be
reversed to favor death over life, so that people with significant
cognitive disabilities can be starved and dehydrated without clear
evidence that they themselves would refuse food and water. The
leading people that are saying this call themselves bioethicists,
mostly physicians and lawyers who write journal articles and speak
at conferences, opining about health care rationing and the coming
wave of aging baby boomers. But they talk to the press and the
public about autonomy and compassion. So why do they want to change
the legal standards now? Why make it easier for guardians to refuse
food and water on behalf of persons who cannot speak for themselves?
In a l983 article, reflecting on the possible outcome of this food
and water debate, Daniel Callahan, then director of the prestigious
Hastings Center, wrote that "...a denial of nutrition, may, in the
long run, become the only effective way to make certain that a large
number of biologically tenacious patients actually die." 65 He
further predicted, "Given the increasingly large pool of
superattennuated, chronically ill, physically marginal elderly, it
could well become the nontreatment of choice." [Daniel Callahan, "On
Feeding the Dying," Hastings Center Report, October 1983, p.
22.] The
Schiavo case should be seen as a wake up call for all of us. This
case is about officially and permanently dismantling the
constitutional rights of people who have guardians and giving carte
blanche to guardians to starve and dehydrate people who are seen as
not worth the effort or expense. Disability rights groups are coming
forward to argue that it's time to reestablish constitutional
protections against a health care system that's been putting profits
before people for far too long. I said that we're the canaries in
the coal mine, but there's a problem with that analogy: we don't see
people who need guardians as expendable. Maybe you disagree. But at
least agree that we deserve an honest public debate before we grant
the health care system a virtually unfettered right to
kill. +++ Please
everyone - read this thread and help if you can - any
ideas? I'll be
gone the rest of the day. +++ From pc93:
Comments: Florida
Law says PVS is NO cognitve behaviour of ANY kind. Even the Judge
acknowledges that she had a few actions that were! +++ The guest
appearance of Robert and Mary Schindler on Larry King Live has been
moved to Mr. King's
program is televised on CNN. Please check your local listings for
times. ___
From, +++ As I see
it By Frank Attkisson +++ WASH. D.C.
Fax numbers other e-mails, etc. that can be sent to via
e-mail: +++ Tuesday,
November 4, 2003 1:31 AM Please see
the ongoing daily discussion on tbihome.org, at
http://www.tbihome.org and the discussion page on Terri Schiavo, at:
http://tbihome.org/cgi-bin/terri.pl People who
post there are survivors of brain injuries and caregivers to persons
who have survived brain injuries. You can see many countless
testimonials by our members of their fights to survive, to gain
rehabilitation and tolerance and acceptance within our society,
difficulties in gaining medical treatment and overcoming obstacles
of medical "providers" who themselves do not comprehend the
complexities of acquired brain injury and recovery efforts.
You can
see many fascinating and poignant stories in the Stories, Homepages
and artwork Galleries by our supposedly "brain-damaged" members. The
word "brain-damaged" is totally the incorrect word. Unfortunately,
it is used every hour by all the uninformed media: The correct
terminology and concept is that the individual is a person *first*
-- living with a brain injury. The correct term is not "damaged" as
in damaged goods or trash). Thank you
for this wonderful and informative blog. -- Persons
from tbihome.org, also known as TBI Chat: http://www.tbihome.org -- A Place to Share ~
For All Brain Injuries ~ +++ Thank you
for posting this, we have family members who have had brain damage,
my husband's niece was in a car accident several yrs ago and was in
a coma & on full life support- Drs wanted her parents to "let
her go" they took her to Barrows Institute in Phx and she came out
of coma and was very much like Terri, she had all sorts of rehab and
came right back- she was in high school when it happened and has
since finished high school and jr college and is very much
rehabilitated, no one can tell she was ever in that condition. I
have a cousin who was in a car accident in the 1960's, she was in a
coma for a long time, then much like Terri after she came out of it,
my aunt took her home and did rehab on her herself. Very little help
from Drs, they all said she would be a vegetable.(just hate that
word for a person!) She has some memory problems and has always had
a real hard time learning new things- but if you met her and did not
know- you would think she is 100%. I have a grandson, 16 who
survived a near drowning at age 2, he was in the same shape as Terri
for 10 years, they had pretty much stopped rehab as hopeless- except
exercises for muscles (that is more than poor Terri gets) anyway Drs
had suggested to my daughter-in-law several times to let him go. 3
years ago he started making progress, he learned to interact more,
and more movements, learning to play with toys & crawl like an
infant. He is now in school for handicapped children. He is still
making slow progress and the last brain scan they did on him shows
his brain looks like a normal person- the Dr said from his recent
brain scans you would not think there was anything wrong with him!!!
