DAY FOURTEEN Without Food or Water for Terri Schiavo

120 Comments

1. 

   Rock on March 13, 2005 at 4:27 pm

   Hi,
   i’m supposed to write an analysis of metabolism of molecules if the feeding tube is removed.
   any ideas?

2. 

   jerome on March 13, 2005 at 8:53 pm

   rock
   looks as if you didn’t check out the next posted article, which gives the following link:
   http://www.operationrescue.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album21

3. 

   Linda Clarke on March 14, 2005 at 11:21 am

   I am praying for Terri however I cannot believe this is even happening! In my opinion this is only the beginning of the End..
   God help us all ~~

4. 

   anne on March 14, 2005 at 12:31 pm

   Please send website for purchasing and sending roses to the above people in Terri’s behalf. Thank you.

5. 

   Nicole on March 14, 2005 at 2:10 pm

   As a Florida resident, I have been faxing and emailing my state legislators and the governor. The outcry has been enormous so our pleas are definitely being heard. We’ve also faxed and emailed our Senators and local Congressman to the Federal Legislature. We are blessed to have Senator Martinez and Congressman Weldon, who have stepped up to the plate to offer bills of protection for the future of our disabled citizens.
   I think I’m going to go to 1800flowers.com and send some roses now.

6. 

   lovelife on March 14, 2005 at 2:23 pm

   I will pray for Terri. My grandfather was in a coma for about four months when they decided to take him off of the machines. They pumped so much morphine into his body for the pain that I believe the actual cause of death was overdose. God be with us all!

7. 

   Barbara on March 14, 2005 at 2:46 pm

   I would challenge anyone who lives down there to fast with Terri when her life support is pulled. The powers that be have to listen to us. Let the media know what you are doing. I wish I could but I have 4 children one who is under a year old. We are praying for everyone involved in this tragedy.

8. 

   Bonni Pando on March 14, 2005 at 4:50 pm

   Please do not murder Terri!! My husband had a debilitating stroke and could not talk, walk, feed himself. After intensive therapy and multitude of prayers, he became fully rehabilitated. Give Terri the chance to rehabilitate and tell us what she wants. Jesus also had an unfair trial. Please save Terri!!!
   Bonni Pando

9. 

   jerry on March 14, 2005 at 9:04 pm

   hanna
   better to be lacking a ‘cerebral cortex’ than a soul and a heart, as in your case.

10. 

    sarah on March 15, 2005 at 11:52 am

    Looks like hanna is one of those hit and run posters…no courage, no guts, probably goes along with no heart and soul, though.

11. 

    Page Turner on March 15, 2005 at 1:29 pm

    Here’s a breath of fresh air (compared with Hanna’s heartless, gutless, mindless mantras; smells like she’s been eating prodeath excrement again…) from davidlimbaugh.com
    MDs and attitudes
    I’m getting a lot of e-mail on my column about Terri Schiavo, the overwhelming majority of it quite positive. But I’m getting some negative, of two general types: 1) people who assume that Terri wants to die and that those of us advocating protecting her are substituting our will for Terri’s; 2) from a few doctors who think Terri’s life should be ended.
    As for the first category, I would repeat that none of us know whether she wants to die, and hearsay testimony of her adulterous husband to that effect is woefully insufficient. I guarantee you she didn’t specify that she wanted to die in precisely the circumstances she’s currently experiencing. But how do these people know what she wants? Have they witnessed her facial expressions, her joy, her sorrow, her desire to live? Do they love her like her parents do? Do they really believe — like many of them imply — that Terri’s parents would force her to continue to live if they believed that she was a) suffering and/or b) didn’t want to live? How arrogant is that? Why do these people have such a callous attitude about life? Why do they rush to the conclusion that someone like Terri has lost the nearly irrepressible human desire to live?
    Concerning the second category, I wonder if doctors become a little desensitized about life. Several medically trained correspondents told me that there is no suffering or pain associated with starving to death under these circumstances. I’m not sure how they know, but you can be sure that they are sure. A little humility would be in order in my opinion.
    Posted by David Limbaugh at March 15, 2005 01:20 PM
    Recovered “Vegetative State’ Patient Kate Adamson Supports Terri
    Here’s an intriguing story at LifeSite reporting that Kate Adamson shared the account of her own sufferings and recovery at a rally for Terry Schiavo. From the article:
    Struck down in 1995 at the age of thirty-three by a rare double brainstem stroke, Kate, then a mother of two young girls, was completely paralyzed; she was unable even to blink her eyes. Like Terri Schiavo, the medical staff treating her questioned the merit of continuing granting Kate the most basic human right of food and water.
    More from the story:
    Kate Adamson’s feeding tube was at one point removed for a full eight days before being reinserted due to the intervention of her husband (also a competent lawyer).
    Frequently described by medical authorities as a humane way to die, Kate – now as vibrant and beautiful as before her stroke – testified before the crowd of Terri’s family and supporters that this form of legalized execution was “one of the most painful experiences you can imagine.” Unable to respond or to indicate awareness, Kate Adamson asserts, “I was just like Terri…but I was alive! I could hear every word. They were saying ‘shall we just not treat her?’…I suffered excruciating misery in silence.”
    How chilling is this?
    I love this final paragraph:
    During her early-afternoon speech Kate declared that “If they want to kill Terri they should have the guts to put a gun to her head” rather than condemn her to such a slow and painful death. She finished off by summing up the full import of the Schiavo case, saying, “The measure of a society is how they treat the least of us. Life is sacred or meaningless, there is nothing in between.”
    I’ve had some interesting e-mails in response to my column, mostly in complete agreement, but a few quite upset with the position I’ve taken. Some of these people just want Terri to get out of the way so that her hospital bed can be used by more “needy” people. What most disturbs me about the “unsympathetic” is that they think they are being sympathetic and compassionate. They believe — irreversibly — that Terri is suffering and does not want to live. Or, I suppose some of them believe she ought not be allowed to make the decision to keep living if to do so will inconvenience others. I can’t get over the devaluation of life that has occurred in this nation over the last 30 years.
    Posted by David Limbaugh at March 15, 2005 11:45 AM

12. 

    Page T. on March 15, 2005 at 1:37 pm

    And another…
    Prayers For Terri
    March 15, 2005
    Absent a further court order, Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube will be removed on Friday, and she will starve — painfully, many say — to death. Doesn’t it strike you as eerie that the court relied on the testimony of an “estranged” husband in making its decision?
    Doesn’t it strike you as horrifying that Terri may very well want to live but they are going to cause her to die, not by removing a respirator, but a feeding tube?
    Do you really believe that Terri’s husband, Michael, who is living with another woman with whom he sired two children, is refusing to relinquish guardianship of Terri to her parents because he is irreversibly committed to carrying out Terri’s wishes?
    Do you believe that disabled, but conscious and self-breathing people who can’t physically feed themselves or verbally express their desire to live, but who have left no written legal directions as to their destiny in such circumstances, should be starved to death?
    How likely is it that Terri, now only 41 years old, would have discussed her wishes as to life support with her husband in 1990, when she would have only been in her mid-twenties and with no inkling of life-threatening or disabling medical conditions?
    Without question, even young people discuss these unpleasant matters when they go through the process of estate planning. But Terri didn’t even have a will, much less a “living will” or health care power of attorney. If Terri had been so strong willed and adamant on the subject, why didn’t she make sure to get her papers in order?
    Even if Terri did tell her husband she wouldn’t want to be kept alive “artificially” in the event of her incapacitation, is it likely she would have been so explicit as to cover all possible scenarios (like she might have in a lawyer’s office), such as those in this case? If you actually believe she did express her wishes to Michael, do you think she was so thorough and unambiguous as to make clear her irrevocable desire to die even if it meant starving to death when she could breathe on her own?
    What is the urgency, other than financial, to end Terri’s life, especially when her parents have expressed a desire that she be kept alive and have agreed to care for and assume guardianship over her? Do you really believe that Terri’s parents would insist on keeping her alive if they believed she were miserable and didn’t want to go on living?
    Were you aware that some believe that suspicious circumstances surround Terri’s injuries and that discrepancies exist concerning her medical condition, such as whether she suffered a heart attack?
    Did you know that not long ago the Florida Department of Children and Families sought the court’s permission to intervene in Terri’s case for the purpose of requesting a delay to give it time to investigate abuse allegations?
    From what I’ve read, while Terri is severely disabled, she’s not in a so-called vegetative state, she’s not in a coma, and she’s not medically terminal — except by court decree of starvation. What if, as Terri’s parents believe, Terri truly does want to go on living but just can’t verbally express it? Would it be ethical in that event to starve her just because she can’t feed herself?
    If not, then on what basis has the system decided to terminate her life? Surely we can agree that it’s entirely possible that Terri does want to live even in her current condition and even if she expressed a general desire 15 years ago that she would not want “heroic measures” performed to save her in certain circumstances.
    Given Terri’s reported responsiveness, her ability to breathe on her own, and the doubt and suspicious circumstances surrounding this case, shouldn’t the question be resolved in favor of life, especially given what we’ve seen recently, for example, with the comatose patient regaining consciousness after 19 years?
    I find it haunting that we live in a culture of death where the presumption seems to be against finding that a human being would want to go on living and the burden of proof is on those promoting life.
    Terri Schiavo and her parents need and deserve our prayers.
    All pages copyright David Limbaugh 1994-2005

13. 

    J Pidgeon on March 16, 2005 at 12:36 pm

    I bet if all the protesters down there launched a hunger strike right in front of the hospice, that you’d all end up with involuntary I-
    Vs stuck in your arms to feed you.
    It just doesn’t make sense. What are we supposed to do, have ourselves tattooed with instructions not to remove feeding tubes if we cannot speak for ourselves?

14. 

    Judi W. on March 16, 2005 at 5:20 pm

    To Hanna Greene:
    If you will read the information at http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/johansen200503160848.asp, you will see that WITHOUT an MRI and PET tests, there is NO WAY that a diagnosis of PVS can be made. Michael Schiavo and Felos shopped around until they found a medical “expert” (Dr. Cranford) who would give them the diagnosis they wanted. (And I know all about lawyers shopping around for medical experts).
    Insofar as your comment: “Stay out of the personal intimate family decisions of others unless you are willing to accept the intrusion of other individuals and legislative bodies if/when your family is making choices for themselves,” don’t you realize that this case will set a legal precedent and no one in this country is safe from being condemned to a death like this? My elderly mother, my brain-injured but functioning quite well brother-in-law . . . maybe you or your child in the future. That’s a future I cannot believe we’re even having a discussion about. This is NOT the American way . . . or even the human way.

15. 

    mcnutt on March 17, 2005 at 6:21 pm

    Check out wnd.com for some great breaking news updates on Terri v. Hitler…
    I bind unto myself today
    The strong Name of the Trinity,
    By invocation of the same
    The Three in One and One in Three.
    I bind this today to me forever
    By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
    His baptism in Jordan river,
    His death on Cross for my salvation;
    His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
    His riding up the heavenly way,
    His coming at the day of doom
    I bind unto myself today.
    I bind unto myself the power
    Of the great love of cherubim;
    The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
    The service of the seraphim,
    Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
    The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
    All good deeds done unto the Lord
    And purity of virgin souls.
    I bind unto myself today
    The virtues of the star lit heaven,
    The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
    The whiteness of the moon at even,
    The flashing of the lightning free,
    The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
    The stable earth, the deep salt sea
    Around the old eternal rocks.
    I bind unto myself today
    The power of God to hold and lead,
    His eye to watch, His might to stay,
    His ear to hearken to my need.
    The wisdom of my God to teach,
    His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
    The word of God to give me speech,
    His heavenly host to be my guard.
    Against the demon snares of sin,
    The vice that gives temptation force,
    The natural lusts that war within,
    The hostile men that mar my course;
    Or few or many, far or nigh,
    In every place and in all hours,
    Against their fierce hostility
    I bind to me these holy powers.
    Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
    Against false words of heresy,
    Against the knowledge that defiles,
    Against the heart’s idolatry,
    Against the wizard’s evil craft,
    Against the death wound and the burning,
    The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
    Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
    Christ be with me, Christ within me,
    Christ behind me, Christ before me,
    Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
    Christ to comfort and restore me.
    Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
    Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
    Christ in hearts of all that love me,
    Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
    I bind unto myself the Name,
    The strong Name of the Trinity,
    By invocation of the same,
    The Three in One and One in Three.
    By Whom all nature hath creation,
    Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
    Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
    Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
    – St. Patrick’s Breastplate, set to verse by C.F. Alexander.
    Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and keep up the Great Work, ORW & friends. Doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make it to Pinellas to join you, but you are all definitely in our prayers; looking forward to a good report…for life.
    slainte!

16. 

    susan on March 17, 2005 at 6:51 pm

    Hanna,
    Her family is begging for involvment from anyone who can help them.
    You’re typical of most of the anti life that post on here – the basis of your arguments are so blinded by something that has happened in your life that has caused you to live in this state of denial that is so obvious by your strange arguments. You spend your time attacking caring, concerned people.
    What’s with the comment “poor little Terri” – that’s just bizarre to say about someone you don’t even know. Very strange.

17. 

    Kirstin on March 17, 2005 at 9:03 pm

    I am an atheist, and yes, I don’t believe in God. I live in Florida and helped protest yesterday to help Terri Schivao. What I found shocking is that every single march or protest in the area was related to some church or ministry cause. It seems that everyone is only trying to help her becuase of 1000 year old book says it is ommoral to kill her.
    I am pro-life, and I know other atheists like me, who are pro-life. Abortion is wrong and it needs to be stopped. But almost all well known, or significant pro-life groups are from a church, or have Christian roots. It is hard to find people that are motivated to fight abortion and help people like Terri that don’t have a bible in their right hand.
    http://www.godlessprolifers.org/
    Please help Terri Schiavo.

18. 

    jerry on March 17, 2005 at 10:43 pm

    kirstin
    while we appreciate the additional support of prolifers who don’t know the Author of Life, you must recognize that you are a small minority, and will remain so. in addition, i wonder if you can tell us why you have determined that killing is wrong if your Creator did not instill a moral code in your heart and mind when He created you….
    i suggest you read ‘mere Christianity’ by cs lewis, a former atheist, who later became a strong apologist for the Christian faith. he did his homework, and wrote this book to detail how the Bible and Christianity can be relied upon. he once thought exactly as you do, but found that the facts, when he finally decided to take a good look at them, devastated his atheistic views.
    this little book will present you with some amazing, irrefutable facts that you are obviously reluctant to accept for some reason.
    —
    as far as lover of death hanna greene goes –
    your posts contribute nothing to the discussion, because they are riddled with lies and deception. your obsession with seeing terri dead is almost as perverted as that of michael schiavo and prodeath lawyer pelos, and is beyond anything rational or even intelligent. statements implying that the ‘sanctity of the family’ is being violated by the schindlers would make george orwell proud. because that is a gross perversion of the english langauge. you call michael schiavo “family”? he’s abandoned terri in all but name. her real family is her parents, and they love her, unlike michael ‘when is that
    b-tch gonna die’ schiavo. you obviously have not seen the videos her family took of her, which clearly show that she is NOT in a pvs. you believe what you want to, because you love death.
    if only you had half as much love for truth…
    hanna, when and if you have something honest to impart, and when and if you actually express a humane point of view on this or any subject, then perhaps your posts will be welcome. but for now, your desire to see terri dead is nothing short of sick.

19. 

    jt mcnutt on March 18, 2005 at 11:28 am

    to Hanna G.
    You are truly amazing! “Doesn’t the sanctity of the family mean anything anymore?”…Gosh, Hanna, why not go ask Terri’s perfidious, abusive, tyrannical infidel of a “husband” about the sanctity of the family, if you honestly care about such matters.
    Michael Schiavo is the one violating all that really is legitimately sacred and familial, but without the constructive intent/motivation of those you bash for “interfering”. Murderers always want “privacy” and “liberty”, that’s why they seek to discredit/destroy all testimony against their deeds, like you & M. Schiavo and his other legal/medical thugs are determined to do.
    It seems to have escaped your notice, but family ties are best forged, maintained, and preserved by LIVING human beings; so a discussion about the sanctity of the family is meaningless without first respecting the sanctity of LIFE.
    That is why cold-blooded murder is not, has never been, and will never be the “primitive right” of families that you so cruelly and mendaciously claim it to be. For further insight on that matter, please see Genesis 4:1-16.
    Speaking of rights, though, you may be further interested to learn that there is no such organization as the “religious right”. That term was coined by pro-death socialists for no other reason than to denigrate, dehumanize and belittle Christians who favor a constitutional republic over an American (or World) socialist state (think Third Reich on a world-wide scale)and who don’t think mutilated babies are the greatest advance for humanity since sliced bread. It’s hate speech, plain and simple, with no end but to destroy a comparatively innocent segment of society…just like all your pseudo-intellectual rants screaming like a vulture for Terri Schiavo’s blood. And while you may presume to take the liberty of indulging in it, it is not a legitimate right.
    As twisted, unjust & sick as M. Schiavo, G. Pelos & Greer, et al, are in their efforts to torture an innocent woman to death, i do differ with Jerry in that your complicity in this is, if anything, more so; you are like someone crashing a family brawl just to stomp on the one losing. It’s that sort of gratuitous, blind, senseless cruelty that’s defies, rather than expresses, any thing remotely human or reasonable.
    I think it’s been mentioned here before, but there is an appropriate venue for dumping loads of the toxic waste you post here. It’s called a toilet. If you’re not familiar with this phenomenon, go visit your nearest gas station and ask the attendant or clerk there to show you what & where it is & how to work it. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to introduce you, for free, to a device and experience that countless millions of people have found a positive asset (no pun intended) in promoting a better quality of life. In any case, please use it, rather than people who are trying to save innocent human life and, ironically, the real sanctity of real families, as a dumping place for your excrement.
    Cheers!
    All the best, if you’ll have it…

20. 

    page turner on March 18, 2005 at 11:42 am

    BREAKING NEWS
    LIFE AND DEATH TUG OF WAR
    House panel to probe Terri Schiavo case
    Subpoenas order doctors not to remove feeding tube in meantime
    —
    Posted: March 18, 2005
    9:44 a.m. Eastern
    © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
    A House committee on Capitol Hill has decided to launch an investigation into the Terri Schiavo case, attempting an eleventh-hour end-run around the court-ordered removal of her life-sustaining feeding tube scheduled for 1 p.m. EST today.
    The House Government Reform Committee has issued subpoenas which order doctors and administrators at the hospice facility where the severely brain-damaged woman resides not to remove her feeding tube and keep her alive until the investigation is complete.
    Terri Schiavo responding to her mother in video clip available on terrisfight.org
    Fox News reports the subpoenas were issued to Terri Schiavo, her husband, Michael, two of her attending physicians, and the hospice administrator.
    The subpoenas direct the recipients to appear at the hospice facility — Hospice of the Florida Suncoast in Pinellas Park, Fla. — to give testimony to the House committee on March 25 at 10 a.m. EST.
    “No things including those things reflecting data, information, or records called for by this request shall be destroyed, modified, transferred, disconnected, discontinued, or otherwise made inaccessible to the Committee,” the subpoenas read, according to Fox, which means the feeding tube must stay in place for another week.
    Ignoring the subpoenas would amount to being in contempt of Congress and would incur penalties of fines and or imprisonment.
    “This inquiry should give hope to Terri, her parents and friends and the millions of people throughout the world who are praying for her safety,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Government Reform chairman Tom Davis said in a joint statement. “This fight is not over.”
    News of the Congress members’ intervention was well received by protesters gathered outside the hospice in support of Terri and her family.
    “Bob and Mary Schindler have been praying for a miracle to save their daughter. We believe right now the miracle may come from the middle district, the federal court here in Tampa. The miracle may be these actions taken by the United States Congress,” said David Gibbs, the attorney representing Terri’s parents, who also asked a federal judge in Tampa to block the removal and review the actions of state courts. “We believe Terri’s is a life worth living.”
    The move by the House panel comes as lawmakers in both Washington and Tallahassee failed in attempts to pass legislation to block Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband, from having the tube pulled over the objections of her parents.
    WorldNetDaily reported yesterday, Florida’s state House passed a bill 78-37 that would block withholding of food and water from patients in a persistent vegetative state who didn’t leave a written directive.
    Terri Schiavo has no written directive.
    A similar measure in the Senate was rejected, however, 21-16.
    Also yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would delay removal of Schiavo’s feeding tube by moving such a case to federal court. Senate Democrats blocked the legislation, but Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he would try to pass a separate bill. Lawmakers have postponed their Easter break in order to work on the legislation.
    “If you’re going to put somebody to death, or have them starved to death, I would think that you would want a complete neurological exam in reaching that conclusion,” Frist said on the Senate floor. “In fact — this is what I’m told — that she hasn’t had an MRI or CAT scan which suggests she has not had a full neurological exam.”
    Michael Schiavo won a court order in 2000 to have his wife’s feeding tube removed, claiming she was in a “persistent vegetative state” and had declared orally she wouldn’t want to live in such a condition.
    The Schindlers, however, insist their daughter, while severely handicapped, is responsive and demonstrates a strong will to live. Their opinion is buttressed by nearly a dozen sworn affidavits signed by physicians disputing Terri remains in PVS.
    Terri Schiavo is not hooked up to any machines, but she requires the small feeding tube for nourishment and hydration.
    Terri Schiavo before suffering severe brain damage in 1990.
    The 42-year-old collapsed under disputed circumstances Feb. 25, 1990, suffering severe brain damage when her heart stopped momentarily. Michael Schiavo attributes the collapse to an eating disorder, but the Schindlers strongly suspect he tried to strangle her.
    The Schindlers have pleaded with Michael Schiavo to divorce their daughter, pointing out he has been living with another woman for 10 years, with whom he has two children.
    WND reported a Florida judge rejected a request made earlier this month by the state’s social services agency to investigate alleged abuse by Terri’s estranged husband, who serves as her guardian.
    The Department of Children and Families filed a petition containing 30 new allegations of “abuse, neglect or exploitation” the agency said came through its anonymous abuse hot line. The accusations include failure to investigate experimental medical procedures, denial of legal counsel, lack of communication and visitation and lack of therapy.
    Michael Schiavo’s attorney, right-to-die advocate George Felos, said the DCF’s attemp to intervene “reeks of political arm-twisting.”
    The Schindlers have long sought the removal of Michael Schiavo as Terri’s guardian. Among the family’s complaints are that Michael Schiavo:
    Has not allowed therapy or rehabilitation since 1992, despite medical records indicating Terri is responsive.
    Has prevented swallowing tests or swallowing therapy since 1993, despite medical testimony Terri can be taught to eat.
    Ordered caretakers not to clean Terri’s teeth since 1995, resulting in removal of five teeth in April 2004.
    Placed Terri in hospice in 2000, despite the fact she is not terminally ill.
    Refuses to allow Terri to leave her room. She has not been outside since 2000.
    Has refused to fix her wheelchair since 2000.
    Refuses to allow Terri to practice her Catholic faith by attending weekly mass.
    Ordered Terri’s shades down at all times.
    Ordered doctors not to treat Terri when she had a life threatening infection in 1993 and 1995.
    Removes family pictures from Terri’s room, denies flowers from family and friends, denies certain CDs to be played for Terri, and refuses to allow her to listen to music with headphones.
    Refuses to release medical information to parents since 1993 despite court order requiring him to do so.
    Has limited the visitors list, requiring they must first be approved by him and removes visitors at own discretion. Schiavo removed the Schindlers from the visitors list a total of eight months between 2001 and 2004.
    Denies all requests for Terri to attend nursing home functions and refuses to allow therapeutic animals to visit with her, knowing that she is an animal lover.
    “Michael claims he loves Terri, and he has said it on numerous occasions, but he treats her in a way I don’t think most of us would treat our own pets,” Bobby Schindler, Terri’s brother, told WND.
    If neglect or abuse can be proved, the state can take over guardianship of Terri.
    Should lawmakers’ efforts to intervene fail and the feeding tube be removed today, it would be the third time.
    In 2003, “Terri’s Law” enabled Gov. Bush to intervene the second time Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed, after she had endured six days of starvation and dehydration.
    “Terri’s Law” was later ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court, which said it violated the legal separation between the three branches of government.

21. 

    jt on March 18, 2005 at 11:43 am

    to Hanna G.
    You are truly amazing! “Doesn’t the sanctity of the family mean anything anymore?”…Gosh, Hanna, why not go ask Terri’s perfidious, abusive, tyrannical infidel of a “husband” about the sanctity of the family, if you honestly care about such matters.
    Michael Schiavo is the one violating all that really is legitimately sacred and familial, but without the constructive intent/motivation of those you bash for “interfering”. Murderers always want “privacy” and “liberty”, that’s why they seek to discredit/destroy all testimony against their deeds, like you & M. Schiavo and his other legal/medical thugs are determined to do.
    It seems to have escaped your notice, but family ties are best forged, maintained, and preserved by LIVING human beings; so a discussion about the sanctity of the family is meaningless without first respecting the sanctity of LIFE.
    That is why cold-blooded murder is not, has never been, and will never be the “primitive right” of families that you so cruelly and mendaciously claim it to be. For further insight on that matter, please see Genesis 4:1-16.
    Speaking of rights, though, you may be further interested to learn that there is no such organization as the “religious right”. That term was coined by pro-death socialists for no other reason than to denigrate, dehumanize and belittle Christians who favor a constitutional republic over an American (or World) socialist state (think Third Reich on a world-wide scale)and who don’t think mutilated babies are the greatest advance for humanity since sliced bread. It’s hate speech, plain and simple, with no end but to destroy a comparatively innocent segment of society…just like all your pseudo-intellectual rants screaming like a vulture for Terri Schiavo’s blood. And while you may presume to take the liberty of indulging in it, it is not a legitimate right.
    As twisted, unjust & sick as M. Schiavo, G. Pelos & Greer, et al, are in their efforts to torture an innocent woman to death, i do differ with Jerry in that your complicity in this is, if anything, more so; you are like someone crashing a family brawl just to stomp on the one losing. It’s that sort of gratuitous, blind, senseless cruelty that’s defies, rather than expresses, any thing remotely human or reasonable.
    I think it’s been mentioned here before, but there is an appropriate venue for dumping loads of the toxic waste you post here. It’s called a toilet. Please use it, rather than people who are trying to save innocent human life and, ironically, the real sanctity of real families, for the purpose for which it, not they, were designed. I think you’ll find that this will improve quality of your life significantly, as well as that of others!
    All the best, if you’ll have it.

22. 

    Gaelyn & Pat M. on March 18, 2005 at 1:01 pm

    Dear Operation Rescue West,
    We wish that we could be with you in Florida and, if the worst happens, at least one of us will probably come asap. In the meantime, know that you are so in our sympathies, our hearts, and our prayers. A choir director Pat knew and worked with years ago used to say that when you sing hymns, you pray twice. We aren’t sure if that is literally true, but we do know that God inhabits the praises of His people. In that spirit, as we cry, pray, and hold you, the Schindler family and our Nation in our thoughts, we offer a bouquet, as it were, of prayer and praise hymns for you, the Schindler family, and our nation, especially as we approach Holy Week.
    We hope that this informal but heartfelt collection blesses you as you are such a blessing to us!
    —
    Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.
    Hail to the Lord’s anointed, great David’s greater Son!
    Hail in the time appointed, His reign on earth begun!
    He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free;
    To take away transgression and rule in equity.
    He comes in succor speedy to those who suffer wrong;
    To help the poor and needy, and bid the weak be strong;
    To give them songs for sighing, their darkness turn to light,
    Whose souls, condemned and dying, were precious in His sight.
    By such shall He be fearèd while sun and moon endure;
    Beloved, obeyed, reverèd; for He shall judge the poor
    Through changing generations, with justice, mercy, truth,
    While stars maintain their stations, or moons renew their youth.
    He shall come down like showers upon the fruitful earth;
    Love, joy, and hope, like flowers, spring in His path to birth.
    Before Him, on the mountains, shall peace, the herald, go,
    And righteousness, in fountains, from hill to valley flow.
    Arabia’s desert ranger to Him shall bow the knee;
    The Ethiopian stranger His glory come to see;
    With offerings of devotion ships from the isles shall meet,
    To pour the wealth of oceans in tribute at His feet.
    Kings shall fall down before Him, and gold and incense bring;
    All nations shall adore Him, His praise all people sing;
    For He shall have dominion o’er river, sea and shore,
    Far as the eagle’s pinion or dove’s light wing can soar.
    For Him shall prayer unceasing and daily vows ascend;
    His kingdom still increasing, a kingdom without end:
    The mountain dews shall nourish a seed in weakness sown,
    Whose fruit shall spread and flourish and shake like Lebanon.
    O’er every foe victorious, He on His throne shall rest;
    From age to age more glorious, all blessing and all blest.
    The tide of time shall never His covenant remove;
    His Name shall stand forever, His Name to us is Love.
    –James Montgomery
    (The hymn is a loose par­a­phrase of Psalm 72, a so-called “Mes­si­an­ic” psalm be­cause it de­scribes a king of such no­ble char­acter that it can on­ly point to the Mes­si­ah. The psalm bears the head­ing “Of Sol­o­mon,” which has been trans­lat­ed to mean writ­ten by, writ­ten about, or ded­i­cat­ed to Sol­o­mon. The King James trans­la­tion Mont­gom­ery used as­sumes not on­ly that it was writ­ten about Sol­o­mon, but that his father Da­vid wrote it. The Da­vid­ic lin­e­age is the fo­cus of the hymn, re­mind­ing us that though Sol­o­mon would sur­pass his father Da­vid’s reign, a great­er Son of Da­vid would one day eclipse them both.
    Background paragraph © 1996, Greg Scheer. Used by pe­rmis­sion. If you’d like per­mis­sion to use this text in church pub­li­ca­tions, please call him at (412) 247-7364.)
    Especially for Terri, and all who suffer severe afflictions;
    O Jesus, King of Glory,
    Both David’s Lord and Son!
    Thy realm endures forever,
    In Heav’n is fixed Thy throne.
    Help that in earth’s dominions,
    Throughout from pole to pole,
    Thy reign may spread salvation,
    To each benighted soul.
    The Eastern sages, bringing
    Their tribute gifts to Thee,
    Bear witness to Thy kingdom
    And humbly bow the knee.
    To Thee the star is pointing,
    And the prophetic Word;
    Hence joyously we hail Thee:
    Our Savior and our Lord!
    Thou art a mighty Monarch,
    As by Thy Word is told,
    Yet carest Thou but little
    For earthly goods or gold;
    On no proud steed Thou ridest,
    Thou wear’st no precious crown
    Nor dwell’st in lordly castle,
    But bearest scoff and frown.
    Yet art Thou decked with beauty,
    With rays of glorious light;
    Thy works proclaim Thy goodness,
    And all Thy ways are right.
    Vouchsafe to shield Thy people
    With Thine almighty arm
    That they may dwell in safety
    From those who mean them harm.
    Ah, look on me with pity
    Though I am weak and poor;
    Admit me to Thy kingdom
    To dwell there, blest and sure.
    I pray Thee, guide and keep me
    Safe from my bitter foes,
    From sin and death and Satan;
    Free me from all my woes.
    And bid Thy Word within me
    Shine as the fairest star;
    Keep sin and all false doctrine
    Forever from me far.
    Help me confess Thee truly
    And with Thy Christendom
    Here own Thee King and Savior
    And in the world to come.
    — Martin Behm
    O God, be merciful to me,
    My soul for refuge comes to Thee,
    Beneath Thy wings I safe will stay,
    Until these troubles pass away.
    To God Most High shall rise my prayer,
    To God Who makes my wants His care,
    From Heav’n He will salvation send,
    And me from every foe defend.
    Great foes and fierce my soul alarm,
    Inflamed with rage and strong to harm,
    But God, from Heav’n His dwelling place,
    Will rescue me with truth and grace.
    Be Thou, O God, exalted high,
    Yea, far above the starry sky,
    And let Thy glory be displayed
    O’er all the earth Thy hands have made.
    My soul is grieved because my foes
    With treacherous plans my way enclose;
    But from the snares that they devise
    Their own undoing shall arise.
    My heart is steadfast, O my King,
    My heart is tuned Thy praise to sing;
    Awake, my soul, and swell the song,
    Let vibrant harp the notes prolong.
    Yea, I will early wake and sing,
    A thankful hymn to Thee will bring,
    For unto Heav’n Thy mercies rise,
    Thy truth is lofty as the skies.
    Be Thou, O God, exalted high,
    Yea, far above the starry sky,
    And let Thy glory be displayed
    O’er all the earth Thy hands have made.
    Paraphrase of Psalm 57; author unknown
    O hear my cry, be gracious now to me,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come;
    My soul bowed down is longing now for Thee,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come.
    Refrain
    I’ve wandered far away o’er mountains cold,
    I’ve wandered far away from home;
    O take me now, and bring me to Thy fold,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come.
    I have no place, no shelter from the night,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come;
    One look from Thee would give me life and light,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come.
    Refrain
    My path is lone, and weary are my feet,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come;
    Mine eyes look up Thy loving smile to meet,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come.
    Refrain
    Thou wilt not spurn contrition’s broken sigh,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come.
    Regard my prayer, and hear my humble cry,
    Come, Great Deliverer, come.
    Refrain
    — Fanny J. Crosby
    For Bob and Mary Schindler, and all other parents whose children suffer all manner of injustice, affliction, injury, and any other handicaps:
    Gracious Savior, gentle Shepherd,
    Our little ones are dear to Thee;
    Gathered with Thine arms and carried
    In Thy bosom may they be
    Sweetly, gently, safely tended,
    From all want and danger free.
    Tender Shepherd, never leave them
    From Thy fold to go astray;
    By Thy look of love directed,
    May they walk the narrow way;
    Thus direct them, and protect them,
    Lest they fall an easy prey.
    Let Thy holy Word instruct them:
    Fill their minds with heav’nly light;
    Let Thy love and grace constrain them,
    To approve whate’er is right,
    Take Thine easy yoke and wear it,
    And to prove Thy burden light.
    Cleanse their hearts from sinful folly
    In the stream Thy love supplied;
    Mingled streams of blood and water
    Flowing from Thy wounded side;
    And to heav’nly pastures lead them,
    Where Thine own still waters glide.
    — John Keble
    Are all the foes of Sion fools,
    Who thus devour her saints?
    Do they not know her Savior rules,
    And pities her complaints?
    They shall be seized with sad surprise;
    For God’s revenging arm
    Scatters the bones of them that rise
    To do His children harm.
    In vain the sons of Satan boast
    Of armies in array;
    When God has first despised their host
    They fall an easy prey.
    O for a word from Zion’s King,
    Her captives to restore!
    Jacob with all his tribes shall sing,
    And Judah weep no more.
    — Isaac Watts
    Heal us, Emmanuel, hear our prayer
    [originally, Heal us, Emmanuel, here we are]
    We wait to feel Thy touch;
    Deep wounded souls to Thee repair,
    And Savior, we are such.
    Our faith is feeble, we confess
    We faintly trust Thy Word;
    But wilt Thou pity us the less?
    Be that far from Thee, Lord!
    Remember him who once applied
    With trembling for relief
    “Lord, I believe,” with tears he cried;
    “O help my unbelief!”
    She, too, who touched Thee in the press
    And healing virtue stole,
    Was answered, “Daughter, go in peace;
    Thy faith has made thee whole.”
    Concealed amid the gathering throng,
    She would have shunned Thy view;
    And if her faith was firm and strong,
    Had strong misgivings too.
    Like her, with hopes and fears we come
    To touch Thee if we may;
    O send us not despairing home;
    Send none unhealed away.
    — William Cowper
    For our nation, because we see our own plight figured in Terri’s sufferings and plight:
    Have mercy on us, God most high,
    Who lift our hearts to Thee;
    Raise up the fallen, cheer the faint,
    Most holy Trinity.
    Most ancient of all mysteries!
    Before Thy throne we lie;
    Have mercy now, most Merciful,
    Most holy Trinity.
    When heaven and earth were yet unmade,
    When time was yet unknown,
    Thou, in Thy bliss and majesty,
    Didst live and love alone.
    Thou wert not born; there was no fount
    From which Thy Being flowed;
    There is no end which Thou canst reach;
    But Thou art simply God.
    How wonderful creation is,
    The work that Thou didst bless;
    And oh, what then must Thou be like,
    Eternal Loveliness!
    How beautiful the angels are,
    The saints how bright in bliss;
    But with Thy beauty, Lord, compared,
    How dull, how poor is this.
    O listen, then, most pitiful,
    To Thy poor creature’s heart:
    It blesses Thee that Thou art God;
    That Thou art what Thou art.
    Most ancient of all mysteries!
    Still at Thy throne we lie;
    Have mercy now, most Merciful,
    Most holy Trinity.
    – F.W. Faber (slightly altered)
    O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry,
    Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die;
    The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide;
    Take not Thy thunder from us, but take away our pride.
    From all that terror teaches, from lies of tongue and pen,
    From all the easy speeches that comfort cruel men;
    From sale and profanation of honor and the sword;
    From sleep and from damnation, deliver us, good Lord!
    Tie in a living tether, the prince and priest and thrall;
    Bind all our lives together, smite us and save us all;
    In ire and exultation aflame with faith and free,
    Lift up a living nation, a single sword to Thee.
    – G.K. Chesterton
    Great King of nations, hear our prayer,
    While at Thy feet we fall,
    And humbly with united cry
    To Thee for mercy call;
    The guilt is ours, but grace is Thine,
    O turn us not away;
    But hear us from Thy lofty throne,
    And help us when we pray.
    Our fathers’ sins were manifold,
    And ours no less we own,
    Yet wondrously from age to age
    Thy goodness has been shown;
    When dangers, like a stormy sea,
    Beset our country round,
    To Thee we looked, to Thee we cried,
    And help in Thee was found.
    With one consent we meekly bow
    Beneath Thy chastening hand,
    And, pouring forth confession meet,
    Mourn with our mourning land;
    With pitying eye behold our need,
    As thus we lift our prayer;
    Correct us with Thy judgments, Lord,
    Then let Thy mercy spare.
    — John H. Gurney
    —-
    For the Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world; Have mercy on us.
    Refrain
    All glory, laud and honor,
    To Thee, Redeemer, King,
    To Whom the lips of children
    Made sweet hosannas ring.
    Thou art the King of Israel,
    Thou David’s royal Son,
    Who in the Lord’s Name comest,
    The King and Blessèd One.
    Refrain
    The company of angels
    Are praising Thee on High,
    And mortal men and all things
    Created make reply.
    Refrain
    The people of the Hebrews
    With palms before Thee went;
    Our prayer and praise and anthems
    Before Thee we present.
    Refrain
    To Thee, before Thy passion,
    They sang their hymns of praise;
    To Thee, now high exalted,
    Our melody we raise.
    Refrain
    Thou didst accept their praises;
    Accept the prayers we bring,
    Who in all good delightest,
    Thou good and gracious King.
    Refrain
    Translator J.M Neale noted “ano­ther verse was usu­al­ly sung un­til the 17th Cen­tu­ry, at the quaint­ness of which we can scarce­ly avoid a smile”…:)
    Be Thou, O Lord, the Rider,
    And we the little ass,
    That to God’s holy city
    Together we may pass.
    Blessing and honor and glory and power,
    Wisdom and riches and strength evermore
    Give ye to Him Who our battle hath won
    Whose are the kingdom, the crown, and the throne.
    Into the heav’n of the heav’ns hath He gone,
    Sitteth He now in the joy of the throne,
    Weareth He now of the kingdom the crown,
    Singeth He now the new song with His own.
    Soundeth the Heaven of the heavens with His Name;
    Ringeth the earth with His glory and fame;
    Ocean and mountain, stream, forest, and flower
    Echo His praises and tell of His power.
    Past are the darkness, the storm, and the war,
    Come is the radiance, that sparkles afar,
    Breaketh the gleam of the day without end,
    Riseth the Sun that shall never descend.
    Ever ascendeth the song and the joy;
    Ever descendeth the love from on high;
    Blessing and honor and glory and praise,
    This is the theme of the hymns that we raise.
    Life of all life, and true Light of all light,
    Star of the dawning unchangingly bright,
    Sun of the Salem whose light is the Lamb,
    Theme of the ever new, ever glad psalm!
    Give we the glory and praise to the Lamb;
    Take we the robe and the harp and the palm;
    Sing we the song of the Lamb that was slain,
    Dying in weakness, but rising to reign.
    — Horatius Bonar
    —
    The King shall come when morning dawns,
    And light triumphant breaks;
    When beauty gilds the eastern hills,
    And life to joy awakes.
    Not as of old a little child
    To bear, and fight, and die,
    But crowned with glory like the sun
    That lights the morning sky.
    O brighter than the rising morn
    When He, victorious, rose,
    And left the lonesome place of death,
    Despite the rage of foes.
    O brighter than that glorious morn
    Shall this fair morning be,
    When Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
    And we His face shall see.
    The King shall come when morning dawns,
    And earth’s dark night is past;
    O haste the rising of that morn,
    The day that aye shall last.
    And let the endless bliss begin,
    By weary saints foretold,
    When right shall triumph over wrong,
    And truth shall be extolled.
    The King shall come when morning dawns,
    And light and beauty brings:
    Hail, Christ the Lord! Thy people pray,
    Come quickly, King of kings.
    — Author unknown; translated from Greek to Eng­lish by John Brown­lie, in Hymns of the Russ­ian Church, 1907.
    Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
    Once for favored sinners slain;
    Thousand thousand saints attending,
    Swell the triumph of His train:
    Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
    God appears on earth to reign.
    Every eye shall now behold Him
    Robed in dreadful majesty;
    Those who set at naught and sold Him,
    Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
    Deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
    Shall the true Messiah see.
    Every island, sea, and mountain,
    Heav’n and earth, shall flee away;
    All who hate Him must, confounded,
    Hear the trump proclaim the day:
    Come to judgment! Come to judgment!
    Come to judgment! Come away!
    Now redemption, long expected,
    See in solemn pomp appear;
    All His saints, by man rejected,
    Now shall meet Him in the air:
    Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
    See the day of God appear!
    Answer Thine own bride and Spirit,
    Hasten, Lord, the general doom!
    The new Heav’n and earth t’inherit,
    Take Thy pining exiles home:
    All creation, all creation,
    Travails! groans! and bids Thee come!
    The dear tokens of His passion
    Still His dazzling body bears;
    Cause of endless exultation
    To His ransomed worshippers;
    With what rapture, with what rapture
    Gaze we on those glorious scars!
    Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,
    High on Thine eternal throne;
    Savior, take the power and glory,
    Claim the kingdom for Thine own;
    O come quickly! O come quickly!
    Everlasting God, come down!
    — Charles Wesley
    Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst…and praying that the hope is vindicated and the preparation needless.
    Praying without ceasing, with all psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,

23. 