Earlier scans taken after it happened showed a lot of damage. I have
alot of proof in my family that the Drs don't always know what they
are talking about!! The brain is still a big mystery to them, but
most don't want to admit it!! +++ Date: Sat,
1 Nov 2003 Beginning
tonight, supporters will resume the vigil held outside the hospice
where Terri was transferred in 2000 and light candles at dusk
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings every week. The
hospice is located at 6774 102nd Avenue North in Pinellas Park,
Fla. May God
bless you all, Lisa +++ Subj:
Update on Terri - Evening Prayer Vigils To Resume [ and other
information ] From
Friends of Terri. Evening
Prayer Vigils To Resume As you
know, Mr. Schindler profoundly believes that as a result of your
prayers, Terri is still with us today. Currently,
legal proceedings have begun for Mr. and Mrs. Schindlers' fight for
guardianship of Terri. [{interruption-OK FREEPERS---this is where
we come in....aside from the #1 importance of deep prayer....WE CAN
FLOOD the judges and Felos with what we know...we can cause them to
consider the CONSEQUENCES of their actions by letting them know WHAT
WE KNOW! NO MORE SECRECY! NO MORE TRASHING OF TERRI's RIGHTS IN THE
SECRET, seemingly SECURE LITTLE INCESTUOUS CONCLAVE OF PINELLAS
COUNTY!] In
addition, the Schindlers are fighting Attorney George Felos' attempt
to challenge the constitutionality of Terri's Law. The
American Center for Law and Justice is joining the Schindler family
and their local attorney in this regard and wish to uphold Terri's
Law. We are very encouraged by this! [NOTE!]--
-->Many calls have been received by the public asking, "What is
going on now?" and "What can we do?" Prayer is
the most powerful weapon we have in the battle for Terri's
life. Please
continue to pray, and if you are able, visit the site of the vigil
once again. Many of us
are peacefully lighting candles at dusk Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
evenings each week to pray for both Terri's healing and for her
protection. This prayer has given this fight for Terri's life the
momentum it gravely needed. We are
asking for your perpetual support. Please
tell all your friends, church members, prayer groups, sports teams,
class mates, and families that we need your help. Terri
cannot speak for herself yet and it seems that the siege is just
beginning after thirteen long years. The
location of the hospice vigils is 6774 102nd Avenue North, Pinellas
Park, Florida. Mr. and
Mrs. Schindler will be on Larry King next Thursday. We don't
believe the official release has been given on this, but stay tuned
for further updates. This is
the best information we have at this point. On behalf
of Terri and her family, thank you and God bless you. Many
blessings, -------------------------------------------------------
NOTE!----->]MEDIA ALERT-- there will be
interviews on Montel and Oprah but I don't have the dates yet.
------------------------------------------------------
[NOTE!------>]ABOUT TERRI-- Mary says
Terri has gained back all the weight she lost during that disastrous
week! Wonderful news. +++ picture
worth a thousand words It is
crucial for people to come face-to-face with Terri as she really is
-- NOT in a coma, NOT on life support. When people understand that,
they want her to go home with her mother, Michael to get on with his
life. +++ DISABILITY ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS VOICE
SUPPORT Washington, DC - The American
Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation's largest
cross-disability membership organization, whose mission is the
political and economic empowerment of all people living with
disabilities in the U.S., today expressed strong support for Terri
Schindler-Schiavo, a Florida woman with severe brain injuries who
has been at the center of an emotional human rights debate for
several weeks. We believe that decisions involving the refusal of a
medical treatment, or nutrition and hydration, when such refusal
will result in the death of the individual, which has been the case
with Ms. Schiavo, must be severely limited. We are
joined in this statement by UCP (United Cerebral Palsy) and the The
Arc of the United States. The
statement of support is as follows: AAPD is
making this statement in support of Terri Schindler-Schiavo and her
human and civil rights. We come together for everyone who will be
touched by disability in their lifetime and call on the general
public to join with us in ensuring that Terri Schindler-Schiavo and
others like her enjoy nothing less than the full advantage of all
human and civil rights. First and
foremost, we assert that the courts, the political system and the
general public must not allow public policy to develop that will
de-value any individual, no matter what the extent of that
individual's disability or incapacity. Correspondingly, the
provision of medical treatment must always be non-discriminatory and
never denied, delayed or withheld due to the existence of a
disability. Treating people differently based on health or
disability status violates their basic human and civil
rights. When an
individual is unable to give informed consent, to make her/his own
decisions to accept or refuse medical treatment, and when there is
no advance directive stating the individual's preferences, it may be
appropriate that the individual has a legal surrogate decision-maker
such as a guardian. In such instances, it is of utmost importance
that decisions made by the surrogate always be consistent with the
best interests of the individual. Decisions
involving the refusal of a medical treatment, or nutrition and
hydration, when such refusal will result in the death of the
individual, must be severely limited. We wish to state clearly the
very narrow parameters that we believe a surrogate decision-maker,
such as Mr. Schiavo in his capacity as Ms. Schiavo's legal guardian,
must honor when making decisions about Ms. Schiavo's medical
treatment that will affect her very existence. Specifically, the
authority to withdraw nutrition, hydration or medical treatment
should be confined to those situations in which an condition is
terminal, death is imminent and any continuation or provision of
treatment, nutrition and/or hydration would only serve to prolong
dying. Terri
Schindler-Schiavo is often said to be in a "persistent vegetative
state." Whether or not this is the case, no one other than Ms.