    just passing through... on March 18, 2005 at 2:50 pm

    Take this with a grain of salt. I can’t believe if all of this is, in fact, true, that this judge hasn’t already been impeached, tried and put in jail a long time ago. This is judicial tyranny at its finest hour.
    Linda
    Exclusive
    Schiavogate—The Big Cover-up
    By June Maxam and Ginger Berlin
    © The Empire Journal
    “People may die during the course of abuse investigations and the investigation may become moot”.
    Apparently that’s what Florida’s Sixth Circuit Court George Greer is hoping. Maybe even the judges in the 2nd District Court of Appeals at Lakeland have the same mindset.
    It appears that Greer has a vested interest in the death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo. Her death may make moot the warranted and overdue investigations of Greer’s own complicity in the case—alleged violations of guardianship laws and well as the alleged cover-up of criminal wrongdoing in the matter—an obstruction of justice—a prosecutable offense for which culpability will only increase with judicial homicide.
    Saying that that death will render the alleged decade-long abuse of Terri Schiavo, aided and abetted by the court as moot, Greer denied the motion of Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, sentenced to die March 18 by Greer because she requires food and water to live.
    The plethora of alleged improprieties in the Schiavo case gives immediate cause for the appointment of a special prosecutor into not only the alleged wrongdoing of Michael Schiavo but of George Greer. The longer that Florida authorities resist in removing Greer from the case and bench, the greater the miscarriage of justice.
    Conspiracy, collusion, fraud.
    Not only has Greer unlawfully become a party to the action by acting as both jurist and guardian ad litem in the case but he, like Michael Schiavo and his attorney, George Felos, may need to insure that Terri Schiavo dies and her body immediately cremated in order to destroy evidence of not only the alleged criminal wrongdoing of Michael Schiavo but perhaps by Greer himself in impeding and interfering in valid abuse investigations.
    And then there’s the guardianship issue.
    According to an investigation conducted by The Empire Journal, not only has Michael Schiavo allegedly egregiously violated the guardianship laws of the State of Florida, but so has Greer. By refusing to act on the petitions submitted by Terri’s parents to remove the estranged husband as the guardian, Greer has violated his statutory duties as well as aided in the alleged abuse, neglect and exploitation of the ward.
    Greer has steadfastly dodged the guardianship issue, refusing to rule on petitions to remove Schiavo as guardian of the person of Terri Schiavo, abdicating the duties of the judicial office as well as his position on the Sixth Circuit Committee on Guardianship Monitoring.
    Condoned Medicare Fraud
    In addition, with the knowledge that Terri Schiavo is not terminal, Greer has actually condoned and participated in a fraud of the federal and state governments, becoming partners with Michael Schiavo and others to allegedly engage in Medicare and Medicaid fraud by allowing the placement of Terri in a hospice without proper certification. He has also repetitively allowed Michael Schiavo to violate the statutory filing requirements under guardianship laws regarding the physical and mental condition of his ward, Terri Schiavo. Although he claims that he has ruled on the subject previously, each year that Schiavo fails to file the requisite reports and accountings constitutes a new violation, grounds for his removal as guardian.
    At an evidentiary hearing before Greer in October, 2002, Dr. Victor Gambone, former attending physician of Terri Schiavo, testified under oath that his patient was not terminal and that was not in any sort of health crisis. At that time, Terri Schiavo had been a resident of Hospice of Florida Suncoast for over two years unlawfully as the requisite certification of her terminal illness had not been filed.
    But instead of reporting the alleged fraud, Greer allegedly became an accomplice to it, granting the husband’s petition to enroll Terri into a Medicaid program for her stay at the hospice.
    On Nov. 15, 2002, Patricia Anderson, attorney for the Schindlers, filed with Greer a petition to remove Michael Schiavo as guardian. The petition included a declaration of adversary proceedings charging that the husband had violated a dozen or more Florida Statutes. As of this date, more some 2 ½ years later, Greer has never ruled on the motion—in violation of state law. But then there if a hearing was conducted as required, there would be only one way to rule on the motion—to remove Schiavo as guardian.
    On Jan. 10, attorneys for Mary and Robert Schindler Sr. renewed their petition for the removal of Schiavo as guardian of their daughter and as this date, Greer has failed to rule on that motion too, in direct contravention of Florida Statutes. By refusing to conduct the required hearing on the issue and addressing the blatant violations of state law, Greer is not only aiding and abetting Michael Schiavo and George Felos but he is a lawbreaker himself, a violation of public trust and the oath of office that he presumably took and filed.
    “My oath is to follow the law and if I can’t follow the law, I need to step down”.
    According to review of Greer’s handling of the Schiavo case conducted by The Empire Journal, Greer has consistently failed to follow the law and needs to hang up the black robe.
    Instead of serving to protect the assets of incapacitated persons such as the disabled and the elderly, the existing guardianship system in Florida and particularly in Pinellas County presents the opportunity for unscrupulous guardians to loot the assets of their wards and enrich themselves with the complete blessing of the court.
    No Report, No Authority
    Pursuant to Chapter 744 of Florida Statutes, each guardian, whether non-professional or professional, is required to file an annual guardianship report, plan and accounting. By law, the court retains jurisdiction over all guardians. The court, and that includes Greer, is required to review “the appropriateness and extent of a guardianship annually and if an objection to terms of the guardianship has been filed, if interim review requested, if the guardianship report has not been received and the guardian has failed to respond to a show cause order”.
    Unless the court requires filing on a calendar-year basis, each guardian of the person, such as Schiavo, is required to file with the court an annual guardianship plan within 90 days after the last day of the anniversary month the letters of guardianship were signed, and the plan must cover the coming fiscal year. If calendar year filing is required, the guardianship plan must be file within 90 days after the end of the calendar year—or in the case of 2004—-on March 30, two weeks after Greer has decreed that the death order be executed.
    The annual accounting must also be filed at this time by the guardian of the person.
    The guardian of the property, who in the Schiavo case is Alyson Carpenter according to Ken Burke, clerk of the Sixth Circuit Court, must also file an annual accounting. The annual report of a guardian of the person of an incapacitated person must consist of an annual guardianship plan. The annual report is required to be served on the ward and on the attorney for the ward. The guardian is required to provide a copy to any other person as the court may direct. Unless the ward is a minor or has been determined to be totally incapacitated, the guardian is required to review a copy of the annual report with the ward, to the extent possible. Within 30 days after the annual report has been filed, any interested person, including the ward, may file written objections to any element of the report specifying the nature of the objection.
    Section 744.3685 states that if the guardian fails to file the annual guardianship report, as it is alleged in the Schiavo case, Greer is required to order the guardian to file the report within 15 days after the service of an order on him to show cause why he shouldn’t be compelled to do so. If the guardian fails to file the report within the time specified without good cause, the court may cite him for contempt.
    However, in the case of Greer, he has failed to exercise his mandate and instead of ordering Schiavo to comply with the law or show cause why he shouldn’t have to, Greer ignores his responsibility under the law and allows Schiavo to escape the filing requirement.
    If an annual report is not timely filed, the law states the court “shall”, not permissive but mandatory, order the guardian to file the report or show cause why it is not timely filed. The court is required by law to review the initial and annual guardianship report to determine that the report meets the needs of the ward, authorizes a guardian to act only in areas in which the adult ward has been declared incapacitated and conforms to all other requirements of law.
    In the case of Schiavo, Greer has allegedly taken no steps as required to force Schiavo to file the requisite reports and obviously in the absence of the reports being filed, Greer fails to exercise his statutory duties of reviewing the report. Without the report being filed or being reviewed as required, Greer in essence is not only allowing Schiavo to violate the guardianship laws but he himself is actually becoming a party to allowing the abuse, neglect and exploitation to occur and continue unaddressed.
    Greer has consistently refused to consider the allegations of abuse even in light of the massive evidence presented to him.
    By law, if an objection is filed to a report, (or the lack of the guardian to file the mandated report) the court is required by law to set the matter for hearing and conduct hearing within 30 days after filing of objection.
    Greer Violating Guardianship Law Too
    Greer is in violation of this section of guardianship law too as he has failed to conduct a hearing on the Nov. 2002 motion or the Jan. 11, 2005 motion. http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/PetitionToRemoveGuardian.pdf http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/Mot%20Dism%20Pet%20Rem%20Guard%20120602.pdf
    Among the issues in the petition for the removal of Schiavo is his abandonment of the marriage, failure to provide the ward with her rights including independent legal counsel, palliative care and rehabilitation services; failure to file valid guardianship plans and mismanagement of the ward’s assets.
    There are a number of reasons provided for the removal of a guardian. Among those in the case of Michael Schiavo are a material failure to comply with the guardianship report by the guardian; failure to comply with rules for timely filing the initial and annual reports; failure to fulfill guardianship education requirements; fraud in obtaining her or her appointment; failure to discharge her or his duties; abuse of his powers; wasting, embezzlement or other mismanagement of ward’s property; development of conflict of interest between ward and guardian; improper management of ward’s assets
    After the mandated hearing is held, the court shall enter a written order either approving or ordering modifications to the report. Greer has failed to do this too.
    By law, the approved report constitutes the authority for guardian to act in the forthcoming year. The powers of guardian are initiated by terms of the report. The annual report may not grant additional authority to guardian without a hearing as provided. In the absence of Schiavo and Felos filing an annual report and accounting, Schiavo has no legal authority to act as a guardian in that yeara ongoing violation which seems to have been unlawfully endorsed by Greer. By failing to take action against Schiavo to force him to comply with the law, the court is aiding and abetting Schiavo in violating the law—-hardly a role that a judge should play—particularly when the stakes are a sentence of death..
    Any initial, annual or final guardianship report is subject to investigation only by the court, clerk of the court or clerk’s representative, the guardian, the guardian’s attorney, the ward and the ward’s attorney. By failing to appoint independent counsel for Terri, Greer has also violated that law.
    According to Section 744.3715, at any time any interested person, including the ward, may petition the court for review, alleging that the guardian is not complying with guardianship plans or is exceeding authority under guardianship plan, and that the guardian is not acting in best interest of the ward. The petition must state the nature of objection to the guardian’s action or proposed action. Upon the filing of such petition court is required by law to review the petition and act on it expeditiously.
    Greer has consistently refused to do so, violating the law himself while allowing Michael Schiavo to violate numerous sections of state law, using the auspices of his judicial power and resources to allow an individual to break the law which in the case of Terri Schiavo, is against the best interests of the ward, the interests that Greer is sworn to protect. Instead, he has ordered her death to allegedly cover-up the wrongdoings of not only Michael Schiavo and others involved in the case, but himself.
    Terri Schiavo collapsed amidst mysterious circumstances at her home on Feb. 25, 1990, during a time when witnesses say there had been on ongoing situation of argument and strife and possible domestic violence. The only person at the home at the time of her collapse which resulted in a lack of oxygen to the brain, causing serious brain damage, was her husband.
    Within 48 hours after she had been admitted to the hospital, her husband’s employer, the owner of a restaurant, arrived at the hospital. Daniel Grieco, also an attorney, consulted with Terri’s parents outside the Intensive Care Unit waiting room, recommending that they sign documents that would allow Schiavo to handle Terri’s medical affairs on the pretense it would expedite Terri’s emergency treatment.
    The attorney’s rationale was since Terri was barely clinging to life, vesting Michael Schiavo with this power would expedite her medical care. Grieco did not mention that Schiavo would have exclusive power to dictate Terri’s medical treatment and the authority to control the release of any medical information concerning Terri.
    Another Greer Contributor
    Since there are no documents in Terri’s legal case files regarding this meeting with Daniel Grieco, that agreement may have been designed as a short term control solution. Notably, the document allowed Schaivo to conceal Terri’s hospital admittance records and the ability to filter all of the doctor’s information. (Daniel Grieco was a $300 contributor to the 2004 election campaign of Judge Greer)
    As an example, on March 5, 1991, just 53 weeks after Terri’s collapse, a bone scan taken of Terri revealed a healed broken right femur bone and healed bone fractures in her ribs, pelvis, spine and ankle. The radiologist, Dr. Walker, concluded that “Terri has a history of trauma” and presumed “that the other multiple areas of abnormal activity also relate to previous trauma”. WALKER PDF & Bone Scan
    Despite testimony and sworn affidavits by caregivers attesting to the alleged abuse, neglect and exploitation of Terri Schiavo allegedly at the hands of Michael Schiavo, Greer has steadfastly refused to consider any of the allegations.
    An orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Hamilton, initially saw Terri a few months after she collapsed. Schiavo never disclosed this information to any of the Schinder family.
    On June 18, 1990, after a conducted investigation declaring Terri incapacitated, a hearing was held in a St. Petersburg courtroom appointing Michael Schiavo as Terri’s legal guardian.
    The St. Petersburg court files state that Terri’s parents were notified by mail of these events, including the hearing, and had no objections to Michael Schiavo being appointed legal guardian.
    Terri’s parents emphatically state that they did not know of the investigation which concluded that Terri was incapacitated or the subsequent court hearing and were never notified.
    Additionally, there is no evidence of any documentation in Terri’s legal case files verifying that Terri’s parents supported Michael Schiavo’s guardianship appointment, other than a reference that Terri’s parents were in agreement. It should be noted that during this 1990 time frame, Terri’s parents were in daily contact with Michael Schiavo and nothing was ever mentioned regarding these court proceedings by Schiavo or his attorney. The entire legal guardianship transaction was handled by attorney Daniel Grieco who later contributed to Greer’s election campaign as did each one of the attorneys representing Michael Schiavo.
    In fact, not only did Hamdin Baskin III contribute the maximum of $500 to Greer’s campaign, but so did his law partner, Joseph Fleece, thereby the law firm of Baskin and Fleece contributed a total of $1,000 to Greer’s reelection at the time Baskin was representing Michael Schiavo in the guardianship proceeding before Greer.
    In 1993, the Schindlers filed a petition in Pinellas Circuit Court, to have Michael Schiavo removed as Terri’s guardian, claiming he was compromised by the money he had been awarded as the result of medical malpractice claims against doctors who had been treating Terri prior to her collapse, and that he was no longer acting in her best interest.
    In August, 1992, Terri was awarded $250,000 in a settlement by the insurance company of Dr. Joel Prawer who was later cleared by the state Department of Health of all negligence in the case. In November, 1992, she was awarded $1.4 million following the malpractice trial of Dr. Stephen Igel and Schiavo himself was awarded $600,000 for loss of consortium, giving him a sum of $2.25 million.
    A probate judge dismissed the case after an independent guardian ad litem issued a report stating that he was acting in her best interests.
    For the next five years, the Schindlers were unsuccessful in their legal maneuvers to get Terri’s medical records and take over their daughter’s guardianship. Meanwhile, Michael Schiavo became involved with another woman. They became engaged in 1996 and have two children together.
    In 1998, Schiavo filed a petition to have Terri’s nutrition and hydration tube removed. The case when to trial in February, 2000 before Greer as the probate judge handling guardianship matters. Based on self-serving hearsay evidence by Michael Schiavo, inadmissible by law, Greer ruled that there was “clear and convincing” evidence that Terri Schiavo would not want to receive assisted feeding and on Feb.
    11, 2000, signed her death order allowing her guardian, Michael Schiavo to remove the assisted feeding which will cause her death by starvation.
    Circuit Investigates Guardians Annually
    According to the newsletter of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, the circuit investigates guardians at least once a year as part of the court’s responsibility in ensuring that the best interests of the wards are being met. For non-professional guardians, such as Michael Schiavo, the reinvestigations are due at the time of filing of the annual accounting or if the time to file has been extended, then when the annual accounting is filed with the annual plan.
    However, there is no indication that the court has ever conducted an annual investigation of Michael Schiavo.
    The court—and that includes Greer—is required by statute to review both the guardianship accounting and plan. The monitoring of a guardianship begins at the initial filing with the court. Following the initial investigation and filing by the guardian, according to the newsletter, the court conducts a follow-up investigation on an annual basis to insure that parties remain qualified under the law to protect the rights, health and safety of the individual. A $50 statutory annual fee is required for the initial investigation and annually thereafter for the guardian of the person and property and guardian of the property alone. The fee for guardian of the person, such as Schiavo, is $ $25 upon filing and annually thereafter. Professional guardians are required to pay the fee annually and not for every case.
    The court is also required to audit all guardianship reports—-therefore, the court must insure that all reports are filed. In addition, the court must also conduct random comprehensive filed audits to ensure that the guardians are acting appropriate regarding their activities to court accurately. It is the court role of protecting citizens and assist state in meeting the needs of elderly and incapacitated population but apparently in the case of Greer, not only has allowed Michael Schiavo to violate the guardianship laws by not filing the requisite accountings, plans and reports, but Greer himself has failed to comply with the law.
    The guardianship court monitor investigates when appointed by the probate judge to look into a particular guardianship case. The monitor reviews al internal, annual and interim guardianship rights and reports the findings to the court.
    Even though Greer has failed to comply with the law in ensuring that Michael Schiavo is accountable to the court in protecting the interests of the ward by his required annual filings, Schiavo is also accountable to the clerk of circuit court who is now Ken Burke.
    Burke took office Jan. 1 after Karleen DeBlaker retired after more than 20 years in the position.
    Clerk Required To Do Annual Review
    Burke as clerk of the Sixth Judicial Circuit is required by law to review each initial and annual guardianship report to ensure it contains information about the ward; physical and mental health care, personal and social services, the residential setting, application of insurance, private benefits and government benefits, and physical and mental health exams.
    The clerk also undertakes an initial verified inventory of the annual accounting and is mandated by law within 30 days after the date of filing of initial or annual report of the guardian of the person complete his or her review of the report.
    Within 90 days of the filing of the initial or annual guardianship report by the guardian, he is required to audit the verified inventory or annual accounting and is mandated to advise the court of the results of audit. The clerk shall report to the court when a report is not timely filed.
    Therefore, by law, not only is Michael Schiavo required to file an annual guardianship plan and accounting, but the court clerk is required to audit same and that audit is part of the public record and subject to public scrutiny and review. http://myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/0CAC9D4B79C9A8B985256EC5005D3AED
    “Guardianship is an area ripe for fraud and where most fraud abuse has in fact occurred”, DeBlaker has said. Particularly critical of the way that the Sixth Circuit Court judges handle guardianships is Robert W. Melton, chief deputy director internal audit division, certified public accountant, certified fraud examiner with the Pinellas County Circuit Court. During public hearings conducted by the Florida Guardian Task Force appointed by Florida legislators to address guardianship reform, Melton testified that in his office was being “stonewalled” in their attempts to audit guardianship.
    According to a report appearing in the April, 2004 issued of the Gulf Coast Business Review by Francis Gilpin, associate editor, Melton told the task force that “In Pinellas County, attempts are being made to limit the clerk’s authority”, a county where George Greer is the Administrative Judge of the Probate Division. “This ranges from guardians that refuse to submit to an audit unless a court order is received, to judges that question the authority of the clerk to use professional auditing staff to conduct the audits”.
    While Melton advocates opening the guardianship process to public review, Greer is opposed to that practice. Melton said openness would be one way to prevent improprieties, making public the initial inventories of wards’ estates and the annual accountings of assets that guardians are required to file with the court. “The lack of public scrutiny breeds misdeeds and misappropriations because people who may know the truth would not have access”, according to Melton.
    Greer has reportedly said that he sees more potential for financial abuse by immediate family members who create guardianships or gain power of attorney status than by professional guardians. Melton told the task force that there have been times when a Pinellas judge, whom he did not name, has prevented clerk’s auditors from examining the entire record of a guardianship case.
    Melton told the task force that the assets of wards are being transferred into pooled trusts that he says operate imprudently outside the supervision of the courts. He adds that the real estate of wards is being sold at below-market prices to land trusts whose owners don’t have to be disclosed. Pooled trusts are promoted as a legal method for wards to maintain Medicaid eligibility in nursing homes, according to Melton.
    “When we have both guardians and judges trying to keep auditors out, we have a system ripe for corruption and fraud”, Melton said.
    Former chief Judge F. Dennis Alvarez of the 13th Circuit, Hillsborough County, says that Pinellas County has historically resisted guardianship reform. Perhaps that’s because there’s big money to be made among lawyers and other players in guardianships—particularly in the disposition of assets of wards including real and personal property including real estate, juelry and antiques in addition to the guardian fees.
    Melton says that Pinellas judges, which include George Greer, not only keep court records hidden from public view but are anxious to extend the cloak of secrecy to the audits. In February, 2004, Melton recommended to Chief Judge David Demers that he take a closer look at guardianships in the Sixth Circuit.
    Greer recently unsuccessfully challenged Demers for the position of chief judge of the circuit.
    In 2002, the same year as Schindlers filed their previous petition before Greer for the removal of Schiavo, ignored by Greer, court auditors concluded that court officials had failed to monitor guardianships carefully. The clerk’s office, which systematically reviews about 2,400 guardianships in Pinellas County annual, set up a fraud hotline. Te report suspected fraud in a guardianship to county auditors, call 727-453-3728.
    While conducting audits of guardianship reports, the Pinellas clerk’s office discovered serious irregularities. Pinellas County state attorney Bernie McCabe confirmed in 2003 that a preliminary inquiry had been initiated by his office into selected Pinellas guardianships. However, despite the by then well-publicized failure of Michael Schiavo to file his required guardianship plans and accountings, McCabe took no action in that case. He opened an inquiry into Adult Comprehensive Protection Services which managed the assets of 300 of the county’s elderly and infirm and which had allegedly mismanaged the funds of some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
    The inquiry was stonewalled when the ACPS attorney denied access to minutes of the agency’s board of directors. The attorney was Richard Pe(a)rse, the former guardian ad litem in the Terri Schiavo case Pe(a)rse had recommended that the feeding tube not be removed in his GAL report to Greer in 1999. Thereafter, Schiavo petitioned Greer for Pe(a)rse’s removal as GAL and Greer complied. Since then, Greer has refused to appoint a new guardian ad litem, acting in the role himself—prohibited by Canon 3 of the state Code of Judicial Conduct. No judge may serve as a guardian unless the ward is a member of his own family.
    Melton and other critics say the court system favors the guardian. When court challenges are raised to a guardianship as in the Schiavo case, the proof needed by the petitioner is in documents which are sealed by the court—and Greer—-claiming its for the protection of the ward. When complaints are made to law enforcement agencies such as in the Schiavo case, officials such as McCabe—with a prohibited conflict of interest with Greer, and former Sheriff Everett Rice who also had a prohibited conflict of interest with Greer as well as being a member of the board of directors of the Hospice Foundation of Florida Suncoast, a subsidiary of the corporation operating the hospice where Terri Schiavi is a resident, claim it’s a civil matter being handled by the courts.
    According to critics, guardianships are based on the assumption that the court will provide oversight, the guardian will be honest and discharge his duties toward the ward responsibly.
    “When we have both guardians and judges trying to keep the auditors out, we have a system ripe for corruption and fraud”, De Blaker and Melton told the task force. “The practices I have seen in the short time I have been involved in guardianships is shocking”, Melton said. “It’s time to put an end to unscrupulous practices at the expense of our state’s most vulnerable citizens”.
    Politically connected attorneys who stand to profit handsomely from guardianship fees are involved with alleged guardianship abuse. In Greer’s 2004 reelection campaign, a massive $144,000 was raised in campaign contributions, said to be the largest amount ever raised in a judicial campaign. More than half of those contributors were attorneys—-attorneys whose practices in real estate, probate, wills and elder law stand to profit greatly from guardianships to which they are court appointed by probate judges such as George W. Greer. .
    http://www.theempirejournal.com/0313055_schiavogate_the_big_cove.htm

24. 

    SAMUEL ALLEN on March 18, 2005 at 9:01 pm

    I AM A STATE CORRECTIONAL OFFICER. I MUST SAY THIS IS JUST APALLING. HERE YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL LADY THAT DID NOT ASK FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HER. YOU HAVE CRIMINALS WHO ARE PUT IN PRISONS BECAUSE THEY CANNOT LIVE AMONG CIVILIZED PEOPLE. SOME OF THESE CRIMINALS WILL NEVER WALK THE STREETS AGAIN. BUT THESE CRIMINALS HAVE MORE RIGHTS THEN THIS POOR GIRL. THIS TRULY IS INJUSTICE. WHERE ARE ALL THESE POLITICIANS THAT WE THE PEOPLE HAVE PUT INTO OFFICE. WE THE PEOPLE HAVE VOICED OUR OPINION AND THESE POLITICIONS MUST LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY. PLEASE LETS ALL PRAY FOR HER. THANK YOU

25. 

    AViewFromABroad on March 19, 2005 at 7:11 am

    Nearly three decades ago, I sat in rapt attention as Father Michael Moriarty conducted instruction classes for those joining the Roman Catholic Church. When the inevitable subject of the sanctity of life arose, he had much to say. Father Moriarty was a witty, highly intelligent and sprightly cleric, as prone to wit and wisdom and he was given to solemnity and pathos. One of his attestations has remained with me…..
    “There’s something gravely wrong with this country when we have abortion on demand – concurrent with protracted court fights over allowing those kept artifically alive to return to God peacefully,” he said. Father wasn’t referring to individuals like Terri Schiavo, however. He was referring to extraordinary measures (such as machines forcing the heart to beat when the patient’s brain had ceased to function) being used to provide a semblance of life – not its continued viability.
    For several reasons, I cannot regard Terri’s case in the same light. Were Father alive today, I’m sure he would lend his voice (and his commentaries) to the pro-life voices heard around our nation this week.
    Furthermore, I’m sure Father would share my healthy disdain for the precedence of Terri’s husband – over the loving and selfless parents who gave her life. Yes, marriage is a sacrament and its supremacy is surely mentioned in the Bible. However, what if the husband (or wife) fails to live up to its sacramentality? Since Terri cannot speak for herself and her beleagured spouse has obviously moved on, difficult questions arise.
    As most of us who no longer live in fairy tales surely know by now, romantic love can fade, wither and sometimes perish on the vine. However, a parent’s love is eternal. To wit: I love my Mother, now, more than ever – more than I ever dreamed possible. (And I’ve told her so, believe me.)
    I certainly hope my Mother will never face the same tragedy as has Terri. But if she does, I will know this much: As a dedicated Catholic, my Mother would wish to adhere to Pope John Paul II’s recent proclamation regarding this matter. He makes a critical distinction between artificially prolonging life – and the removal of feeding tubes to the severely brain-damaged individual.
    How unfortunate that our courts cannot discern the enduring truth in the Pope’s words – and grant supremacy to the wishes of Terri’s parents. In this case, they deserve it. Terri’s husband probably does not.

26. 

    Barbara Blackburn on March 19, 2005 at 12:33 pm

    Feeding tubes are not artificial means of life support. My daughter uses one every day. She is my precious one and she has blessed everyone who knows her. Starving someone to death is cruel and unusual punishment!!!
    Feeding tubes are no more artificial than cups, plates, or any other way of eating. It’s just another way to eat. Many people are on them. Do they all deserve to die this way too?
    I can’t believe people are so inhumane to think that this is okay. Get real people. Would you want to starve to death?

27. 

    eileen bosshart on March 19, 2005 at 2:00 pm

    I am a foster mom for the last 20 years to a profoundly retarded developmentally disabled young man who now has a feeding tube and a trach tube.He is enjoying life to its fullest and brings such joy to everyone by his famous smile. Some people have looked at his handicap and looked away. They have missed so much.God has a purpose for his life, however limited it is, just as he has a purpose for Terri Schiavo’s life. If it is just to teach the rest of us to love, then their lives serve a purpose. Think about it.

28. 

    jerry on March 19, 2005 at 2:18 pm

    hanna
    why do you want terri dead? what is it to you?
    your obsession with trying to make her out to be some sort of subhuman is nothing short of bizarre.
    the definition of death is the cessation of brain waves, not the contrived definition you’ve invented.
    it may be true that terri’s quality of life is much less than that of most of us, but she is human and she is alive. i’m sure like most prodeath advocates, you have certain categories of people who do not fit your definition of “human”, such as the unborn. but we must always err on the side of life, if we possess any sort of empathy or compassion.
    furthermore, are you blind to the obvious abuse that is going on? terri is not allowed to go outside, or even have the sun shine into her room. she isn’t allowed to have her teeth cleaned, or have communion. even death row murderers are given a last meal, but starving them to death would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. somehow, hanna, you seem like the type who would camp out at some prison (where a mass murderer who’s appealed his case for about 25 years is about to be electocuted), and cry rivers of tears for him. and you seem like the type who belongs to PETA and fights for the rights of animals as if they were as valuable as humans.
    but you callously and coldly dismiss terri’s life as if she’s some sort of cockroach.
    other than demonstrating that you are a cruel and uncaring person, i don’t know what purpose your posts serve.

29. 

    tony on March 19, 2005 at 2:22 pm

    hanna greene
    so let me get this straight….the hearsay of one man is clear and convincing evidence that terri’s “wishes” are being honored? that kind of evidence isn’t allowed in any other court of law.
    funny how michael didn’t remember that terri wanted to die until AFTER he got the 1.7 million….
    as far as judges following the letter of the law, what planet do you live on anyway? judges have been inventing, twisting and perverting law for decades. get real.

30. 

    page on March 19, 2005 at 2:39 pm

    BARBARITY IN AMERICA
    © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
    I never believed that I would live in a country that would, in effect, execute a brain-damaged woman who never hurt anyone in her life. The story of Terri Schiavo should outrage every decent American. While our soldiers valiantly fight and die across the sea so complete strangers can enjoy human rights, here at home an American woman who suffered severe brain damage 15 years ago is being subjected to death by dehydration and starvation by order of a judge. Today, her feeding tube was removed.
    The humanity of every society is determined first and foremost by how it treats its most helpless citizens, and a nation that is prepared to murder a feeble and vulnerable woman who can breathe but not eat on her own must take a deeper look at the source of its ethics.
    Before Hitler came for the J(e)ws and the gypsies, he first came after the mentally handicapped. He offered this rationale for euthanasia: “In nature, there is no pity for the lesser creatures when they are destroyed so that the fittest may survive. Going against nature brings ruin to man. It is only J(e)wish impudence to demand that we overcome nature.” Hitler, who was a committed evolutionist and applied the ruthless principals of natural selection to the human species, opposed “artificial” means of keeping the infirm alive. The species was strengthened when its weakest constituents perished, just as nature decreed.
    Charles Darwin expressed his own belief in stronger and more feeble parts of the human family when he famously wrote, “The more civilized so-called Caucasian races have beaten the Turkish hollow in the struggle for existence. Looking to the world at no very distant date, what an endless number of the lower races will have been eliminated by the higher civilized races throughout the world.”
    Thankfully, the United States does not derive its ethics from Darwin, but from Sinai. We do not believe in the quality of life, but in its sanctity. Since Hitler was the enemy of life, he despised not just Judaism, but Christianity, which in turn embraced the biblical idea of the infinite value of every human life and how each individual, regardless of the degree of brain cognition, was possessed of the divine.
    Hitler famously said, “The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity. … The deliberate lie in the matter of religion was introduced into the world by Christianity.” Hitler spent much of his table talk, faithfully recorded by Martin Bormann, attacking Judeo-Christian ethics: “This filthy reptile raises its head whenever there is a sign of weakness in the state, and therefore it must be stamped on. We have no sort of use for a fairy story invented by the J(e)ws.”
    How the United States could today devalue the life of the infirm by removing a brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube, and unwittingly ally itself with the euthanasia program of the history’s foremost monster, should send shivers down the spine of every American.
    But biblical ethics aside, there is also common sense and logic. Should we really take what might have been a throw-away comment from a wife to her husband about not wanting to live in a vegetative state as the rationale to murder a human being? Apparently, Terri and her husband were watching some film about a person in a coma when Terri told her husband she would never want to live like that. But people make comments like that during movies all the time without really meaning them.
    And even if Terri Schiavo expressly wanted to die, does that mean we should kill her? Dr. Kevorkian is sitting in prison for the rest of his life precisely because he killed people who wished to die. How is this different?
    And what jurisdiction should Terri’s husband, Michael, have here? He maintains that he is fighting to remove his wife’s feeding tube to keep his pledge to her that she be allowed to die with dignity.
    Now this is curious. The husband has taken other pledges to his wife, which apparently are far less meaningful to him. For example, in marrying her, he pledged to stand by her “in sickness and in health.” Yet, many years ago he abandoned Terri, moved in with his girlfriend and had children with this other woman. Apparently, his pledge of sexual fidelity did not mean much to him, either.
    Now, I’m not suggesting that Michael Schiavo should have remained celibate for the last 15 years, and I understand the need for human companionship. But he could easily have divorced Terri and left her in her parents’ care rather than cheating on her and having children out of wedlock. But staying married to your wife just to ensure that she dies sounds a lot to me like wanting to inherit her estate. But honestly, which sane judge, in this case Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer, would allow a man who is living with, and has children with, another woman, to make life-and-death decisions concerning his wife? This is a shocking affront to basic decency.
    Furthermore, Judge Greer accepted the opinion of doctors who said Ms. Schiavo, 41, is in a “persistent vegetative state,” the definition of which, according to the New York Times, is “damage to her cerebral cortex [that] has made her incapable of emotion, memory or thought.”
    But woe to a nation that determines that the sanctity of life is determined by a capacity to feel emotion, memory or thought. Before he died, Ronald Reagan was so ravaged by Alzheimer’s that he had lost all memory and all capacity for cognitive thought. But could one only imagine a sane individual arguing that Reagan should have been denied food years before his 2004 death because he had become worthless? The same applies to millions of the elderly who inhabit our homes for the aged. A great many do nothing but sit in a chair or lie in bed with scarcely movement or memory. How far are we from a time when calls will go forth to deny them all food as well?
    What comes to mind in the story of Terri Schiavo is the famous quotation of Pastor Martin Niemöller concerning moral failure in the face of the Nazis: “First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the J(e)ws, but I was not a J(e)w, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.” Terry Schiavo has no voice, so we must become her voice.
    I shudder for my country to think that such acts of barbarity can take place in the world’s foremost democracy and humanity’s guarantor of liberty and freedom.
    –Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

31. 

    Page Turner on March 19, 2005 at 3:23 pm

    BARBARITY IN AMERICA
    © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
    I never believed that I would live in a country that would, in effect, execute a brain-damaged woman who never hurt anyone in her life. The story of Terri Schiavo should outrage every decent American. While our soldiers valiantly fight and die across the sea so complete strangers can enjoy human rights, here at home an American woman who suffered severe brain damage 15 years ago is being subjected to death by dehydration and starvation by order of a judge. Today, her feeding tube was removed.
    The humanity of every society is determined first and foremost by how it treats its most helpless citizens, and a nation that is prepared to murder a feeble and vulnerable woman who can breathe but not eat on her own must take a deeper look at the source of its ethics.
    Before Hitler came for the J(e)ws and the gypsies, he first came after the mentally handicapped. He offered this rationale for euthanasia: “In nature, there is no pity for the lesser creatures when they are destroyed so that the fittest may survive. Going against nature brings ruin to man. It is only J(e)wish impudence to demand that we overcome nature.” Hitler, who was a committed evolutionist and applied the ruthless principals of natural selection to the human species, opposed “artificial” means of keeping the infirm alive. The species was strengthened when its weakest constituents perished, just as nature decreed.
    Charles Darwin expressed his own belief in stronger and more feeble parts of the human family when he famously wrote, “The more civilized so-called Caucasian races have beaten the Turkish hollow in the struggle for existence. Looking to the world at no very distant date, what an endless number of the lower races will have been eliminated by the higher civilized races throughout the world.”
    Thankfully, the United States does not derive its ethics from Darwin, but from Sinai. We do not believe in the quality of life, but in its sanctity. Since Hitler was the enemy of life, he despised not just Judaism, but Christianity, which in turn embraced the biblical idea of the infinite value of every human life and how each individual, regardless of the degree of brain cognition, was possessed of the divine.
    Hitler famously said, “The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity. … The deliberate lie in the matter of religion was introduced into the world by Christianity.” Hitler spent much of his table talk, faithfully recorded by Martin Bormann, attacking Judeo-Christian ethics: “This filthy reptile raises its head whenever there is a sign of weakness in the state, and therefore it must be stamped on. We have no sort of use for a fairy story invented by the J(e)ws.”
    How the United States could today devalue the life of the infirm by removing a brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube, and unwittingly ally itself with the euthanasia program of the history’s foremost monster, should send shivers down the spine of every American.
    But biblical ethics aside, there is also common sense and logic. Should we really take what might have been a throw-away comment from a wife to her husband about not wanting to live in a vegetative state as the rationale to murder a human being? Apparently, Terri and her husband were watching some film about a person in a coma when Terri told her husband she would never want to live like that. But people make comments like that during movies all the time without really meaning them.
    And even if Terri Schiavo expressly wanted to die, does that mean we should kill her? Dr. Kevorkian is sitting in prison for the rest of his life precisely because he killed people who wished to die. How is this different?
    And what jurisdiction should Terri’s husband, Michael, have here? He maintains that he is fighting to remove his wife’s feeding tube to keep his pledge to her that she be allowed to die with dignity.
    Now this is curious. The husband has taken other pledges to his wife, which apparently are far less meaningful to him. For example, in marrying her, he pledged to stand by her “in sickness and in health.” Yet, many years ago he abandoned Terri, moved in with his girlfriend and had children with this other woman. Apparently, his pledge of sexual fidelity did not mean much to him, either.
    Now, I’m not suggesting that Michael Schiavo should have remained celibate for the last 15 years, and I understand the need for human companionship. But he could easily have divorced Terri and left her in her parents’ care rather than cheating on her and having children out of wedlock. But staying married to your wife just to ensure that she dies sounds a lot to me like wanting to inherit her estate. But honestly, which sane judge, in this case Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer, would allow a man who is living with, and has children with, another woman, to make life-and-death decisions concerning his wife? This is a shocking affront to basic decency.
    Furthermore, Judge Greer accepted the opinion of doctors who said Ms. Schiavo, 41, is in a “persistent vegetative state,” the definition of which, according to the New York Times, is “damage to her cerebral cortex [that] has made her incapable of emotion, memory or thought.”
    But woe to a nation that determines that the sanctity of life is determined by a capacity to feel emotion, memory or thought. Before he died, Ronald Reagan was so ravaged by Alzheimer’s that he had lost all memory and all capacity for cognitive thought. But could one only imagine a sane individual arguing that Reagan should have been denied food years before his 2004 death because he had become worthless? The same applies to millions of the elderly who inhabit our homes for the aged. A great many do nothing but sit in a chair or lie in bed with scarcely movement or memory. How far are we from a time when calls will go forth to deny them all food as well?
    What comes to mind in the story of Terri Schiavo is the famous quotation of Pastor Martin Niemöller concerning moral failure in the face of the Nazis: “First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the J(e)ws, but I was not a J(e)w, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.” Terry Schiavo has no voice, so we must become her voice.
    I shudder for my country to think that such acts of barbarity can take place in the world’s foremost democracy and humanity’s guarantor of liberty and freedom.
    –Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

32. 

    arx axiom on March 19, 2005 at 3:43 pm

    Ah, yes; truly this is not just judicial tyranny, but judicial homicide as well.
    (Georgie Porgie, murder & lie, wants to make the lady die; But when real men come out to play, he will find himself the prey…)
    Re: Hanna G’s latest (com)post,
    Though she has been asked more than once to deposit her loads of excrement in appropriate receptacles, her latest is as full of it as her first.
    She claims to be respecting Terri’s wishes, and not to want Terri dead. These are both outright lies. Terri does not want to die, and has said so as clearly as she can without the therapy Michael Schiavo and his prodeath legal goons have withheld from her for the last 15 years. (Does it not strike anyone else that a woman who is still BREATHING after all the abuse heaped upon her for the last 15 years must have a tremendous will to live?…DUUUHHH!)
    Michael Schiavo, caca eater, took a wife, then maimed and beat her. Put her in a hospice shell to make her life on earth pure hell…
    Hanna wants Michael Schiavo’s cruel, and arguably false interpretation of his battered wife’s “wishes” respected, which are to have Terri tortured to death and cremated immediately thereafter, (the better to cover his brutal, abusive butt, my dears).
    We’ll take your alleged concern about the hypothetical situation you use to back up your claim to respect life when you don’t need to use it, because you are so loudly crying for the life of a woman whose life really is in danger, and DOES NOT WANT TO DIE. (See the latest on that at wnd.com, if the likelihood of a perfidious, adulterous, abusive husband faithfully representing his disabled wife’s wishes doesn’t strike you as very strange and more than a little spurious…as it does so many real thinking people of conscience.)
    Do YOU get it now, Hanna?

33. 

    the mcnutts on March 19, 2005 at 5:43 pm

    The 23rd Psalm — Translated to Terri’s Present Reality !!!
    The Lord is Terri’s Shepherd — That’s Relationship !!!
    She shall not want — That’s Supply !!!
    He maketh her to lie down in green pastures — That’s Rest !!!
    He leadeth her beside the still waters — That’s Refreshment !!!
    He restoreth her soul — That’s Healing !!!
    He leadeth her in the paths of righteousness — That’s Guidance !!!
    For His name sake — That’s Purpose !!!
    Yea, though Terri walk through the valley of the shadow of death — That’s Testing !!!
    She will fear no evil — That’s Protection !!!
    For Thou art with her — That’s Faithfulness !!!
    Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort her — That’s Discipline !!!
    Thou preparest a table before Terri in the presence of her enemies— That’s Hope !!!
    Thou annointest her head with oil — That’s Consecration !!!
    Her cup runneth over — That’s Abundance !!!
    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow Terri all the days of her life — That’s Blessing !!!
    And she will dwell in the house of the Lord — That’s Security!!!
    Forever — That’s Eternity !!!
    Congressional Subpoena — That’s Deliverance !!!
    Face it —- The Lord is crazy about Terri !!!
    Otherwise — Why else would He continuously deliver her from
    the evil hands of her attempted murderers ???
    The always feisty Tom Delay had some harsh words for a few senators for adjourning without considering passage of the Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005. Read his words below, which I found on a post at FreeRepublic.
    To: National Desk
    Contact: Dan Allen or Shannon Flaherty,
    202-225-4000, both of the Office of
    House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
    WASHINGTON, March 18 /U.S. Newswire/ — House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today delivered the following remarks at a press availability on the House of Representatives’ efforts to save the life of Terri Schiavo:
    “It is now one o’clock on the East Coast, the time preordained by a Florida state judge to allow for denial of food and water to Terri Schiavo. This act of barbarism can be, and must be, prevented. The Senate has before it the Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005. This bill is the right thing to do.
    Unfortunately, they have chosen to adjourn rather than pass it.
    “Those senators responsible for blocking the bill yesterday afternoon, Senators Boxer, Wyden, and Levin, have put Mrs. Schiavo’s life at risk to prove a point – an unprecedented profile in cowardice. The American people are not interested in squabbles between Republicans and Democrats, or between the House and Senate. They care, and we care, about saving Terri Schiavo’s life. The House bill will do that.
    “Terri Schiavo is alive. She is not ‘barely alive.’ She is not ‘being kept alive.’ She is as alive as you or I, and as such we have a moral obligation to protect and defend her from the fate premeditated by the Florida courts. This is not over. We are still working, so are Mrs. Schiavo’s lawyers, and so is the Florida state legislature. This is not over.
    “To friends, family, and millions of people praying around the world this Palm Sunday weekend: do not be afraid. Terri Schiavo will not be forsaken.”

34. 

    jerry on March 19, 2005 at 8:39 pm

    hanna
    what is there to get? your logic is totally flat. because not every husband or every wife wants the best for their spouse……let’s see – oj simpson, scott peterson, etc…. come to mind.
    if terri had felt this strongly about the matter, then michael would not have taken years to ‘remember’ and the rest of terri’s family would’ve had known about her wishes also. in addition, would someone who really loved terri have found a girlfriend, sired two kids, cut terri off totally from the outside world, fought her family in court, etc….? i think not.
    in your obsessive zeal to promote the pro euthanasia cause, you are missing some obvious red flags here.

35. 

    John on March 19, 2005 at 10:33 pm

    I watched a small video clip on the news last night and what I saw was an individual who could make eye contact with others. She did not appear to be “in a vegitative state”, she moved her eyes! and appeared to smile at times, but could not speak. Her husband in my opinion should have made his move long before 15 years had elapsed. The parents want to care for this woman and should be allowed to do so. He should be granted a divorce from Terri so he can go on with his life. I don’t think that removal of her feeding tube is humane it is starvation. We give more punishment for harming an animal than a human. Something is wrong with US!!!
    Sincerley, John

36. 