Schiavo, not even a guardian, has the right to make assumptions
about the quality of her life. Nor do they have the right to make
presumptions about the future of medical advances that might change
that condition. The need
for limits on the powers of surrogate decision makers is nowhere
clearer than on questions as fundamental as life or death, because
the consequences of abuse or misjudgment are both ultimate and
irreversible. As
advocates for all Americans with disabilities and their families, we
stand with Terri Schindler-Schiavo to protect her civil and human
rights as a living American. _ The
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the
country's largest cross-disability membership organization, promotes
the economic and political empowerment of all 56 million children
and adults with disabilities in the U.S. It was founded in 1995 to
help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities,
including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national
voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). AAPD members have access to a full range of
financial services through a federal credit union, a discounted mail
order prescription program, and a quarterly AAPD newsletter. For
additional member benefits, or to learn more about AAPD's advocacy
efforts and major program areas, visit the AAPD web site.
http://www.aapd-dc.org +++ Life,
Death, & Silence Why The
Media Elites Won't Tell The Full Story On by Wesley
J. Smith http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/329sghqk.asp +++ The
Interview That Wasn't Michael
Schiavo got the usual Larry King softballs. Here are the questions
King should have asked. by Wesley
J. Smith 10/28/2003
9:00:00 AM MICHAEL
SCHIAVO, Terri Schiavo's husband, finally went on national
television last night to tell the world his side of the story.
Appearing on "Larry King Live," he strived mightily to play the
loving husband. Until more than half way through the interview, when
King got around to tentatively asking Schiavo whether or not it is
true that he has a girlfriend. (King, who must have known the
answer, somehow failed to mention that Schiavo has already sired two
children with this woman, who he calls his fiancé.) The loving
husband answered, "I'm lucky. I have two great women to love." He
then paused to take a swipe at Terri's mom, "My girlfriend has done
more for Terri than her own mother." Asked what that might be,
Schiavo answered, "She washed her clothes." THAT
EXCHANGE should have opened the door to some very interesting
conversation. King could have asked Schiavo if he is raising
children with another woman--a matter finally brought up by a caller
near the end of the show--why he should continue to have any say
over Terri's care, given that the sanctity of the marriage vows he
took are no longer operable. King didn't, of course, which is
precisely the reason why people in the center of heated public
controversies like to go on his show. There are
a number of questions King should have asked Schiavo: (1) Why
did Schiavo tell a medical malpractice jury in 1992 that Terri would
live a normal life span? After Terri's collapse, Schiavo sued for
medical malpractice. Under civil law, the longer Terri was expected
to live, the larger the verdict would probably be. This fact of
legal life could explain why Michael presented evidence to the
malpractice jury not only that Terri would likely live a normal life
span but also that he intended to be a good and loyal husband and
care for her for the rest of his life. (2) Why
did Schiavo have a rehabilitation expert testify in front of the
malpractice jury to present a detailed plan of therapy for Terri?
Schiavo and his lawyer claimed that Terri is incapable of improving
physically, but during the 1992 trial, a rehabilitation plan and its
anticipated undertaking provided one of the underpinnings for the
jury's $1.3 million award. Of that money, Schiavo received $300,000,
lawyers' fees were paid, and about $750,000 was put in trust to pay
for Terri's rehabilitation. (3) Given
that the jury awarded $750,000 to be used in part for Terri's
therapy, why hasn't Schiavo provided any rehabilitation for her
since 1991? When asked by King about the issue of rehab, Schiavo
described some early efforts to help Terri, such as an experimental
surgery in 1990. But he never identified when this rehab took place.