    Kelly M. on March 20, 2005 at 1:42 pm

    “Silly me, isn’t everyone born with a tube sticking out of their gastrointestinal tract and another implanted within their trachea?…”
    Is that your definition of artificial life support, Hanna? It’s certainly a chilling standard, hardly well-calculated to improve the quality of the vast majority (at least) of human life, since no one is born with clothes, eyeglasses/contacts, crutches, wheelchairs, hearing aids, a body weight of over 11 pounds, a length/height of much over 22 inches…(or teeth, or the ability to walk, run, speak, write, and other assets that most of us need, acquire, use, and are improved by, throughout our lives).
    Do we deprive everyone who uses them of these “artificial life enhancers”…clothing, white tipped canes, seeing eye dogs, glasses, hearing aids, etc.?
    Calling food and hydration “artificial life support” is both false and cruel; when was the last time you went without those things? How long do you think you would last without them? She would probably have been able to eat normally years ago had her husband not withheld rehabilitative therapy from her.
    Any number of temporary/non-fatal problems can occasion the use of a feeding tube in lieu of normal utensils. Why lethally punish someone who is judicially innocent of any capital offense, just because of a disability?
    Seems to me that when actual artificial life support (by legitimate definition) is withdrawn, the person on it dies within a matter of a few minutes or hours at the most, not a matter of days/weeks.
    I don’t always agree with everything Jerry posts but he is right in stating that your obsession with torturing to death this woman, whom you don’t know and who has done nothing to harm you, is nothing short of sick. You are worse than a rapist who tells his victim who is, for the sake of discussion, resisting with all the ability she has, “you like this”, when you assert that you are “only respecting Terri’s wishes.”
    You may have faculties that she does not possess, but the use she is making of hers compared with your misuse of yours puts you to shame. Jealousy is cruel as the grave; why not do everyone a favor and just repent?

37. 

    Carolan on March 20, 2005 at 4:52 pm

    On a much more positive and relevant note… (!)…prayers continue here for Terri, the rest of the Schindler family, the nation, and ORW, et al(l) who are standing with them…
    Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
    Does his successive journeys run;
    His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
    Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
    Behold the islands with their kings,
    And Europe her best tribute brings;
    From north to south the princes meet,
    To pay their homage at His feet.
    There Persia, glorious to behold,
    There India shines in eastern gold;
    And barb’rous nations at His word
    Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
    To Him shall endless prayer be made,
    And praises throng to crown His head;
    His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
    With every morning sacrifice.
    People and realms of every tongue
    Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
    And infant voices shall proclaim
    Their early blessings on His Name.
    Blessings abound wherever He reigns;
    The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
    The weary find eternal rest,
    And all the sons of want are blessed.
    Where He displays His healing power,
    Death and the curse are known no more:
    In Him the tribes of Adam boast
    More blessings than their father lost.
    Let every creature rise and bring
    Peculiar honors to our King;
    Angels descend with songs again,
    And earth repeat the loud amen!
    Great God, whose universal sway
    The known and unknown worlds obey,
    Now give the kingdom to Thy Son,
    Extend His power, exalt His throne.
    The scepter well becomes His hands;
    All Heav’n submits to His commands;
    His justice shall avenge the poor,
    And pride and rage prevail no more.
    With power He vindicates the just,
    And treads th’oppressor in the dust:
    His worship and His fear shall last
    Till hours, and years, and time be past.
    As rain on meadows newly mown,
    So shall He send his influence down:
    His grace on fainting souls distills,
    Like heav’nly dew on thirsty hills.
    The heathen lands, that lie beneath
    The shades of overspreading death,
    Revive at His first dawning light;
    And deserts blossom at the sight.
    The saints shall flourish in His days,
    Dressed in the robes of joy and praise;
    Peace, like a river, from His throne
    Shall flow to nations yet unknown.
    – Dr. Isaac Watts
    AMEN!!!

38. 

    Sara on March 20, 2005 at 8:52 pm

    A lot of people on this site like to vividly describe the horrors of starvation and describe nutrition as a fundamental human right. Then, maybe this case can bring awareness to the real tragedy of world wide starvation. Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of starvation in the world. That is 24,000 people a day, 120 million since Terri’s PEG was placed. Are they more or less deserving than Terri of nurishment? Not to Christ. Christ doesn’t care if you are American or Ethiopian. Of course, every life is sacred, but Congress isn’t holding special late night meeting for a single one of them. They most likely spent the week looking for ways to reduce funding in the upcoming budget (they were trying to cut the medicaid spending that supports Terri and many like her when this issue came up). And yes, Christians are working hard against world starvation. But 24,000 a day! We can do better (look what has been mobilized for Terri). We must do better to be more than just very vocal hypocrites. If we believe that nutrition is a fundamental human right, as we say, we must look beyond our borders (and within our borders many are food insecure) to care for all God’s children. Whether Terri’s PEG is replaced or not, use this new found awareness to fight starvation for all of the least of these for whom God cares just as much as for anyone else.

39. 

    jerome on March 20, 2005 at 9:12 pm

    sara
    while your point is interesting, the fact is that americans DO send huge sums of money and food to other countries. the reason many people are starving in other parts of the world has to do with government or warlord control of that country’s borders and people. it has been documented that boatloads of food sent to help starving people was either directed away from those it was intended to help, and sold on the black market, or withheld from those starving people as a means of controlling them. i could go on with other abuses and reasons why our compassion doesn’t always help in the way we’d like it to, but instead, let’s get back on the topic, which is that a american judge has ruled that a woman’s food and water be disconnected.
    that is profound, and must be opposed and stopped immediately. stop for a minute and think of the ramifications of judges deciding that people can be starved to death (euthanized, if you will) on the hearsay of one other person….

40. 

    Sara on March 21, 2005 at 7:55 am

    Jerome-
    Exactly, we need our national government to raise awareness, hold hearings, work to change the structures that cause world wide starvation. Christians should be every bit as vocal and petitioning of Bush and Congress on behalf of these people, clearly suffering at the hands of their governments. They have had absolutely no due process. Their cases have not been ajudicated time and time again. This is exactly topical because we are discussing the horrors of starvation, moral law, and the power of Congress to interceed. Congress and the President are our voice to the rest of the world. It is our job to speak for all people unjustly suffering, not just touchstone cases for furthering our pro-life case. You see, I just want the Christian message to be radically inclusive (like Christ was) so that it is not hypocritical. I want Congress to be inclusively pro-life for all humans not just pro-life on an emmergency basis. This one case will be decided for better or worse some day; we must continue to speak for the good of all people if we are willing to do so much for one person.

41. 

    jackie on March 21, 2005 at 1:21 pm

    Terri’s husband has said on Barbra Walters that he gets NO money if Terri dies….will they follow up on that ?

42. 

    life lynx on March 21, 2005 at 4:42 pm

    To those interested, here is a very insightful, and ethically sound, article on Living Wills.
    Read it & reap the benefits of godly wisdom & counsel.
    BEWARE OF SO-CALLED LIVING WILLS!
    From Flip Benham with comments by Steve Mashburn
    “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13
    Sunday afternoon Flip and I discussed the current crisis in Clearwater, Florida with Terri Schiavo and the issue of so-called living wills. It is our firm conviction at Operation Rescue/Operation Save America that living wills are extremely dangerous and should be viewed by Christians with extreme caution. We are opposed to “living wills.” Giving a person food and water through a tube is not a “heroic action” to resuscitate a person who is brain dead. A person giving a directive to remove a feeding tube when they can otherwise live on their own is asking the rest of us to assist them in suicide. God would never have us murder you!
    We understand terrible situations in which a person may be brain dead, unable to respond at all and the body kept alive only by machines with no chance of recovery. Such cases require prayer and good medical counsel as the decision to remove the machines may very well be God’s will. Terri Schiavo is not anywhere near such a situation yet her crisis is being used by the “right to die” crowd and other enemies of life to create a rush for everyone to obtain a “living will” or other advanced directive.
    Beware Christians! This deception is from the pit of hell and is even catching dear friends in Christian leadership such as Dr. James Dobson in its claws. Take heed how you hear brothers and sisters. God help us, especially our leaders in Christian and secular media!
    Too see this danger we need to look no further than our dear sister Liz Thomas who several weeks ago spent a couple of weeks on a respirator to keep her alive in intensive care. Doctors gave Liz no chance for recovery yet this precious mother of 10 and wife went home with her family this past Friday after three months in the hospital. A “living will” stating that no heroic action be taken could have been wrongly interpreted and used by unscrupulous doctors to take Liz’s fate into their own hands even over her husband Rusty Thomas’s objections.
    The Hemlock Society must be dancing with glee, their hands raised in the air as even Christian leaders on Christian air waves tell us all to go to an attorney and have a “living will” drawn up. After years of battling Jack Kavorkian in court cases, attorney Constance Cumby stated at a lecture in Wichita, KS, “a living will is a dead give-away. If I need air, I want to be given air. If I need food and water, I want to be given food and water.”
    Constance Cumby is right! We live in a society where doctors routinely tell new parents that their baby is handicapped with little chance to live or at least live a normal life and it would be best if they let doctors disconnect the respirator or let the baby die of starvation. I cannot count the number of Christian parents that have told me these doctors’ evil counsel while their children are alive and blessed today. The abortion industry pulls in millions through such pre-natal counseling — Just look at Wichita abortionist George Tiller. Terri Schiavo has been God’s wake up call to America.
    The culture of death that surrounds us today is dangerous. In Holland elderly people are terrified of going to the hospital for even minor reasons. In a State where murder by assisted suicide is legal, any two doctors can determine your quality of life, outlook for the future and you can be legally murdered. If you don’t think it can happen here you are wrong. You quite possibly might be dead wrong in the not too distant future. Indeed the groundwork is being paved now through “living wills.”
    I am a quadriplegic with Social Security Disability as my only income and Medicare & state Medicaid pay for me to receive home based health care in my own home and community. Each year in keeping with state law the SRS visits me and reviews my eligibility and needs. One question they ask every single year has haunted me for the past decade. That question is this. “Do you have a living will or any advanced directive?”
    Why do you suppose the State wants to know if I have a “living will” and to what end? Could it possibly have anything to do with state law requiring me to give a copy of any such document if I receive state Medicaid funds? Medicaid & Medicare only pay 35—45 percent of doctor and hospital bills. Considering that sky-rocketing costs of both Medicare and Medicaid were targeted for cuts even by President Bush this year, I would say the State has a vested interest in directing what health care services I and other persons with disabilities receive. State lawmakers are no different.
    Faced with a choice of much higher taxes or cutting off health care funding to the elderly and infirm, which do you think the generation of abortion on demand will choose? The compassionate conservatives in the Republican Party argue for cuts to heath care for poor adults over higher taxes. The slippery slope that abortion started us down is about to pick up speed if Christians do not speak up and act now.
    One need look no further than the plight of Terri Schiavo for convincing evidence of an imminent Final Solution plot for the future in America. Death has become the solution for those individuals that may inconvenience us in America from abortion to the disabled. Now add the specter of “Living Wills” in which doctors determine your chances of recovery and “quality of life” then decide whether you or I die. A simple case of pneumonia requiring a few days in the hospital on a respirator could be a death sentence for you made possible by drawing up a “living will” by none other than you yourself!
    As the persecution of Christians in the media, a growing number of courts and a hostile society ignorant of God’s Law grows even less tolerant of born again Christians, we need to know that like in Nazi Germany we are very likely a target in the crosshairs of God-haters. The State will be looking for opportunities to rid society of unwanted Christians. Lawyers are drawing up those excuses to murder those we inconvenience and a few of our Christian leaders are unwisely and unknowingly advising us to give the State the legal means and permission.
    Oh dear Christian can you not see the danger in such open “living will” documents? Doctors, lawyers and judges are being quoted in the media saying that non-heroic methods such as supplying food and water classify as a reason to murder someone. Perhaps you would prefer not to live that way but you have absolutely no right to ask us to murder you. No matter what our nation’s courts decide God still calls helping another person commit suicide murder. God’s court is Supreme and there is no appeal beyond Him. Christians especially need to avoid such legal documents and use extreme caution in such prior decisions with our loved ones. Do not let a “living will” be your dead give-away.
    “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Proverbs 14:7

43. 

    page t. on March 21, 2005 at 4:54 pm

    Here’s another clinical opinion worth considering (if anyone seriously doubts its premise…)
    TERRI SCHIAVO’S HUSBAND FITS PROFILE OF WIFE ABUSER, PER PSYCHIATRIST
    “As Terri Schiavo starves to death, it is time to alert more lawmakers to the truth: the wrong person is being ‘punished’ for Terri Schiavo’s current state,” says Carole Lieberman, M.D. a Board Certified Psychiatrist on the Clinical Faculty of UCLA. Having interviewed Terri’s father on her radio show (“Dr. Carole’s Couch” on voiceamerica.com), Dr. Lieberman uncovered the fact that Terri’s husband, Michael Schiavo, fits the profile of a wife-abuser — the same profile that fit O.J. Simpson and Scott Peterson. At Terri’s father’s request, Dr. Lieberman put her opinion in writing (see below) so that the family could provide it to their attorneys, Governor Jeb Bush and Florida DCFS — who subsequently have begun investigating the possibility (supported by medical records and witnesses) that Michael Schiavo may well be the one responsible for the collapse that Terri suffered 15 years ago. Even offers of $1 million were not enough for Michael to take the risk of Terri being around ‘to talk’. “Since writing my preliminary opinion, further information has come to light that continues to support this position. Unless this travesty of justice is stopped, the answer will truly lie where the bones are buried,” warns Dr. Lieberman.
    July 12, 2004
    PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS ON HOW TERRI SCHIAVO’S HUSBAND, MICHAEL, FITS THE PROFILE OF A WIFE ABUSER
    Based upon my interviews of Terri’s father, Robert Schindler, and my research into media accounts of her case, I can provide the following preliminary opinions at this time:
    –As the author of the book, Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live with Them and When to Leave Them, I have studied men who exhibit pathology in their relationships with women. Profiles of the twelve different types of bad boys are explained. Michael Schiavo fits the profile, described in the book as the Prince of Darkness (see chapter 13). O.J. Simpson was cited as a classic example of this type, and there are indeed similarities between the two men. It is especially significant to note that O.J. flew into a homicidal rage when he realized that Nicole was totally abandoning him, as is characteristic of these impulsive men who most dread being abandoned by their woman. Similarly, Michael Schiavo was likely to have known that Terri had begun making plans to divorce him, since she had told a coworker and family member. Stalking is characteristic of this type of man, as well. And a girlfriend of Michael’s, Cindy, accused him of stalking her in 2001.
    –Terri’s personality fits that of a woman who would have been attracted (and attractive) to such a man. She was a loner as a child. In high school she was overweight and not popular with boys. She had low self-esteem. She was extremely compassionate, nurturing and subservient. They met when Terri was 20 years old, and married by the time she was 21. Such whirlwind courtships are typical of these men, who are able to spot a vulnerable woman they can dominate, and eager to seal her commitment to him.
    Terri was frightened to object to Michael’s pathologically controlling behavior. For example, he would monitor her odometer to control where she went. He tried to isolate her from her friends and family. She had to account for every penny, though they often lived on her income, since he would be fired, sometimes only after two weeks. He would splurge on $400 suits for himself, while she had to economize. He called her at work 3-4 times a day, often complaining of hating his job because no one appreciated him. He was often observed scolding her.
    –Terri’s family observed black and blue marks on her before the incident that plunged her into her current state. Medical records and/or experts have revealed that her neck injury was consistent with strangulation. A bone scan revealed multiple fractures occurring within 1-2 months before or after the incident, which has been described as equivalent to her being “hit by a mach truck”. Michael has given three different explanations of how he found Terri after the incident.
    –Michael has had Terri’s j(e)welry re-set into a ring for himself. Terri had two beloved cats that she adopted from an animal shelter, where they’d landed after being mistreated. When he moved in with his girlfriend, Cindy, he had Terri’s cats euthanized. Psychologically, this is symbolic of what he is trying to do now to Terri.
    –Michael has been under psychiatric care, including being prescribed several psychotropic medications. One of his treating therapists, Dr. Peter Kaplan, told Terri’s father that he should have called the police after Michael argued with Terri’s sister, Susanne, and Michael tried to attack her. This occurred right after Terri’s collapse, when they were all in a house together. Terri’s father told Susanne to lock her door and keep a hammer nearby.
    –As a psychiatric expert witness, I have had experience performing psychiatric examinations of men like Michael Schiavo, and testifying in court about similar cases. The above is simply meant to illustrate some of the indications that Michael fits the profile of an abusive husband. He should most definitely be investigated as the perpetrator of the ‘incident’ that caused Terri’s collapse and her current condition. If Terri were to be allowed to die, as Michael has been desperately struggling to achieve for years, it could help him escape detection. This would be a grave miscarriage of justice.
    Dr. Lieberman is the psychiatrist who instigated the investigation into Michael Jackson’s current accuser.

44. 

    life lynx on March 21, 2005 at 5:41 pm

    WARNING FROM HOLLAND: FLORIDA ‘S TERRI SCHIAVO CASE
    STRONG EUTHANASIA WARNING FROM HOLLAND / February 23, 2005
    By Dr. Bert P. Dorenbos, President Schreeuw om Leven (Cry for Life) Hilversum , Holland
    FLORIDA ‘S TERRI CASE OPENS THE DOOR FOR EUTHANASIA IN THE USA
    Florida’s 2nd Court of Appeal has ordered that Mrs. Terri Schindler-Schiavo’s feeding tube be removed. That tube provides her with essential nutrition and hydration.
    The request for this decision came from Mrs. Schiavo’s husband Michael. Medical evidence and information given by Mrs. Schiavo’s parents and other visitors prove that ending her life is a violation of Mrs. Schiavo’s human rights.
    The Supreme Court Decision bans euthanasia in the United States of America . This Florida Court decision opens the (flood)gate of subjective decision making in cases of life and death.
    At the moment that, in the Dutch debate on euthanasia, a court ruled that withholding food and fluid is a permissible medical treatment the road was paved for the Euthanasia Law that is in force in Holland now. It was in the case of Mrs. Ineke Stinissen, who had been in coma for several years that a Dutch court ruled in 1990 that food and fluid could be withheld from her. As is the case of Mrs. Schiavo, this was at the request of her husband. Mrs. Stinissen died shortly afterwards from starvation.
    Since then the discussion about the termination of life has no longer been based on objective facts on the terminal illness in the life of a patient, but more and more on a subjective approach to the quality of that patient’s life and the subjective view of professional and non professional persons about the right to life or death.
    National Constitutions, the International Declaration on Human Rights, the recent United Nations Declarations are all based on the universal protection of the life of a person whatever his circumstances are and without any form of discrimination. In medical circles it is still accepted that, based on the historical Hippocratic Oath, a medical doctor will never apply his skill to kill a person.
    It is not without reason that the United Nations Human Rights Commission has questioned the Dutch Government expressing its members’ concern on the subjective regulations in the Dutch Euthanasia law which allows a doctor to kill a patient. These questions are still not answered.
    In Holland the debate has not stopped with the introduction of the euthanasia law but it is even increasing because doctors are still not willing to report their euthanasia cases. Patients are not sure if the doctor helps to kill or to cure. The Dutch Euthanasia Law is a very dangerous example to follow.
    It is extremely important that those organisations who support the Supreme Court decision to ban Euthanasia take action against this Florida Court Decision. An appeal should be made.
    We are available to help to answer your questions and to testify in this case.
    Dr. Bert P. Dorenbos, President Schreeuw om Leven (Cry for Life) Hilversum, Holland

45. 

    jerome on March 21, 2005 at 11:04 pm

    sara
    let me repeat, just so you understand my point – “…let’s get back on the topic, which is that a american judge has ruled that a woman’s food and water be disconnected. that is profound, and must be opposed and stopped immediately. stop for a minute and think of the ramifications of judges deciding that people can be starved to death (euthanized, if you will) on the hearsay of one other person….”.
    this case has nothing to do with worldwide starvation, sara. if you want to discuss that issue, perhaps there are websites for that. but this is about murder of a wife by her ‘husband’ and court approval of same.

46. 

    Just me on March 22, 2005 at 8:35 am

    OK, so you all are so worried about Terri starving to death? What about all the ppl in our country who go to bed at night hungry, including children, because BUSH has made our economy so bad ppl can not afford to buy food or pay bills? What about all of our ppl who are being MURDERED over seas due to this war. Why dont you guys prtest things like that instead of this woman who has no life left. Its not a life if you are unable to do anything besides lay in a bed.

47. 

    Dr. J in Florida on March 22, 2005 at 9:48 am

    After hearing the nurse’s testimony that Terry Schiavo suffered a hypoglycemic episode (via signs and blood glucose monitor)after Michael Schiavo was in the room for 1/2 hour with her alone and that needle marks were found under her breat, axilla and groin and that an empty vial of insulin was found hidden in the wastebasket I am convinced that Michael Schiavo tried to kill her but was unsuccesful . But a hypoglycemic episode like that would certainly contribute to deterioration of her brain function. His comments of asking why hadn’t that “bitch” died reveals the true nature of his relationship with Terry. The nurse states she reported this to her superiors who were supposed to report this to DFS and the police . However, the nurse was terminated from caring for Terry Schiavo. ? cover-up?
    This is truly a travisty of justice and rights for women.

48. 

    jtm on March 22, 2005 at 11:14 am

    to (Un)’just me’
    Why do you assume that the people who are protesting an innocent woman being tortured to death do nothing to help others who have legal protection against such abuse, as is being stripped in this case not only from Terri, but every American who may find him/herself with a disability, and vulnerable to predators such as Schiavo, Pelos, Greer, and their medical thugs?
    Who are you to say that she has no life left? She is very much alive, though seriously handicapped. If you are so concerned about her “having no life left”, why haven’t you protested her husband’s cruel withholding of rehabilitative care which would, according to much more expert medical opinion than yours, have likely restored to her a higher level of function and thus, a higher quality of life, rather than using her handicap as an excuse to unjustly deprive her of the life she does have.
    The fact that she has already survived Schiavo’s battering and several attempts to legally murder her to date strongly suggests that she is much more vitally alive than you are. Think about it. Her will to live, despite her various handicaps, has, thus far, trumped his will to kill her, despite his various advantages. That that itself indicates nothing to you other than an excuse to kill her suggests that her mental handicap is nothing compared with your moral and mental challenges.
    Grow up. It’s not all about “just you.”

49. 

    LIFE LYNX on March 22, 2005 at 12:41 pm

    WHAT IF TERRI WANTS TO LIVE? —-
    Posted: March 22, 2005
    1:00 a.m. Eastern
    Just what is it that so earnestly motivates those who zealously want Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube to be removed? While there are plenty of exceptions, I dare say that most people in this camp are not driven by constitutional concerns, despite their hollow protests to the contrary.
    As my brother Rush cogently noted, it is easy to understand what drives those who want to save Terri’s life: the human urge to protect and save the life of another human being. The motivation of those fighting with equal fervor to remove the tube is not so self-evident.
    The more I read about this case, the more it weighs on me — the more a creeping feeling of horror sweeps over me. If, in fact, Terri Schiavo wants to live and is going to be denied that right, the prospect of a court-ordered removal of her feeding tube is no less horrifying than that of a person being buried alive.
    If Terri truly wants to live — as a lawyer visiting with her when her feeding tube was removed avers — how could any caring person wish death upon her? The question is not whether we think we would want to live in Terri’s state, but whether in fact she wants to. Are those advocating Terri’s death allowing themselves to consider that this woman truly wants to live — just like they do?
    I doubt I’ll ever be able to understand, much less relate to, the sympathies of certain people. Generally speaking, they seem to feel more compassion for wildlife than animals, more for animals than human beings, more for guilty human beings than innocent ones, more for Communist dictators and tyrannical thugs than freedom fighters, and more for the vindication of an abstract principle devaluing human life than for an actual human being like Terri Schiavo, who, though severely disabled, may truly want to live.
    How can we possibly view in a favorable light the position of those who protest to save the lives of convicted killers on death row and who bend over backward to believe their most incredible stories of innocence, but won’t lift a finger in support of Terri Schiavo and won’t even momentarily consider that Terri wants to live? Where are the “Free Mumia” chanters when Terri needs them?
    I realize some believe that many advocating for Terri’s life are using her for their own political purposes and that even Terri’s parents, the Schindlers, are putting their own selfish wishes to keep Terri alive above those of Terri herself.
    But do we actually believe that loving parents — parents who would eagerly trade places with Terri in an instant — would place their own comfort above their daughter’s? If not, how can we possibly believe they would fight to prolong her suffering? In examining this case from a distance, isn’t it much easier to believe Terri’s parents’ assessment of her desire to continue living than that of her adulterous husband, whose conflict of interest should disqualify him from guardianship in this case and participation in this decision?
    And isn’t the essential argument of those wanting the tube removed that Terri’s wishes ought to be honored? Since Terri left no legal document directing her death in these circumstances, shouldn’t the system require clear and convincing evidence that Terri indeed would want to die in these circumstances? Yet the court is relying on the hearsay evidence of Terri’s estranged husband, Michael.
    The question is whether as a society we want to resolve these very difficult, doubtful cases in favor of death.
    I detect more than a bit of intellectual dishonesty among many favoring Terri’s death. They are claiming they merely want to honor Terri’s wishes, yet they rely on her tainted husband, callously discount the testimony of her loving parents, blindly accept the disinformation that Terri is in a purely vegetative state, and ignore multiple firsthand accounts, including from examining physicians and nurses, that Terri is responsive, sometimes animated, and definitely wants to go on living.
    Could it be that something besides Terri’s wishes motivates many of the death-soldiers, such as an allegiance to the culture of death, or some abject, inhumane resentment that we spend so much money keeping severely disabled people alive? I’ve received appalling e-mails from people complaining about the financial burden to society of keeping Terri alive.
    I’m not pointing fingers at anyone specifically, because I know that many who want the tube removed are motivated by their perceived compassion for Terri and even honoring Terri’s wishes. But I fear that many arguing for tube removal are doing so with complete disregard for Terri’s actual wishes in this case. To the extent that is going on, we are witnessing up-close the face of evil.
    We must fight on. … More prayers for Terri.
    — David Limbaugh
    © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
    NOTE: Many people have pointed to the absence of a written directive as a reason not to kill Terri. But what if she had left such a directive? It would still be wrong to murder her. This is being hyped to make a euthanasia holocaust palatable to America, just as “choice” was cynically used to make the abortion holocaust socially more acceptable than deplorable. Folks, don’t forget: the distance between “volitional” euthanasia and non-volitional is almost non-existant. Ask any survivor of the Nazi Holocaust. THIS ANGLE IS PROPAGANDA. DON’T BUY THE LIE.

50. 

    Anita Mann on March 22, 2005 at 2:23 pm

    Oh wow! I just noticed that you have new articles under the stories about Terri.
    Good luck on your staff member’s lawsuit.

51. 

    jt on March 22, 2005 at 6:48 pm

    LOL and (Franken)Stein, (et al),
    The two of you have one hell of a nerve. Signing yourself “LOL” as an innocent woman is being tortured to death (not to mention the starving Ugandans you are so “concerned” about)does not exactly indicate any particular concern about anyone’s wishes but your own. She does not need to die, deserve to die…or want to die.
    No, this is not a Christian fascist nation, but it is fast becoming a secular socialist fascist un-nation, and this travesty of justice is just one more nail in the coffin of legitimate freedom, dignity, and justice.
    If you think Terri is mentally challenged, look in your mirrors.
    There are remedies for everything but death…if she will just be given the grace to have those administered, as she needs, wants & deserves…rather than your cruel, selfish, “kill everyone who’s not just like us” atrocity.
    That Terri has survived all she has for the last 15 years indicates a very strong will to live. And no, the best thing for her is not death. It is a chance at rehabilitation, and at least the chance to die, if she absolutely must, in God’s time, not the euthanasia goons’, cared for and embraced by her family.
    She cried, and moaned, when told that her feeding tube was being removed and she was going to die. So would you, in her condition.
    No doubt Terri will be with God when she dies; but in your present vile state of mindlessness, you would do much better to consider your own eternal destiny, rather than bashing people you don’t know trying to intervene on behalf of someone else you don’t know.
    Grow up. It’s not all about you.

52. 

    jerry on March 22, 2005 at 6:53 pm

    elise
    beware of trying to be your own Bible scholar.
    you are suffering from a severe case of Biblical illiteracy.
    Jesus Himself prayed publicly, outloud, several times. the verses you quote do not prohibit public prayer – Jesus was simply saying “do not be a hypocrite”. He admonished the apostles not to be like those who pray in public TO BE SEEN OF MEN – in other words, the motives of those people were wrong. He did not forbid public prayer.
    next time, do your homework before inserting foot in mouth.

53. 

    elise on March 22, 2005 at 9:22 pm

    Jerry –
    Don’t worry quoting scripture must be “verbally attacking” and the post was removed. Apparently, a news crew ask people to move over to a better angle for the camera and they all did. You don’t think there are more people there because the cameras are there?

54. 

    jerry on March 22, 2005 at 10:08 pm

    elise
    quoting scripture is fine, if you actually know what it means – but perverting its true meaning is what you’re about.
    you don’t know the Bible well at all, or how to interpret what you’ve read. your comments, therefore, are so much nonsense.

55. 

    Elise on March 22, 2005 at 10:25 pm

    Jerry-
    Sola Scriptura. I do actually get to read my Bible and believe that a bunch of people trucking over once the TV cameras turn on the national news are the very hypocrites Jesus warned us against becoming. I don’t have to read into the Bible what the far right Christians do. But this probably won’t get posted.

56. 

    jerry on March 23, 2005 at 8:23 am

    everyone should read this affidavit – it’s chilling:
    http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/CIyerAffidavit090203.htm

57. 

    jerry on March 23, 2005 at 8:25 am

    elise
    if you read your Bible, then why are so ignorant about its meaning?
    the jesus you believe in is NOT the Jesus of Scripture.

58. 

    lisa on March 23, 2005 at 10:16 am

    I have never encountered so many people who claim to be Christians who say the things that are said here. The focus should be on Terri and educating others re: her plight, not who can come up with the best (or meanest) come-back.
    I used to have a different opinion than what I have now. My opinion changed through praying about it and talking with a very wonderful Christian lady, certainly not from reading some of the postings here.

59. 

    jerome on March 23, 2005 at 11:35 am

    lisa
    in proverbs, it says to “answer a fool according to his folly” and i don’t see where any of the above posts are ‘mean’, really. it’s just that some of the foolish comments that people make require confrontation.
    by the way, i wonder what you’d say upon hearing Someone call others “snakes, vipers, children of the devil” and “whitewashed tombs” or what you’d think of that same Man making a whip and physically driving people out of the temple…. my guess is that you’d think that wasn’t very “Christian” of Him, or that He was being ‘mean’. yet, Jesus did and said those things, yet He never sinned.
    sometimes confrontation is necessary. henry david thoreau once said “severe truth is always expressed with some bitterness”.

60. 

    tony on March 23, 2005 at 12:09 pm

    elise
    since you consider yourself a Christian, then why are you ignoring what Jesus said about feeding a hungry person or giving a drink of water to a thirsty person? how about what He said about ‘least of these’?
    how we treat the least of these, and terri does qualify, is how we treat Him.
    therefore, it would seem that you are the hypocrite.
    when an innocent woman is being starved to death before our eyes, and all you have to say is that you disagree with public prayer, it would also seem that you have some rather bizarre priorities. your priorities don’t reflect what is taught in Scripture.

61. 

    lisa on March 23, 2005 at 2:49 pm

    Jerome, the thing is, when Jesus drove those people from the temple, what they were doing was wrong and Jesus “knew” what was in their hearts. He knew what was in their hearts because He is the son of God. No one here can know what is in the hearts of others, especially without meeting them or knowing them. I agree that confrontation may be necessary but people need to realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that the type of “confrontation” that I’ve read here and in other postings re: OR do not sway someone to believe as the other believes. Rather, it does the opposite and certainly turns people off rather than teaching them. Jesus believed in educating others, loving others and accepting others.

62. 

    Tammy on March 23, 2005 at 3:51 pm

    I cannot BELIEVE the Judge! He is as sick as terri’s husband is. They act like they are enjoying watching her family suffer, and enjoy the begging just to tell them no one more time over and over. This cruel act is hateful, and I hope when she dies because of there onset refusals that Michael Schiavo and the Judge choke on the very substance they have refused Terri of. They have had no right to do this with out a written and signed will by Terri’s hands. God will take her when HE is ready for her no matter what kind of life support she’s on, even if the life support is the support of someones helping hand. It’s murder, and a Judge far greater than any on face of this earth WILL NOT LET THEM GO UNPUNISHED. My heart and prayers are with Mr. and Mrs. Schindler as well as Terri.

63. 

    jerome on March 23, 2005 at 4:51 pm

    lisa
    i must respectfully disagree with you.
    when i used to work in the financial services industry, sometimes people who owed a bill would basically indicate that if an account rep was nice to them, they’d pay the bill they owed, but if not, they wouldn’t. my response was – ‘you still owe the bill no matter what’. my point is that when someone confronts another person who’s wrong, the person confronted is still responsible no matter whether the confrontation is ‘nice’ or ‘mean’. truth is truth, even if it’s not expressed in a way that you or i or anyone feels is ‘what Jesus would do’.
    in the Bible there are plenty of places where God the Father confronts people in ways that are harsh – and how they respond to that truth is
    always their responsibility.

64. 

    Pam Taube on March 23, 2005 at 10:28 pm

    Tell Greta that we need to see more of the clergy protesting. I think their oppposition is a powerful influence. Our courts should be reflecting and implementing the will of God in their decisions.

65. 

    Dylana on March 24, 2005 at 11:58 am

    I’m Christian but you know what. Terry is oing absolutely nothing. Shes a vegetable that has to rely on someone for everything. The life she has is artificial and empty. If we did not have this technology she wouls have been dead a long time ago. I think being kept alive artificially is more for other people than for the actual person. Do you think shes happy being locked inside this body she cant do anything with. i have already told my husband that God forbid anything like that happen to me unplug me ASAP.

66. 

    jerry on March 24, 2005 at 12:18 pm

    dylana
    there is such a thing as being Christian in name only….and a person, like yourself, who’s Christian in name only, is not really Christian.
    you have no idea what you are talking about.
    terri is not only life support or hooked up to any machine with any sort of technology. she is fed intraveneously instead of through the mouth, although nurses have testifed that she has been able to accept food through her mouth. babies are fed with tiny spoons, as are some elderly people. is their life less valuable? i’m sure the answer to that in your eyes is ‘yes’, but that’s not consistent with anything Christian. God cares for the small, the weak, the disabled, the sick, etc… it’s only self-centered hedonists like yourself that want the small, the weak, the sick and the disabled to die.
    how you would want to live or not live isn’t the point. terri is a human being, made in the image of God, and for you to call her “nothing” clearly demonstrates that you don’t know the Creator or His Son.

67. 

    Randy Kehr on March 24, 2005 at 3:01 pm

    Judge Greer is single-hamdedly opposing the will ofCongress, the Florida state legislature, and President Bush. Now, he is pushing his weight (and he is ONLY a PROBATE judge!) on the Governor’s office.
    This is a travesty! How can the court override the express will of the WHOLE NATION?? Congress spoke, and ORDERED a NEW TRIAL, yet a judge, ONE MAN, can STOP that move of power? Without a trial??

68. 

    jerry on March 24, 2005 at 6:10 pm

    viv
    none of those judges, especially the arrogant and pompous george greer, has really looked at the evidence. especially the evidence of michael’s ongoing abuse and neglect. and they have certainly based all their opinions on the hearsay of one man and two of his relatives, who say, conveniently, that terri ‘wouldn’t want to live that way’. but others who knew terri well say the opposite – yet their testimony has been ignored.
    i agree with randy – his views are far more factual than your proeuthanasia propoganda, as you sit and cheer for terri’s death. shame on you.

69. 

    Vinston on March 24, 2005 at 7:37 pm

    The entire Terri Schiavo controversy exists because she does not have what’s called a “Living Will” – a legal document that requires hospitals to respect your wishes in a life or death situation. But a Living Will may not do you any good in Texas.
    Without a Living Will the decision whether or not to stay alive on life support is out of your hands.
    “I think this case clearly should demonstrate that to everybody that the importance of having these decisions written down and discussed with your family,” says University Hospital Spokesperson Leni Kirkman.
    A Living Will is free and you don’t need a lawyer or a notary. But even if you have a living will in Texas, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll stay on life support. Back in 1999, a law was passed here in Texas that allows hospitals to take you off life saving machines.
    If your doctor feels there’s no hope for survival, the Advance Directives Act allows a hospital to make a life decision for you. This exact situation just happened in Houston to Spiro Nikolouzos.
    “The state of his brain injury is so severe, we can’t fix him,” explains Dr. David pate from St. luke’s hospital.
    But Nikolouzos’ wife was able to move him to a San Antonio nursing home. That happened because that Texas law giving doctors and hospitals the right to remove you from life support also allows your family ten days to find another health center to take care of you.
    If the Schiavo case would have happened in Texas, it appears her feeding tube would have been removed long ago. That’s because that law, signed by then Governor Bush in 1999, spells out who is the patient’s surrogate, or decision-maker. It’s the spouse with no provision for resolving disputes with other family members. And because Terri Schiavo’s husband agrees with doctors who want to remove the tube, experts say it’s likely the tube would have been removed.

70. 

    jerry on March 24, 2005 at 9:02 pm

    viv
    it wasn’t what you said, it was what you didn’t say…
    you’re clearly proeuthanasia, and want terri to die. why is anyone’s guess, but there is no logical reason to come on a site about terri’s forced starvation and side with the judicial tyranny that’s led to this, unless you oppose allowing her to live.
    i don’t believe in a conspiracy – i believe, as with abortion, that most people are generally gutless and follow the perceived trends, including judges, and i believe that apathy and indifference are tending to rule the day, rather than compassion and protection for those who are incapacitated or disabled.
    the facts aren’t really complex, as you state.
    terri left no written directive, and michael, a man with a lot of strange actions and statements over the years, is being allowed by judicial activism to have terri starved to death, based on something she supposedly said. that’s hearsay, and is not admissable in any real court of law.
    therefore, what is happening, with court sanction, is murder, pure and simple.

71. 

    tony on March 24, 2005 at 9:13 pm

    vinston
    here are the facts about that texas law, from Burke Balch, Director of Media Relations of National Right to Life:
    “We have heard the claim in this debate that the President is inconsistent for supporting this bill and Terri, because, the accusation
    runs, as Governor of Texas in 1999 he signed legislation now being used to
    deny lifesaving treatment against family wishes. That’s based on a serious misunderstanding about the effect of the Texas law then-Governor Bush
    signed.
    Here are the facts:
    In August 1996 the Journal of the American Medical Association
    published an article describing procedures then in effect in Houston hospitals. Under these procedures, if a doctor wished to deny a patient
    lifesaving medical treatment and the patient or the patient’s surrogate instead steadfastly expressed a desire for life, the doctor would submit the case to the hospital ethics committee. The patient or surrogate would be
    given 72 hours notice of the committee meeting would be allowed to plead for
    the patient’s life at it. During that short 72 hour period, the patient or surrogate, while preparing to argue for life, could also try to find another health care provider willing to give the lifesaving treatment, food or fluids.
    If the ethics committee decided for death, under these procedures there was no appeal. There was no provision that the food, fluids, or lifesaving treatment be provided after the decision while the patient or
    family tried to find another hospital willing to keep the patient alive.
    So under these procedures, the hospitals in Houston were denying life-saving treatment, food and fluids against the wishes of patients and
    their families, when the hospital ethics committees said their quality of life was too poor. Patients and families were being given only 72 hours after being notified of the proposed denial to find another health care
    provider.
    In 1997 there was an advance directives bill going through the Texas
    legislature that would have given specific legal sanction to such involuntary denial of life-saving treatment. An effort in the Texas
    legislature to amend the bill to require treatment pending transfer to a
    health care provider willing to provide the life-saving treatment had been defeated. When that bill reached Governor George Bush’s desk, he vetoed it,
    and said he was vetoing it precisely because it authorized hospitals to deny
    lifesaving medical treatment, food, and fluids against the will of the patients.
    But even without that bill, these procedures were still going on.
    So there was an effort in the next sitting of the legislature, in 1999, to pass protective legislation. Unfortunately, the votes just weren’t there to require lifesaving treatment, food, or fluids be provided by unwilling
    hospitals. So there were negotiations that resulted in a bill that gave
    partial protection. That 1999 bill:
    first, formalized more protections for in-hospital review
    second, gave patients 10 days of treatment while seeking transfer,
    and third, authorized court proceedings to extend the 10 days for reasonable additional periods to accomplish transfer.
    Now this was not what patient advocates wanted and it wasn’t what Governor Bush wanted. However, it was an important advance over the existing situation of no legal requirement of treatment pending transfer, for any period of time. The votes were not there in the Texas legislature to accomplish a more protective bill. So Governor Bush signed it because it
    was an improvement over the existing law.
    Now every member of Congress knows that hard as you try, you often don’t get all you want in legislation. Every member of Congress knows that you have to compromise and get the best you can, when it is an improvement even though it is far from what you would like. That is what then-Governor Bush did. It is simply wrong now to say he is inconsistent just because he signed a law that provided less protections against involuntary denial of treatment than he wanted, but more than were in the existing law.”

72. 

    Angel on March 24, 2005 at 11:54 pm

    Baby born with fatal defect dies after removal from life support
    By LEIGH HOPPER
    Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
    The baby wore a cute blue outfit with a teddy bear covering his bottom. The 17-pound, 6-month-old boy wiggled with eyes open and smacked his lips, according to his mother.
    Then at 2 p.m. today, a medical staffer at Texas Children’s Hospital gently removed the breathing tube that had kept Sun Hudson alive since his Sept. 25 birth. Cradled by his mother, he took a few breaths, and died.
    “I talked to him, I told him that I loved him. Inside of me, my son is still alive,” Wanda Hudson told reporters afterward. “This hospital was considered a miracle hospital. When it came to my son, they gave up in six months …. They made a terrible mistake.”
    Sun’s death marks the first time a hospital has been allowed by a U.S. judge to discontinue an infant’s life-sustaining care against a parent’s wishes, according to bioethical experts. A similar case involving a 68-year-old man in a chronic vegetative state at another Houston hospital is before a court now.
    Under chapter 166 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, if an attending physician disagrees with a surrogate over a life-and-death treatment decision, there must be an ethics committee consultation (with notice to the surrogate and an opportunity to participate).  In a futility case such as Sun Hudson’s, in which the treatment team is seeking to stop treatment deemed to be non-beneficial, if the ethics committee agrees with the team, the hospital will be authorized to discontinue the disputed treatment (after a 10-day delay, during which the hospital must help try to find a facility that will accept a transfer of the patient).  These provisions, which were added to Texas law in 1999, originally applied only to adult patients; in 2003; they were made applicable to disputes over treatment decisions for or on behalf of minors.  (I hasten to add that one of the co-drafters in both 1999 and 2003 was the National Right to Life Committee.  Witnesses who testified in support of the bill in 1999 included representatives of National Right to Life, Texas Right to Life, and the Hemlock Society.  Our bill passed both houses, unanimously, both years, and the 1999 law was signed by then Governor George W. Bush.)
    tony, you can convolute his intentions all you want, it’s revisionist history. If you can’t pay for life-support for your loved ones in Texas they let them die. Bush did not have to sign anything. You tell me where it says he had to sign that piece of Texas Health and Safety Code.
    Do you believe in freedom?

73. 

    Stephanie on March 25, 2005 at 7:35 am

    Did it ever occur to any of you that God tried to “take Terri home” years ago and you have been stopping Him from doing so by keeping her alive through artifical feeding? I hope this shameful episode urges people to make living wills and health care proxies (whether they want to be kept alive artificialy or not) so that their wishes are known and their existance does not fall into the hands of politicians or those of a religious bent. We should decide our own fates.

74. 