Which is
an important point. The only efforts ever undertaken to improve
Terri's condition took place in 1990 and 1991. They had ceased by
the time of the malpractice trial in 1992 because her insurance
coverage had run out. Indeed, the pressing need to restart therapy
was an urgent part of the malpractice case. It could have--and
should have--paid to restart the rehabilitation that had been
abandoned due to lack of funds. Once
Terri's $750,000 was in the bank, however, Schiavo would not approve
a single cent of it to be spent on rehabilitation. Not only that,
but once the money was in the bank, Schiavo ordered a "do not
resuscitate" order placed on Terri's chart so that if she had a
cardiac event, the doctors would not attempt to save her. And within
a few months of the money being deposited, Schiavo also refused to
permit curative treatments, such as antibiotics for infections. If
Terri had died during the early or mid-1990s, as Schiavo's orders
were designed, he would have inherited somewhere around $700,000.
The issue
of Terri's money did come up several times during last night's
interview. Schiavo assured King he isn't in it for the money because
there is only about $50,000 left in Terri's estate. (4) Is it
true that Terri's money has paid for attorneys to make her dead,
instead of therapists to make her better? The answer is,
unquestionably, yes. According to court records, George Felos, the
dutiful "right to die" attorney who sat at Schiavo's side on King's
show, has been paid over $350,000 from Terri's trust fund. Another
of Schiavo's attorneys, Debra Bushnell, has received about $90,000.
These two lawyers alone have received more than half of Terri's
entire trust. According
to court records, when Schiavo began his quest to pull Terri's
feeding tube in 1998, she had more than $700,000 in the bank. This
was primarily because Schiavo generally refused to authorize
payments for any nursing home services on Terri's behalf beyond the
basics of room and board. Thus, only about $50,000 was paid on her
behalf in the five years following the jury verdict. Since 1998,
about $650,000 (not taking into account any earnings from the fund)
has gone out--not for therapy, but primarily for lawyers.
And yet on
"Larry King" Schiavo went so far as to suggest that Bob Schindler,
Terri's father, is fighting to save Terri's life because he wants
her money. (5) So how
could Terri's father make any money off the case? Schiavo's story is
that once Schindler became Terri's guardian, he would get her a
divorce, and then he would stop her food and fluids. The alleged
point of such a scheme being that as next of kin, the Schindlers
would inherit their daughter's money. This
sounds like a mighty stretch, particularly given that Bob Schindler
has spent every nickel he has--including his entire retirement
fund--desperately trying to save his daughter's life. If Bob
Schindler is a venal man, he has a funny way of showing it.
Schiavo
told King that his falling out with his father-in-law occurred in
February 1993, when Schindler demanded a share of the proceeds in
Terri's trust fund. But Schindler and his wife Mary tell a different
story. They claim that the argument was over their insistence that
the long-suspended rehabilitation recommence, since there was
finally money available to pay for it. They contend that the breach
of relationship occurred because Schiavo refused. The behavior of
both parties since seems much more consistent with this story than
with Schiavo's version of events. Too bad
Larry King didn't ask. Wesley J.
Smith is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and an attorney
and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and
Assisted Suicide. He is the author of Forced Exit: The Slippery
Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder." +++ Fr. Rob
Johansen's Daily Blog Report Having
Your Cake And Eating It Pearse confirmed the charge by the
Schindlers that once the medical malpractice money was in the bank,
Schiavo began to refuse medical treatment for Terri, writing:
And there were signs that that attitude
had changed even earlier, as Mr. Pearse reported that Michael
"admitted to the guardian ad litem that he had at least "two
romantic involvements" after Terri's collapse. " Pearse
concluded: "It is apparent to me," Pearse wrote
the court, "that he has reached a point that he has no hope of the
ward's recovery and wants to get on with his own life." Smith adds:
To say the least. At the time of Pearse's investigation, Schiavo was
already living with the woman who would become the mother of his
children. Michael has proclaimed repeatedly his
love for Terri. But men who love their wives stick by them, even
when they are sick, disabled, or debilitated. Men who love their
wives seek to have them treated if they are sick or disabled. They
don't deny treatment in spite of doctor's urgings. And if love isn't
sufficient or it is crushed under the weight of grief or despair,
then duty and honor would urge any decent man to stay the course. As
Mary Schindler once said to me, "if Michael loves her so much he
could start by keeping his vows to her." his
credibility is necessarily adversely affected by the obvious
financial benefit to him of being the ward's sole heir at law in the
event of her death while still married to him. Her death also
permits him to get on with his own life. The portrait of Michael that emerges
from the Pearse report could hardly be at greater variance from his
own representations. Upon scrutiny, his claims crumble into dust. He
wants to be trusted as a loving husband, but we see a man who threw
aside his marriage vows a long time ago. He wants us to believe that
he has her best interests at heart, but he refused her routine
treatment for illnesses having nothing to do with her primary
disability. He wants us to believe that he is trying to live up to a
promise he made to Terri, but he is revealed to have broken promises
that he made repeatedly before he got the money in his hands.