    Stephanie on March 25, 2005 at 9:47 am

    To Jerry –
    First of all, I am advocating LIVING WILLS AND HELATH CARE PROXIES SO WE ALL HAVE CONTROL OF OUR OWN FATE. I don’t see how that is a problem to anyone. The person who is incapacitated should have their wishes fulfilled whether you agree with what they want or not. It’s called free will.
    Secondly, I have a Mother living with dementia who is now restricted to sitting in a chair… her mind still works somewhat but it is continually deteriorating. Her body no longer works – she needs 24 hour care which we pay for and can no longer afford, yet we keep her home. Schiavo’s case is not the same. And if my mother were ever in Terri’s condition I would certainly not keep her on a feeding tube. She has already expressed the wish years ago not to let this happen to her.
    Please, do not force people to bend to what you think is right – God gave us a free will – and we will exercise it!

75. 

    jerry on March 25, 2005 at 9:17 pm

    stephanie
    my entire point is that no one knows if this is terri’s will or not. this isn’t about terri’s will, it’s about michael’s, and he didn’t ‘remember’ that terri wanted to die until seven years after the ‘accident’, just after he got the huge settlement. you can advocate living wills all you want, but this is a case of a man who wants his wife dead, plain and simple. do your homework.
    http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/CIyerAffidavit090203.htm

76. 

    anthony on March 25, 2005 at 9:25 pm

    AFFIDAVIT
    STATE OF FLORIDA )
    COUNTY OF PINELLAS )
    BEFORE ME the undersigned authority personally appeared CARLA SAUER IYER, R.N., who being first duly sworn, deposes and says:
    1. My name is Carla Sauer Iyer. I am over the age of eighteen and make this statement of my own personal knowledge.
    2. I am a registered nurse in the State of Florida, having been licensed continuously in Florida from 1997 to the present. Prior to that I was a Licensed Practical Nurse for about four years.
    3. I was employed at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in Largo, Florida from April of 1995 to July 1996, while Terri Schiavo was a patient there.
    4. It was clear to me at Palm Gardens that all decisions regarding Terri Schiavo were made by Michael Schiavo, with no allowance made for any discussion, debate or normal professional judgment. My initial training there consisted solely of the instruction “Do what Michael Schiavo tells you or you will be terminated.” This struck me as extremely odd.
    5. I was very disturbed by the decision making protocol, as no allowance whatsoever was made for professional responsibility. The atmosphere throughout the facility was dominated by Mr. Schiavo’s intimidation. Everyone there, with the exception of several people who seemed to be close to Michael, was intimidated by him. Michael Schiavo always had an overbearing attitude, yelling numerous times such things as “This is my order and you’re going to follow it.” He is very large and uses menacing body language, such as standing too close to you, getting right in your face and practically shouting.
    6. To the best of my recollection, rehabilitation had been ordered for Terri, but I never saw any being done or had any reason at all to believe that there was ever any rehab of Terri done at Palm Gardens while I was there. I became concerned because nothing was being done for Terri at all, no antibiotics, no tests, no range of motion therapy, no stimulation, no nothing. Michael said again and again that Terri should NOT get any rehab, that there should be no range of motion whatsoever, or anything else. I and a CNA named Roxy would give Terri range of motion anyway. One time I put a wash cloth in Terri’s hand to keep her fingers from curling together, and Michael saw it and made me take it out, saying that was therapy.
    7. Terri’s medical condition was systematically distorted and misrepresented. When I worked with her, she was alert and oriented. Terri spoke on a regular basis while in my presence, saying such things as “mommy,” and “help me.” “Help me” was, in fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds of times. Terri would try to say the word “pain” when she was in discomfort, but it came out more like “pay.” She didn’t say the “n” sound very well. During her menses she would indicate her discomfort by saying “pay” and moving her arms toward her lower abdominal area. Other ways that she would indicate that she was in pain included pursing her lips, grimacing, thrashing in bed, curling her toes or moving her legs around. She would let you know when she had a bowel movement by flipping up the covers and pulling on her diaper.
    8. When I came into her room and said “Hi, Terri”, she would always recognize my voice and her name, and would turn her head all the way toward me, saying “Haaaiiiii” sort of, as she did. I recognized this as a “hi”, which is very close to what it sounded like, the whole sound being only a second or two long. When I told her humorous stories about my life or something I read in the paper, Terri would chuckle, sometimes more a giggle or laugh. She would move her whole body, upper and lower. Her legs would sometimes be off the bed, and need to be repositioned. I made numerous entries into the nursing notes in her chart, stating verbatim what she said and her various behaviors, but by my next on-duty shift, the notes would be deleted from her chart. Every time I made a positive entry about any responsiveness of Terri’s, someone would remove it after my shift ended. Michael always demanded to see her chart as soon as he arrived, and would take it in her room with him. I documented Terri’s rehab potential well, writing whole pages about Terri’s responsiveness, but they would always be deleted by the next time I saw her chart. The reason I wrote so much was that everybody else seemed to be afraid to make positive entries for fear of their jobs, but I felt very strongly that a nurses job was to accurately record everything we see and hear that bears on a patients condition and their family. I upheld the Nurses Practice Act, and if it cost me my job, I was willing to accept that.
    9. Throughout my time at Palm Gardens, Michael Schiavo was focused on Terri’s death. Michael would say “When is she going to die?,” “Has she died yet?” and “When is that bitch gonna die?” These statements were common knowledge at Palm Gardens, as he would make them casually in passing, without regard even for who he was talking to, as long as it was a staff member. Other statements which I recall him making include “Can’t you do anything to accelerate her death – won’t she ever die?” When she wouldn’t die, Michael would be furious. Michael was also adamant that the family should not be given information. He made numerous statements such as “Make sure the parents aren’t contacted.” I recorded Michael’s statements word for word in Terri’s chart, but these entries were also deleted after the end of my shift. Standing orders were that the family wasn’t to be contacted, in fact, there was a large sign in the front of her chart that said under no circumstances was her family to be called, call Michael immediately, but I would call them, anyway, because I thought they should know about their daughter.
    10. Any time Terri would be sick, like with a UTI or fluid buildup in her lungs, colds, pneumonia, Michael would be visibly excited, thrilled even, hoping that she would die. He would call me, as I was the nurse supervisor on the floor, and ask for every little detail about her temperature, blood pressure, etc., and would call back frequently asking if she was dead yet. He would blurt out “I’m going to be rich!,” and would talk about all the things he would buy when Terri died, which included a new car, a new boat, and going to Europe, among other things.
    11. When Michael visited Terri, he always came alone and always had the door closed and locked while he was with Terri. He would typically be there about twenty minutes or so. When he left Terri would would be trembling, crying hysterically, and would be very pale and have cold sweats. It looked to me like Terri was having a hypoglycemic reaction, so I’d check her blood sugar. The glucometer reading would be so low it was below the range where it would register an actual number reading. I would put dextrose in Terri’s mouth to counteract it. This happened about five times on my shift as I recall. Normally Terri’s blood sugar levels were very stable due to the uniformity of her diet through tube feeding. It is my belief that Michael injected Terri with Regular insulin, which is very fast acting.
    12. The longer I was employed at Palm Gardens the more concerned I became about patient care, both relating to Terri Schiavo, for the reasons I’ve said, and other patients, too. There was an LPN named Carolyn Adams, known as “Andy” Adams who was a particular concern. An unusual number of patients seemed to die on her shift, but she was completely unconcerned, making statements such as “They are old – let them die.” I couldn’t believe her attitude or the fact that it didn’t seem to attract any attention. She made many comments about Terri being a waste of money, that she should die. She said it was costing Michael a lot of money to keep her alive, and that he complained about it constantly (I heard him complain about it all the time, too.) Both Michael and Adams said that she would be worth more to him if she were dead. I ultimately called the police relative to this situation, and was terminated the next day. Other reasons were cited, but I was convinced it was because of my “rocking the boat.”
    13. Ms. Adams was one of the people who did not seem to be intimidated by Michael. In fact, they seemed to be very close, and Adams would do whatever Michael told her. Michael sometimes called Adams at night and spoke at length. I was not able to hear the content of these phone calls, but I knew it was him talking to her because she would tell me afterward and relay orders from him.
    14. While at Palm Gardens, I became fearful for my personal safety. This was due to Michael’s constant intimidation, including his menacing body language, vocal tone and mannerisms.
    15. I have contacted the Schindler family because I just couldn’t stand by and let Terri die without the truth being known.
    FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGHT.
    CARLA SAUER IYER, R.N.
    The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this _____ day of September, 2003, by CARLA SAUER IYER, R.N., who produced her Florida driver’s license as identification, and who did / did not take an oath.
    Notary Public
    My commission expires:

77. 

    tony on March 26, 2005 at 9:07 am

    “Man, if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered what the surplus is, and where it is. Will you decide what men shall live and what men shall die? It may be in the sight of Heaven you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man’s child. O God! to hear the insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust!” (Charles Dickens)

78. 

    anthony on March 26, 2005 at 2:39 pm

    Killing Terri Schiavo: Part II
    Thomas Sowell
    March 25, 2005
    Liberals have repeatedly used the talking point of how many judges have heard the case of Terri Schiavo. But that is as misleading as most of the rest of what they and the mainstream media have been saying.
    When a case goes up to a higher court on appeal, the issue before the appellate court is not whether they agree with the merits of the decision of the lower court. In a criminal case, for example, the issue before the appellate court is not whether the defendant was guilty or innocent, but whether the trial was conducted properly.
    In other words, the defendant is not supposed to be tried again at the appellate level. So, no matter how many appellate judges rule one way or the other, that tells you absolutely nothing about the fundamental question of guilt or innocence.
    Similar principles apply in a civil case, such as that of Terri Schiavo. Liberals can count all the judges they want, but that does not mean that all these judges agreed with the merits of the original court’s decision. It means that they found no basis for saying that the original court’s decision was illegal.
    What the law just passed by Congress did was authorize a federal court to go back to square one and examine the actual merits of the Terri Schiavo case, not simply review whether the previous judge behaved illegally. Congress authorized the federal courts to retry this case from scratch — “de novo” as the legislation says in legal terminology.
    That is precisely what the federal courts have refused to do. There is no way that federal District Judge James Whittemore could have examined this complex case, with its contending legal arguments and conflicting experts, from scratch in a couple of days, even if he had worked around the clock without eating or sleeping.
    Judge Whittemore ignored the clear meaning of the law passed by Congress and rubberstamped the decision to remove Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube.
    Nor could the judges on the Court of Appeals have gone through all of this material “de novo” in a couple of days after Judge Whittemore’s decision. They have added to the number of judges that liberals can count but they have not followed the law — which is what really counts.
    The federal judges have rushed to judgment — in a case where there was no rush legally, despite a medical urgency. Terri Schiavo was not dying from anything other than a lack of food and water. These federal judges could have ordered the feeding tube restored while they gave this issue the thorough examination authorized — and indeed prescribed — by the recent Congressional legislation.
    As dissenting Judge Charles Wilson of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals put it, the “entire purpose of the statute” is to let federal courts look at the case “with a fresh pair of eyes.” But, by the Circuit Court’s decision, “we virtually guarantee” that the merits of the case “will never be litigated in a federal court” because Terri Schiavo will be dead. Never — regardless of how many judges are counted as talking points.
    The liberal line, both in politics and in the media, is that Congress somehow behaved unconstitutionally. All federal courts except the Supreme Court are created by Congress. The Constitution itself gives Congress the authority to define or restrict the jurisdictions of federal courts, including the Supreme Court.
    Is the Constitution unconstitutional?
    The lessons of this tragic episode are as momentous as they are painful, if only because we should never want to see such a miscarriage of justice again. The issue is not only whether Terri Schiavo should live or die, important as that is.
    Another important issue is whether self-government in this country will live or die. Judges who ignore the laws passed by elected representatives are slowly but surely replacing democracy with judicial rule. Meanwhile, the media treat judges as sacrosanct and any criticism of them as almost blasphemy.
    All this adds more urgency to the need to put judges on the courts who will follow the written law, not their own notions. We can only hope that the Senate Republicans have the guts to do that.

79. 

    tony on March 26, 2005 at 2:50 pm

    angel
    name one intelligent thing you’ve contributed to the dialogue…..
    (i hear crickets chirping here…)
    by the way, the display of the aborted child (‘fetus’ is latin for ‘little one’) is simply a display of the results of what the poor choice mindset is all about. if you don’t like what you see, then maybe you should ask yourself ‘why do i support doing that to an innocent baby?’.
    you, angel, are the hypocrite – making ridiculous allegations about a texas law, in a pathetic attempt to vilify republicans, while you conveniently let all your favorite liberal democrats and greedy hospital management off the hook for the death of a child. and your silly posts are totally off topic and have nothing to do with a puny arrogant probate judge ordering an american citizen to be starved to death.

80. 

    jerome on March 26, 2005 at 3:00 pm

    ‘No Substantial Likelihood of Success’: The Curse Pronounced by a New God
    by Mike Thompson
    Posted Mar 24, 2005
    In rejecting Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schindler’s appeal to save their braindamaged daughter, Terri Schiavo, from certain death by court-ordered dehydration and starvation, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore wrapped himself in his black robe and announced imperiously from his court in Tampa, Florida, that he had denied their petition, because it had no “substantial likelihood of success.”
    We should rejoice that Honorable Judge Whittemore was not in the position, prior to his appointment by President Bill Clinton, to share with the world his frightening omniscience. Had the godlike federal jurist been around for a few eons, think of all the other mere humans who would have been compelled to accept “The Whittemore Curse” and curb their thirst and hunger for victory and survival.
    Had these frustrated souls been instructed that their future was so dire, history never would have recorded the following miracles of human triumph:
    With no substantial likelihood of success, enslaved Hebrews never would have chanced a dash to freedom from Egypt by walking across the parted Red Sea.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, a ragtag bunch of young Americans (mostly teenage amateurs) never would have played the Soviet Union’s juggernaut hockey team of polished professionals and defeated them in the middle of the titanic Cold War, in 1980.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, ex-actor Ronald Reagan never would have climbed from being a summertime pool lifeguard in Illinois to being elected the 40th President of the United States, also in 1980, and eventually delivering the coup de grâce to the entire Soviet Empire.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, Vietnam’s Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap never would have adopted stealth and asymmetrical tactics to defeat and drive out the American military, the greatest armed forces on the face of the earth.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, Scots scientist Alexander Fleming never would have tried to turn mold on food into medical science’s greatest agent to fight bacterial infection, penicillin.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, Rosa Parks never would have refused to take her assigned seat in the back of a Montgomery, Alabama, bus and thus help her fellow and sister American blacks overturn racial segregation.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, Strom Thurmond never would have mounted a campaign against a powerful political shoo-in to become in 1954 the first person ever elected to the U.S. Senate as a write-in candidate; out-of-his-league President Harry Truman never would have sought reelection against potent, crime-busting Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey in 1948, and college professor Paul Wellstone never would have ridden a shoestring budget and a rickety green bus to Senate victory over Minnesota’s establishment in 1990.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, Wilbur and Orville, the Wright brothers, never would have turned their bicycle shop into an airplane factory.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, Christopher Columbus never would have sailed to the New World and captured it as a base for Christendom.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, a deaf Ludwig van Beethoven never would have produced nine symphonies, one opera, 32 piano sonatas, five concertos, 16 string quartets, and 16 sonatas for one instrument and piano.
    With no substantial likelihood of success, Jesus, a young carpenter in Nazareth who began preaching at age 30, never would have begun His ultimate journey to reveal himself as the Son of God and God Incarnate.
    May the one and only God bless Terri Schiavo as she slips slowly into the Valley of the Shadow of Death, thanks to a new god before whom she was not allowed to communicate, a new god before whom she never had to bow–thank God.
    Mr. Thompson is the past chairman of the Florida Conservative Union.

81. 

    jerome on March 27, 2005 at 12:04 am

    this is an excellent piece reflecting the way a true feminist thinks, one with self-respect and moral dignity:
    IWF Says Michael Schiavo Has No Business Being Terri’s Guardian
    3/23/2005
    WASHINGTON, DC — The Independent Women’s Forum is shocked and bewildered that the Florida court system continues to allow Michael Schiavo, husband of Terri, to remain her guardian.
    “We are appalled that the Florida courts have not removed Mr. Schiavo as Terri’s guardian,” says Nancy Pfotenhauer, president of the Independent Women’s Forum. “There is an inherent conflict between the interests of Mr. Schiavo, his live-in girlfriend, his children with this woman, and the needs of his wife. Given this conflict of interest, it shocks the conscience that Mr. Schiavo still controls whether Terri lives or dies.”
    “All organizations that claim to speak for women should be indignant at this injustice. Effectively, Terri is being sentenced to an early grave because her husband would prefer her death to a divorce,” Pfotenhauer continued.
    “Why is there no outcry from so-called women’s organizations about Terri’s rights? Where are N.O.W, the Feminist Majority, the National Council of Women’s Organizations and the National Women’s Law Center in defending her?” Pfotenhauer added.

82. 

    Keith on March 27, 2005 at 10:45 am

    I believe the main driving force in this whole debate over Terri is fear. More specifically: fear of death. Many people say that they believe in an afterlife with God but they act as if Terri will cease to exist when her body passes away. I would argue that the being that is Terri will be even closer to her parents after she lets go of her mortal shell. People need to look at the world and this situation in more spiritual terms and not be so focused on their worldly life and concerns. We don’t know what is in people’s hearts but God does. God’s will cannot not be done. Perhaps this is God’s will.
    Blessings

83. 

    tbad on March 27, 2005 at 7:29 pm

    Hey good stuff. Keep up the good work
    tim

84. 

    Kevin on March 27, 2005 at 8:59 pm

    Terri is also on a morphine drip so is not suffering any physical pain.

85. 

    Stephanie on March 28, 2005 at 6:59 am

    Jerry, you don’t seem to understand that Michael is Terri’s guardian — if you believe in the sanctity of marriage then why shouldn’t the husband be able to make medical decisions for his pvs spouse? And what makes you think that Terri wouldn’t have expressed her wishes to her husband rather than her parents? You have no idea what anyone said – all her have is your spin… if you would rather bve kept alive artificially than to die peacefully that’s your decision – but it seems that keeping someone alive when God tried to take them to heaven years ago is against His will – and indeed if there is such a wonderful afterlife with the Lord why won’t you let her go to it? There is no logic to your arguments – only intolerant rhetoric.

86. 

    Amy on March 28, 2005 at 10:27 am

    PROVERBS c 6 for the “ABUSER (WIFE ABUSER michael Schivio )
    AND GEN C 12 v 3
    HE CANNOT RUN’ from GOD!!!!!

87. 

    Benjie Cerdenyia on March 28, 2005 at 12:57 pm

    New verbs/words for the english dictionary:
    schiavoe – to kill slowly by depriving one of food and/or water
    greer – prohibit anyone from doing anything physical to alleviate suffering

88. 

    Keith on March 28, 2005 at 1:04 pm

    Terri is a Catholic and the Catholic Church is highly devoted to the sanctity of marriage. They therefore have strict rules against divorce. I admit I don’t know all the details about the church’s involvement in the Schiavo’s lives, but it’s possible Michael was not allowed to get a divorce without alienating Terri with her church. The bishop’s council in Florida has made a statement that they support Michael as Terri’s guardian and they support (but maybe not agree with) his decision to pull the feeding tube (I can find the link to their website if requested). Evidence that Michael was abusive has just appeared recently and this makes it very ‘fishy’in my view (and the court’s). One side’s heresay evidence isn’t necesarily more true than the other side’s heresay evidence.
    -Keith

89. 

    Stephanie on March 28, 2005 at 3:40 pm

    To Keith – as far as Michael divorcing Terri alienating her from the Catholic Church: no, that wouldn’t hurt her standing at all. But he morally could not do that to her, which is something the radical “christians” don’t seem to understand. Also you don’t seem to want to extend anyone the rights they have legally unless YOU agree with them. What gives you the right to force everyone else to adhere to your beliefs? Take care of yourselves first — don’t worry about the private lives of the rest of us… Perhaps you need to read your old high school textbooks to understand our three branches of government and how this republic works – this is not the vigilante West of hte 19th Century!
    No, the Catholic Church is NOT “highly devoted to the sanctity of marriage”. They may not condone divorce, but if you pay them $1500 they’ll annull your marriage.

90. 

    Keith on March 28, 2005 at 6:01 pm

    My point is that suggestions have been made that Michael is evil because he has not divorced his wife and has moved on with his life. Terri’s parents supported and encouraged him to date again (one wonders if Terri’s parents were setting him up for a fall in a legal battle). I personally don’t agree with the pulling of Terri’s tube. However I’m satisfied with the court’s decisions on the legal side of the issue and I’m satisfied with the Terri’s church’s side on the moral issues. Michael is Terri’s legal guardian and both the court and the Catholic church of Florida support his decision in the matter. Like in the Scott Peterson case, there is a lot of money flowing around this case and you can bet these “new witnesses” and Michael detractors will strike it rich and maybe even write best-selling books.
    -Keith
    -Keith

91. 

    Kevin on March 29, 2005 at 12:56 am

    Hey Stephanie
    I think that Keith guy is agreeing with you! He’s just using a language that’s easier for christians to understand. Don’t be so eager to lash out at everyone that doesn’t agree with you (or agrees with you in this instance). Nowhere in his posting does it say he’s trying to force his opinion on others. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if you really believe that, you will let people express their opinions and not be so belligerent.
    Peace
    Kevin

92. 

    Keith on March 29, 2005 at 12:59 am

    Thanks for your support, Kevin. Stephanie, I hereby officially support your position…(wink)and I agree with most of what you say.
    -Keith

93. 

    Corinne on March 29, 2005 at 1:38 am

    How much more obvious can this be? Michael caused serious harm to Terri, but he screwed up. He didn’t finish the job. He has withheld therapy because then Terri would be able to tell what really happened to her that morning.
    Michael Schiavo’s insistence in this matter is obvious. He would have to account for all the money he received for Terri’s care; which Medicaid is paying most of. But what is Judge Greer’s? He has never even seen Terri to see for himself what state she is in. (Michael Schiavo and Judge Greer live only 9.4 miles away from each other!)
    So the only question still in my mind is how much is Michael paying Judge Greer? There can be no other explanation to his adamancy in this; unless he’s so against debilitated people or he’s enjoying playing God too much. But does that say any more for him? I think not.
    Legal MURDER – only in America!