+++ Promotional freebie to help Terri -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have
made a simple flyer/poster for distribution to help Terri. Might
make a few more in various forms if people are interested. I think
these might come in handy in helping people to know the truth before
Larry King Live and also to generate more publicity before the show.
You may distribute them any way you wish, far and wide, absolutely
free. Give your paper boy a few bucks to have him/her hit every
house. Hit your church parking lot, supermarket parking lot, your
neighborhood apt buildings mailbox. Street lamp posts, etc, etc. You
know the routine. The file
is in Microsoft Word format which is pretty common. Since I am
unable to upload the flyer here, then just email me with the subject
line "Terri's flyer" at giveterriachance@yahoo.com I will
check my mail box a few times a day to get the flyer to you ASAP.
You will not get spam from me. I love my privacy too. In the
meantime, a friend of mine has made a simple sign with only Terri's
website address on it, put on the front lawn, and got great response
from neighbors. Lots of ways to be creative without major
expense. Mike +++ Action
Item Here is
something we can do. Adult
Protective Services, which is where abuse is reported, has received
numerous complaints filed by many people regarding Terri and nothing
was done. We need to call them and insist the reports be looked
into. You can
call the hotline - 1-800-962-2873 or during the day, the local
offices, 1-727-518-3255 or 1-727-588-7051. You can
either demand they investigate guardianship violations and abuse and
neglect by Michael Schiavo, guardian for his disabled wife Theresa
Schindler-Schiavo or, if you want to elaborate, mention the abuses
of the guardianship regulations listed below. These
statute violations have been on record in state court guardianship
actions in front of Judge Greer for months and months if not
years. Governor
Jeb Bush submitted an Amicus Brief in support of the case before the
Federal Court that abuse and neglect of Terri, a disabled woman, has
violated her Civil and Constitutional rights. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MICHAEL
SCHIAVO HAS VIOLATED over a dozen Florida Statutes while acting as
Terri's legal guardian. The following encompass some of the
infractions; (in no particular order) Ordered
the dehydration and starvation of Terri Schindler Schiavo Ignored
Governor Bush's Executive Order to immediately stay withholding of
nutrition and hydration from Terri and "immediately provide
nutrition and hydration to Theresa Schiavo"... Ordered
that a DNR (do not resuscitate) order be placed in her
record Adultery Fathering
a child out-of-wedlock Breach of
Fiduciary Duty Had not
taken mandatory guardianship classes until of late Has not
filed guardianship plan with court for past 3 years - last one filed
listed "nothing" under plan of action for Terri's care Moved
Terri to Hospice without court approval or knowledge and without 2
physicians diagnosing Terri as "terminal" Medical
and nursing care abuse and neglect Denied and
obstructed provisions for meeting physical, emotional, psycho/social
spiritual and rehabilitative needs Has not
had Rehabilitative Therapy since l991 Denied or
severely restricted Terri's parents, brother and sister from
visiting and having normal interaction and relationships with Terri
as well as other family and friends On two
occasions ordered caretakers not to treat Terri for potentially
fatal infections Consistently withheld medical information
and data from Terri's family which violated a specific court order
of l996 Has used
her medical fund money from malpractice suit (1 million dollars) to
pay his lawyer Neglected
to inquire about or act to seek care when a bone scan revealed
lumbar spine compression fracture , other fractures and apparent
traumatic injuries Stopped
Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski from giving Terri Holy
Communion//Viaticum when she was being dehydrated and
starved Guardian
Ad Litem report of Richard Pearse in l998 was ignored or
rejected Medicare
payment for Terri for a period of time at hospice Bill at
Hospice remains unpaid Terri's
SSDI is being used by Husband +++ Sent:
Sunday, November 02, 2003 3:25 AM Subject:
Re: Fw: [helpterri] Concern about Dr H - from another
group Dr.
Hammesfahr has paid a huge price for volunteering literally hundreds
of hours in the effort to help Terri. George
Felos, Michael's attorney, urged the Board of Medicine to dredge up
some old complaints about him (and I do mean old) and start their
administrative process. He was found not guilty on ALL of the
medical issues (the administrative law judge, indeed, found his
vasodilator treatment to be effective in the treatment of stroke,
e.g.), but found him guilty on one count of a fee dispute with a
patient. The
patient had paid the non-refundable fee for a five-day course of
treatment, attended four days, did not attend the fifth day, and
demanded ALL of her money back, even though she had received the
benefit of 80% of the treatment regimen, in terms of time. (I don't
know why she didn't go back for the fifth day's treatment.) Dr.
Hammesfahr, unwisely, refused. The Board said he should have
refunded the pro-rated fee for one day's treatment. This amounted to
$500. For this
infraction, the Board lowered the boom. Florida is especially
unfriendly to innovative medicine, and there is no question that his
vasodilation therapy is innovative. (Although I have learned in the
course of the Schiavo case that no less a presence than the
Cleveland Clinic uses vasodilators in the treatment of migraines, as
opposed to vasoconstrictors, and has done so for years.) Dr.
Hammesfahr was ordered to pay about $55,000 in the Board's
attorney's fees, community service, as well as to cease practicing
medicine until he meets with the Probation Committee of the Board.
The Probation Committee, so far, has found it inconvenient to meet
with him, thus effectively suspending his license
indefinitely. The
mention of the Nobel nomination in the e-mail is telling, as to
Felos' involvement in this little vendetta. This is one of Felos'
favorite arguments, and he tried, without skill or luck, to make his
point last October during the evidentiary hearing. Congressman
Bilirakis, who represents the north Clearwater area in the US House,
nominated Dr. Hammesfahr for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and
Physiology in 1998, I believe. The letter of nomination is readily
available. The Karolinska Institut, which awards the Nobel prizes,
never confirms nominees, only the winners. On this basis - and in
spite of the Bilirakis nominating letter - Felos disputes that
Hammesfahr was a nominee. In any
event, Judge Greer was ruling against the Schindlers long before Dr.
Hammesfahr offered his expertise in the spring of 2001 in the effort
to save Terri. In fact, he came forward as a result of the publicity
surrounding her first near-death experience in April of that year,
at the urging of his own staff. I don't
know where this e-mail was posted, but you have my permission to
post this e-mail to you on that message board and to otherwise
disseminate this information. Dr. Hammesfahr is a compassionate and
skilled physician, who has been wickedly attacked for simply coming
forward to help. He is a graduate of the medical school at
Northwestern University in Chicago and did his internship and
residencies at the Medical College of Virginia. A slacker he is
not. Having
seen his vasodilation therapy work on my own elderly father, I am of
the belief that he WILL win the Nobel one day....probably when he's
75 years old! Pat
Anderson Schindler
family attorney +++ Try
reading the decisions of the Second District Court of Appeal- all
four of them. One of the
major misconceptions about the appeals-court system in this country
is that it serves as a backup fact-finder. It does not. If a trial
court declares something to be true, even if that finding is
contradicted by 99.44% of the available evidence, an appeals court
will almost never go against that finding of fact. If there is
evidence that was not properly considered, an appeals court may
direct a trial court to consider the appropriate evidence, but if
the trial court judge claims to have done so, the appeals court will
not challenge his judgement. In the cases related to Terri Schindler
Schiavo, there are at least two findings of fact which the trial
court made which defy common sense. Unfortunately, trial court
findings of fact which are 'procedurally correct' cannot be
challenged on the basis of being just plain wrong. Since Judge
George Greer has been the only finder of fact in these cases, his
blindness (literal and figurative) renders the appeals court system
useless. First dubious finding of fact: that
Michael Schiavo's contradictory hearsay testimony constitutes "clear
and compelling" evidence that Terri wishes to be starved to death in
her current situation. The "clear and compelling" standard is the
same standard applied in criminal cases when juries are instructed
to find a defendant guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt". Judge Greer
may not see any room for doubt, but it seems pretty clear to me that
there's lots of room for doubt: An
appellate court may not be allowed to question Greer's judgement,
but it sure looks to me as though he's willfully ignoring lots sound
reasons for doubt. As outrageous as his findings of fact there are,
however, he's made another that's even more outrageous: he has
declared that there exists no potential conflict between Michael's
interests and Terri’s. This after Michael's lawyer asked Greer to
dismiss a guardian ad litem who sought to point out that such
conflicts clearly existed. Here again, the appeals court merely
notes that since Judge Greer didn't find there to be a potential
conflict of interest, he must have had a good reason for so finding.
Never mind that: One might
reasonably argue whether such facts demonstrate sufficient
conflict-of-interest to absolutely disqualify Michael Schiavo as a
guardian. On the other hand, to suggest that there isn't even a
potential conflict of interest sufficient to justify appointing a
guardian ad litem is absurd. Note that the court wouldn't have to
find any wrongdoing to require a guardian ad litem in a case like
this; the potential alone is sufficient to mandate that a guardian
ad litem be appointed to ensure that Michael is acting reasonably as
guardian. Of course, the fact that such a guardian ad litem would
find Michael's actions very unreasonable is probably the reason
Terri has gone for years without one. Yes, Terri's case has gone through lots
of appeals. But since the appeals courts are effectively forbidden
from examining the key facts of the case and are instead bound by
Judge Greer's findings, it really doesn't matter. Fundamentally in
this case Judge Greer has made findings of "fact" which go against
the clear letter and spirit of existing statutes, and so the
legislature and governor have acted to try to have the law carried
out in the manner they intended and directed in the first place. 11/03/2003 6:25 PM PST by supercat (Why is
it that the more "gun safety" laws are passed, the less safe my guns
seem?) +++ I point
out as well that the ONLY people who say Terri Schiavo allegedly
made these now death hinging statements are: +++ Anent Jay
Wolfson from Laci Peterson Murder Board: Junior
Detective Posts:
10 (10/30/03
12:26 am) Reply The real kicker! OMG!!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've been
doing my homework all afternoon and evening on the internet...and
guess what I've found??? (this may or may not be news to you guys,
so bear with me if not) I did some
digging into this Wolfson character to see if there was anything on
him or previous research dealing with hospice care...and the stuff
is all over the web! He is INTIMATELY linked with the hospice that
Terri is in as I type!!! He works
for the University of Southern Florida (USF) which has a direct
connection to the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast! Not only are they
both on all of the same organizational lists, but the University of
South Florida website AND the Hospice's website actually give
information on 'continuing professional education' to be held
November 6th by the University of South Florida's Center for
Hospice, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Studies - guess where it is
being held????????? You got it! The Hospice of the Florida
Suncoast! ================================== Here's the
link from the hospice's website: (notice the website link at the end
of this...and then look at Wolfson's e-mail addy that I gave you
guys earlier. "THE
CENTER FOR HOSPICE, PALLIATIVE CARE & END-OF-LIFE STUDIES at The
University of South Florida will be presenting "Charting the Course
in End-of-Life Care: From Research to Policy and Practice" on
November 6, 2003 at the Tampa Airport Marriott Hotel, Tampa Florida.
The conference will be jointly sponsored by The Hospice of the
Florida Suncoast, Inc., The University of South Florida, LifePath
Hospice and Palliative Care, and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center &
Research Institute. The overall purpose of the planned conference is
to bring together clinicians, researchers, and policy makers from
around the country to collaborate and discuss a research agenda for
end-of-life studies that builds on existing state-of-the-art
advances that is responsive to the needs of care providers and
national and regional policy makers. For additional information on
this conference or to register online, please visit the website at
www.cme.hsc.usf.edu/eol” ================================== Check this
link out! http://hsc.usf.edu/publicaffairs/hot/endoflife.html Here's the
headline and the last paragraph - make sure to go read the rest of
it, but be ready to scream! Headline: "New USF
center partners with region's hospices to improve end-of-life care
for patients and families" Last
paragraph: "The
symposium was sponsored by the USF College of Medicine, LifePath
Hospice and Palliative Care, and The Hospice of the Florida
Suncoast." ================================= http://www.fcoa.org/orgnlinks/orgnlinks.html LINKS HERE
FOR USF (=WOLFSON!) and for the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast!
Both are Organizational Members of the 'Florida Council on
Aging' ================================= Also, this
link: http://hsc.usf.edu/publichealth/eoh/jwolfson/research.html That is on
the USF website - the faculty pages of jay Wolfson - then I clicked
on "Research" to see what he was working on...this was the first
thing that came up - it's an active research project that he
received a grant for!: "SUNCOAST
Developmental Center for Patient Safety Evaluation and Research
Jay
Wolfson, DrPH, JD, Director jwolfson@hsc.usf.edu" ================================= AND check
this out! I found
this .pdf file which lists contributors (major ones, I might add) to
the Univ of SF...guess who is on the list! Not only Dr Jay
Wolfson...but also The Hospice of the Florida
Suncoast!!!! http://www.giving.usf.edu/5-people/HonorRoll_Report.pdf ========================================== This is
RIDICULOUS!!!!! I'm stumped as to our options now. Obviously writing
to this man is going to accomplish ZILCH! I've been so upset over
this tonight, I just want to fly down to Florida and do some major
damage control!!!!!! *vents majorly* ================================================ And just
to add insult to injury, I also found these pages pertaining to
wrong-doings and lawsuits re: the hospice... http://www.hospicepatients.org/Hosp-FL-Suncoast-Cmplnt.html http://www.hospicepatients.org/is-the-hospice-A-faithful-Steward-of-Donations.html +++ [Note:
above link is broken into two lines.] ================================================ NOTE: Some
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you for your understanding and continued outstanding
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FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with
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unsubscribe justice +++ Tuesday,
October 28, 2003 2:57 PM Issues
Surrounding Terri Schindler-Schiavo Are Disability Rights Issues,
Say National Disability Organizations +++ Interesting Timeline Many
people, groups, and the media have harshly criticized Jeb Bush and
the Florida legislature for passing "Terri's Bill", claiming among
other things that it is unconstitutional to pass a law that applies
only to one person. Consider
this timeline: May 1997 -
Deborah Bushnell send a letter to Judge Shames (he was before Judge
Greer) saying that the Schindlers should be involved in Terri's care
during her final days (since Michael intends to move Terri to
hospice and remove her feeding tube). Aug. 1997
- Felos sends a letter to the Schindler's notifying them of pending
action to remove Terri's feeding tube. May 1998 -
George Felos is hired and files a petition in Court to remove
Terri's feeding tube. April 6,
1999 - House Bill 2131 was introduced in the legislature by the
Florida Elder Affairs & Long-Term Care Committee to amend
Section 765 (Civil Rights) of the Florida Statutes. two weeks later,
the legislature Committee on Judiciary recommended that House Bill
2131 should also change the Section 765.101 legal definition of life
prolonging procedures to add: "INCLUDING ARTIFICIALLY PROVIDED
SUSTENANCE AND HYDRATION, WHICH SUSTAINS, RESTORES, OR SUPPLANTS A
SPONTANEOUS VITAL FUNCTION". Oct 1,
1999 - Senate Bill 2228 (formerly HB2131) becomes law changing
Section 765.101 of the Florida Statutes to include the above.
Jan 24,
2000 - Trial begins to decided whether to remove Terri's feeding
tube. Feb 11,
2000 - Judge Greer orders that Terri's feeding tube can be removed.
If you
followed the timeline, Felos filed a petition to remove Terri's
feeding tube BEFORE the law was changed, and the trial began AFTER
the law was changed (and Greer approved removal of the tube).
Why is
that? Did the Florida legislature knowingly or unknowingly pass a
law that would apply specifically to Terri? I don't think there were
any other hotly contested "right to die" cases at that time. (The
cases of Cruzan, Bludworth, and Browning were decided years before).
I wonder who paid-off or influenced who to get the law changed?
And here's
some very interesting reading that might help answer that question
(link below). Scroll down about half-way to "They make it all
possible". They make
it all possible: Congressman Bilirakis congressman for many
years. Now his son Gus Michael Bilirakis serves on the Suncoast
Hospice Board of Directors. There are
actually three boards because there are profits and non-profits.
The
salaries at the top are sky high." Barbara
Sheehan Todd also serves on the Hospice Board. She was a County
Commissioner the same time (1980-98) Judge Greer was a Pinellas
county commissioner from 1984-92. Judge
Greer was a zoning lawyer. Atty
George Felos sat on the Hospice Board Felos has been paid
approximately $550,000.00 Judge Greer used to be on Hospice's Board
too (ED: Chairman of the Board) Martha
Lenderman - outgoing chairman of hospice, chair for 2 years, is
sister of Judge John Lenderman (Family Law Division with Judge
Greer) Richard M
Jerger, Jr (was a president of Pinellas Independent Agents, Inc in
1990-1991) is a holder in the PHILADELPHIA CONSOLIDATED HOLDING CORP
which bought out Jerger and Sons. insured mobile homes Raymond
Blacklidge is a registered lobbyist in the Florida Legislature who
works for the Jerger Company. Blacklidge is a Business Partner to
Richard Jerger, who is an Insurance Executive selling mobile home
insurance in the state of Florida. Jerger somehow became the
Business Partner to Michael Schiavo. Jodi
Centonze is Michael Schiavo's domestic partner and now mother of his
2 children. Barry G.
Wilkinson registered agent for Jerger Ins. Judge
Greer and Robert Wharrie (hospice) are on the same discussion
PANEL!! Almost at the bottom of the page http://www.clwbar.org/resipsa/december-january02/article462.html. The
Mcconihay Greer Connection Together on the board of "Suncoast
Christian Camps Inc"... with GREER as registered agent.. The
Damonte -Mcconihey connection The
Damonte - Mcconihay corp is called "Approved Management
Corporation"... Jonathan
Damonte -lawyer for the Mobile home association, is connected to
Greer through a business partner, Stephen McConihey 2nd Felon
Gets 2nd Chance at Hospice Link:St
Petersburg Times Online Based on
his testimony promising rehabilitation services for Terri, in part,
the malpractice jury awarded Mr. Schiavo $1,200,000.00, of which
approximately $700,000.00 was placed in a trust fund for Terri's
support and maintenance. Terri has
not been certified as "Terminally ill" as required by federal
regulations for the use of federal funds for hospice care, yet has
resided at Hospice Woodside since March or April, 2000. I am way
past the blur stage. Who knew we would uncover so many complexities
and turf wars between Hospice and former employees? This is a major
legal-medical situation with political overtones without taking into
account religious
implications. |
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