94. 

    Stephanie on March 29, 2005 at 8:34 am

    To Keith – the YOU I used in my posting was a colective YOU to the fundamentalists out there… not you personally.
    Corinne – please study your history textbooks to understand how our republic works, and how the separation of powers is upheld. Judges rule on legal matters — not emotional. The question is who has the right to be Terri’s legal guardian, and the answer is her husband. As far as the money Michael received — Terri was given $700,000 which was used for her care. Michael received $300,000 and much of it has been used for these prolonged legal battles her parents have put him through. All you have to do is read…

95. 

    Keith on March 29, 2005 at 9:22 am

    I agree. There was also Richard Meywes who was arrested for putting out a bounty to kill Michael and Judge Greer. Many wrongs don’t make a right. Even though it’s not supported in the Bible, killing should always be wrong.

96. 

    lisa on March 29, 2005 at 9:28 am

    One more thing… Shouldn’t the guy who threatened Mrs. Schiavo and her family be in Florida?

97. 

    jerry on March 29, 2005 at 8:01 pm

    i wonder what the homosexual movement, largely silent in the face of the state-ordered starvation of terri schiavo, would say if it were known that she was gay. i wonder what the ACLU would say if it were known that terri was gay. would they sit silently by while she’s denied food and water, or even side with a former lover who claimed she knew what terri wanted in the absence of a written directive? i wonder what john edwards, john kerry and other big-time liberals would say if it were known that terri was gay. would they claim that this is a ‘private’ matter, while she’s starved death on the order of a county probate judge? i doubt it.
    if it were known that terri was gay, i can darn well guarantee you that the feeding tube would’ve never been disconnected, and there wouldn’t have been dozens of arrogant and tyrannical court decisions, rubber-stamping her death. not only that, but terri would’ve been given therapy, a new wheelchair, and every effort would’ve been made to find out what was wrong with her (MRI, PET scan, etc….), and every effort would’ve been put forth to find out how this happened to her.
    in addition, the mainstream press would’ve fallen all over themselves making her the darling of the disability community, with plenty of favorable documentaries and portrayals of her making even minimum progress.
    but no, terri is not gay. she’s a simple girl, who had the misfortune of marrying a monster, a man who’s been overheard calling her a ‘bitch’ and can’t wait till she is gone. a man with more moral baggage and conflicting statements than any villian on any tv show or in any novel. no, terri isn’t gay, and doesn’t benefit from the “special” privelages that go with that. in fact, she’s the daughter of a conservative Christian couple who are vocally pro-life. my, my, that just won’t do. terri, with two strikes against her, is being starved to death because she’s not the right person with the right background and the right parents.
    what a disgrace, as we speculate on the day she’ll die, while her loving mother can’t even deposit a drop of cool water on terri’s tongue, by court order.
    shame on us.

98. 

    jerry on March 29, 2005 at 8:20 pm

    stephanie
    unfortunately, you confuse “truth” with “rhetoric”. my posts contain the former, yours, the latter.
    i understand that michael is terri’s “guardian”, but he made a mockery of marriage years ago. only a fool would claim that somehow michael has honored the sanctity of ‘marriage’. please….
    secondly, it’s not a medical decision to deny someone food and water. that is murder. greer, in his arrogance and power-drunk obsession with seeing her dead, has ruled not only that the tube be removed (the “guardian’s” request) but also that she not be given any food or water by anyone. his words in court: “she will die – period”. that is not within his purvue to dictate that.
    also, she’s not PVS, at least with absolute certainty. that diagnosis is in dispute. also, there is just as much sworn testimony that she did NOT want this – sorry your obsession with terri’s death has caused you to ignore all that, mighty conveniently, i might add. you say i don’t know what terri would want. well, must i point out the obvious? no one does. so must err on the side of life.
    as far as your claim that since Christians believe in the afterlife, let’s quickly dispatch terri there – what a simpleton you must be. one could use that same logic to see to it that any believer was killed – after all, they’re going to heaven aren’t they? the bible says that those who hate God love death. and clearly, you love death, stephanie. your lust for terri’s death is morbid, and unbecoming a civilized person.
    finally, death by starvation is not peaceful. your deception and lies are a shameful attempt to try and confuse the issue. have you no moral dignity? no shame? no intellectual honesty?

99. 

    tony on March 29, 2005 at 8:56 pm

    angel
    still on your “blame republicans for everything” kick, eh?
    a little intellectual honesty would do you some good – if you could stand it.
    did i miss something? did dan rather come out of retirement? how else would you have gotten the “news” that judge greer is a conservative republican. what a pile of excrement.
    but on that note, i’ve never said that some republicans haven’t voted incorrectly on this matter – nor have i said that some democrats haven’t done the right thing (for a change). only you, angel, have tried to cast this as a republican/democrat issue. it’s neither, but rather, an issue of basic humanity.
    as far as the other courts, none have reexamined the original findings of the case – only the pompous arrogant power drunk greer has done that. the other courts have simply given cursory review to the overall case and whether the trials were conducted properly, and declined to overturn them. that doesn’t mean they’ve endorsed greer’s judicial tyranny.
    as far as the government and family matters, thomas jefferson once said ‘the only legitimate object of good government is the care and protection of human life’. and so if there ever is a time when the government should get involved, as a citizen is ordered by a puny county probate judge to be starved to death, this is it.
    and the bald faced lie that the supreme court of the US is republican… please. what have you been smoking, angel? that is pure comedy. there are three strong, strict constructionists on the court – scalia, thomas and rehnquist – and the rest tend to blow with the wind, depending on what’s before them. try and get your facts at least somewhat straight before you make an even bigger fool of yourself than you’ve already done.

100. 

     Keith on March 29, 2005 at 10:50 pm

     It is all to easy to point at another and say “There is my enemy”. It is all to easy to point at oneself and say “I am righteous.” This is not how Jesus taught his followers to act. Love your enemies. Forgive those you believe are trespassing against you. You can’t heal the world by condemming it and turning your back on it. If you believe that Michael is your enemy, pray for him. If you believe the Schindler’s are your neighbors, love them. No matter how it may chafe you to forgive Michael, it’s what your Lord would want you to do.
     Man, it’s hard to be a good christian!

101. 

     lisa on March 30, 2005 at 12:10 pm

     keith, I agree completely with your last post. Jesus still loves Michael Schiavo as much as He loves Terri or any of us, for that matter.
     But, I’m sure, someone will post here and completely twist what you and I have said. It’s very sad.

102. 

     lisa on March 31, 2005 at 10:00 am

     God forgive our country and our justice system if they were wrong. May Terri rest with God and be in peace.

103. 

     Keith on March 31, 2005 at 10:24 am

     Amen

104. 

     Celeste on March 31, 2005 at 11:24 am

     I have spent the past couple of days reading each and every posting on this site. I must say there are some very interesting viewpoints. Some from persons who are very well educated on the case… some from persons speaking strictly from a not so well educated, emotional point of view.
     First, let me set the record straight on divorce and the Catholic Church. I, a lifelong, devoted Catholic having gone through a divorce and annulment, assure each of you that Michael’s divorcing Terri would have done nothing to diminish her standing in the eyes of the Church. Although the church does not advocate divorce, Terri’s complete inability to sin would have allowed her to continue to receive communion and the Sacrament of the Sick without question… none of the other sacraments even come into play with her limited ability to communicate. She would not have needed an annulment (which by the way does not cost $1500 – a completely ignorant statement).
     On the sanctity of marriage… come on people… Michael has been living with another woman and fathered two children since Terri’s accident. If he were living up to his marriage vows would he not have been completely loyal to his wife throughout her entire ordeal (remember the “in sickness and in health” part)? But he hasn’t. He made the conscious decision long ago to move on emotionally. No one can tell me that Terri is still his top priority in life. If anyone is in violation of any Christian teaching it is Michael… pure and simple.
     Yes, this case is a disgrace. It makes no sense why a man who has moved on emotionally (I would hope it’s safe to say he’s in love with Jodi… the mother of his children) and has other priorities in this life won’t just relinquish the guardianship of his wife to the people who want to make her a priority… who want to love and care for her. Are there ulterior motives? Probably. Is he hiding something? Maybe. We could speculate all day long, but God knows and HE will be Michael’s ultimate judge. And HIS sentence will be far more crippling than the death by starvation sentence Judge Greer has handed to Terri. Now I’m not saying that God doesn’t still love Michael. HE does love all HIS children even when we stray. BUT… we all have to answer for our actions.
     Terri will ultimately be in a better place. No question, no doubt. So, why fight to keep her alive? Well, why fight to keep anyone alive? Honestly, because God has given us, as humans, the means to do so through consistent medical advances. If HE hadn’t wanted her to stay alive 15 years ago when she was initially hospitalized because of the heart attack (or whatever the case was), it wouldn’t have mattered what medical means were used, she would have died then. But Terri stayed alive and has touched more people in this world than she could possibly have ever imagined.
     I’m sad to say it’s too late to save Terri. What concerns me most about her case is the fact she is nothing more than a disabled woman who requires assistance to stay alive. And not extreme medical assistance like a respirator or constant dialysis, she requires food and water like all other living and breathing creatures… hers just has to come from a feeding tube. Since when is food and water considered medical care? Is she really unlike so many other disabled people? Is she really unlike a newborn baby? A toddler? A child of any age who requires constant care and food and water? I think not.
     So what kind of precedent is being set? Are we going to start allowing legal guardians of other disabled people to take away the necessary care (whatever it may be) they need to live? This includes Alzheimer’s patients, quadriplegics, newborns with debilitating diseases, etc… basically anyone considered “incomplete” as a human being.
     All life comes from God and only HE has the right to determine when that life should end.
     As my mother used to say, “you need to get your priorities straight”. I think that applies to our country at this point. We, as a whole, need to reevaluate what’s important, remember what this country was founded and built on and stop trying to play God.
     I implore each of you to be passionate about what you believe. Fight for it. The passion (of the majority) to fight for what’s right is lacking in this country. But more importantly, the prayer for guidance in your pursuits is lacking even more. God Bless.

105. 

     Rodney on March 31, 2005 at 12:57 pm

     My mom was in a state just like Terri. She moved her head and blinked but made no purposeful movements. Her brain waves were flat just like Terris. It is painful to have a loved one in a state between death and life. My heart goes out to the Schindlers. My older sister made the hard choice of removing the oxygen after a few months but opted out of removing the feeding tube. She died anyways because she had problems beyond just brain damage. I hope the Schindlers and Schiavos could one day make peace with one another but that seems unfortunately unlikely.

106. 

     Keith on March 31, 2005 at 1:39 pm

     “…The Earth nation you call the United States, for example, has long thought itself to be a nation “under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” It is not a coincidence that this nation rose to become the most prosperous on Earth. It is also not surprising that this nation is gradually losing all that it has worked so hard to create — for this nation seems to have lost its vision.
     The terms “under God, indivisible,” meant just that — they expressed the Universal Truth of Unity. But this truth has been weakened. Religious freedom has become religious righteousness bordering on religious intolerance. Individual freedom has all but vanished as individual responsibility has disappeared.
     The notion of individual responsibility has been distorted to mean “every man for himself.” This is the new philosophy that imagines itself to be harkening back to the Early American tradition of rugged individualism.
     But the original sense of individual responsibility upon which the American vision and the American dream was based found its deepest meaning and its highest expression in the concept of Brotherly Love.
     What made America great was not that every man struggled for his own survival, but that every man accepted individual responsibility for the survival of all.
     America was a nation that would not turn its back on the hungry, would never say no to the needy, would open its arms to the weary and the homeless, and would share its abundance with the world.
     …Each person must take responsibility for herself or himself — that is undeniably true. But America — and your world — can truly work only when every person is willing to stand responsible for all of you as a Whole.”
     -Conversations With God: book 2 by Neale Donald Walsch

107. 

     kim on March 31, 2005 at 10:52 pm

     What is wrong with you people? There are so many more worthy causes in this world and you spend all of your time and energy on a woman, who has already been dead(lack of a cerebral cortex) for 15 years. I am ashamed to say I am a Christian, because of the media circus and right to lifers. My God, let this woman die with dignity. I hope that every person in the U.S. that does not want this happening to them, go out and get a living will, so there is a written directive. Even though organized religion is responsible for much good in this world, God’s name has also been used to kill many innocent people in the name of organized religion. This story has drawn out every extreme right wing religious zealot, and right to lifer in America. America’s foundation was built on the freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. Our forefathers would be appalled by this case and how the government got involved in a family’s private decision. Kim in CA

108. 

     Bob on April 5, 2005 at 1:00 am

     I’ve been reading the various web sites regarding the Terri Schiavo case, and came across yours. I am pro choice, who agrees that abortion is wrong. You can be both. I’d rather let people make these choices themselves, wrong as I might think they are, then make them do something they don’t want to do.
     It was Michael Shiavo’s decision, as his wife’s guardian, to have her feeding tube removed. It is no one else’s business. Your website is the only one I have placed a comment on, solely because I read the following 2 lines you have posted here in the comment section: “While some opposing views are tolerated for the purposes of discussion, this is not a place to verbally attack ORW or its supporters. Thank you for understanding.”
     This says it all about your ‘organization’. One view, all the time. You’ve defeated yourselves already.

109. 

     Deann on April 5, 2005 at 7:35 am

     Bob,
     I don’t know why you think banning attacks on OR staff means we are “defeated.” Websites are owned and are not total free-for-alls. I have seen some posts here before being banned that are viscious and obscene. Personally, I’m glad some standards of rational discussion are adhered to on this site.
     As for your cavilier, pro-death mentality, once we decide we don’t give a rat’s backside about one life, it makes it easier to dismiss the value of the next. Someday, Bob, your relatives may just decide, based upon the way you have trained they by your example, that you are a useless eater selfishly taking up resources that they could be using for themselves. Then you will be outta here. I suppose one could consider that poetic justice. (Wheb we devalue the lives of others, we devalue ourselves in the process.)

110. 

     Celeste on April 5, 2005 at 9:21 pm

     We should side on the side of life when no will is there. This man I think got away with murder… in this life if he did something wrong he better hope it get taking care of here he want get away with such in HEAVEN> Terri is in the arms of her creator she feels no pain anymore . While Micheal does not no what he has to face. He could end up in a worse sitition. Terri is drinking from everlasting waters. Never to hurt or hungry again. What a crazy America where someone can be made to starve to death all be here say of her husband a man. We better wake up. before it is to late. I think it was wonderful what the dad and children tried to do for Terri by trying to bring her water. Sweet. This should have never been allowed to happen. Thank God this is not all there is to it Thank God for Jesus and what he did on the cross for our sins.

111. 

     Debora Taylor on April 8, 2005 at 8:11 pm

     In my opinion Hanna G…feeding tubes are NOT an
     artificial means of life….I was in a coma for
     3 month’s in 87′, I was in the same exact position as Terri from a car wreck…I crushed 3
     vertabra in my neck, and I was comatose 3 month’s…yes I had a feeding tube until I got
     strong enough to eat on my own. Some people Hanna need those feeding tubes for life,there’s
     nothing wrong with that..AND FUTHERMORE, I think
     it’s good that the U.S.A. can mettle in our
     private lives…DON’T BREAK THE LAWS!!!!.
     It was WRONG for Michael to mess in the Health Care priorites that concerned his wife…writing DNR on all hospital records…yes Hanna, it, ha was just for the money..So Hanna I suggest you do your homework about this before you start pointing finger’s…tell me Hanna, have you ever
     had a life threatening accident and you didn’t want to die….think about it eh? Jesus gave you
     life, you should be willing to do whatever it takes to preserve it.

112. 

     Debora Taylor on April 8, 2005 at 9:11 pm

     and another thing before I leave…she was not
     in a Presistent Vegetative State, she wasn’t in
     min.consciousness (semi-comatose)…she was just
     a very sick woman with all her senses…and those
     doctor’s were mislead in their profession…Judge
     George Greer needs to be impeached and go to prison for murder…Schiavo needs to go to prison for acomplise to a crime.
     May the Lord Crist Jesus have mercy for their soul’s.

113. 

     Debora Taylor on April 8, 2005 at 9:40 pm

     and Kim? I am Born-Again Christian, in a wheelchair I might add..Terri’s death affected me
     because soon this will become all too popular with our court’s we have now unless WE change it.
     That is our God-Given responsibility to change the law’s CHRISTIAN…Nazism is very,very real
     and unless we change some laws CHRISTIAN,soon it
     will lead to killing the physically/mentally disabled…..CHRISTIAN, you should care about the
     poor,weak and downtrodden.

114. 

     jerome on April 10, 2005 at 1:16 am

     kim
     first of all, please don’t blaspheme God by attempting to claim His name by calling yourself a Christian. the views you express are pure unadulterated dullness, and don’t reflect Christianity at all. if you are so blind as to ask “is Christianity the only way?” then you don’t know its Founder in any way, shape, matter or form. because He clearly said He was and is the way, the truth and the life, and that NO ONE comes to the Father except through Him. now, you can call Him a liar if you want, but your argument is not with deborah, but with the Author of life.
     and as far your ignorant statements about the so-called ‘seperation of church and state’ – not only are you biblically illiterate, but historically illiterate as well. there is no such thing as the seperation of church and state. it’s not in the constitution anywhere. do your homework.
     and in regards to your foolish comment about ‘dying with dignity’ – get real. you haven’t a clue, kim. dehydration and starvation and the word “dignity” do not belong in the same sentence together. as far as terri being in PVS, more doctors said she was NOT, than said she was. but the corrupt little power-drunk probate judge, george greer, ignored any and all evidence which did not support the michael schiavo side of this.
     urging all you prodeath types to stop and consider what happened here – an innocent woman was cruelly starved to death on selective hearsay evidence by a county probate judge. that is pure evil, and our founders would be shocked and horrified that any citizen could ever be treated this way.
     by the way, kim, i’ll venture you’re one of the first people to complain when someone is sentenced to death after committing mass murder, right? and you’re probably a member of peta, too.
     but that’s ok – you go on and worship your god
     (you see her in the mirror each morning) and let Christians worship theirs.

115. 

     tony on April 10, 2005 at 1:43 am

     keith
     it may be hard to be a good Christian, but first you must actually become one.
     you have a gross misunderstanding of the God of the universe, but especially as it relates to forgiveness. if i step on troy newman’s toe, then it is not your place to forgive me for doing that. it is troy’s. forgiveness isn’t yours or mine to give in this matter.
     but what’s sorely needed here, or i should say what WAS sorely needed before terri was cruelly starved to death, is justice. and God is a God of justice.
     michael will find that out to his utter horror someday, unless he repents of the horrific sins that he has committed, which isn’t likely. not only does he have terri’s blood on his hands, but he has set a very evil precedent, that of a man who can have his spouse killed based on something supposedly said years before. and the people he has treated the worst in all of this are those that loved terri the most. he will answer for that someday. the idea that terri would’ve wanted her family treated so cruelly by michael and the courts, is unthinkable.
     the Bible tells us that some people are children of the devil, and some people become children of God, by being adopted into His family through faith. all people are creations of God, but not all are His children. for michael schiavo to be forgiven, he will have to repent and ask for that forgiveness from the ones he’s hurt the most, starting with God. and he is not only unrepentant, but he is content with what he’s done to terri and her family. in other words, he is content with the horrible sins he’s committed.
     he hasn’t even reached the point of calling a sin a sin, and that’s about as far away as you can get from God.

116. 

     tony on April 10, 2005 at 12:11 pm

     angel
     i’ve been waiting for days for you to contribute something intelligent to the debate, but alas, it’s clear you’re incapable of doing so.
     you make the foolish assertion that seven members of the supreme court are ‘republican’. what matters isn’t whether a republican president nominated them, or even whether they are registered as republicans. what matters is how they vote. it’s not republican/democrat, but rather, conservative/liberal. the same is true in politics, where some republicans vote liberal, and an occasional democrat will vote conservative.
     and so, i repeat from my previous post: there are three strong, strict constructionists on the court – scalia, thomas and rehnquist – and the rest tend to blow with the wind, depending on what’s before them.
     you, angel, are the one who needs to get her facts straight before you make an even bigger fool of yourself than you’ve already done. but i won’t hold my collective breath, given that you’re a prodeath extremist.
     as far as you keith, i think it’s abundantly clear that you’re no Bible scholar, despite your weak and pathetic attempts to try and “educate” us all about “spiritual” matters.
     you make radical and false assertions, claiming that Terri’s parents “encouraged” michael to date again, thereby “setting him up” for a fall. the legal battles were because michael ceased all attempts to give terri rehab, despite the monetary award he won for just that purpose, and because he promised to care for her for the rest of HIS life, and because a bone scan report on terri done in 1991 shows major trauma, including numerous fractures only a year after the collapse, and because michael sued first to have her feeding tube disconnected. the parents fought back, recognizing that there is a strong likelihood that he’s the one who put her in the condition in the first place.
     you state you’re satisfied with the court’s decision(s). but you’re woefully and embarassingly uninformed on the facts of the case. and the “church” did NOT condone terri’s killing, which is what it was. you have your facts wrong there, too.
     the people you claim are ‘new witnesses’ are only new to people who watch CBS and CNN. their sworn affidavits have been on record for years, and their testimonies in court are a matter of record. here you are, claiming that you’re ‘satisifed’ with decisions that you don’t even have a clue about, and you’ve made up your mind without having done any real research.
     michael could have and should have divorced terri and moved on – her parents begged him to do so – but he couldn’t afford to do that, because the schindlers would’ve seen to it that terri got the proper therapy and help she needed and deserved, and there is a reasonable chance that certain incriminating things might’ve been revealed through that. plus, the money (2.2 million) was a primary motivating factor in michael’s obsession to kill terri, though covering up what really happened 15 years ago is another. the only reasonable explanation for the bone scan report (mysteriously unavailable for the malpractice suit and awards) is that michael was a wife-abuser, since terri had never been in a car wreck or fallen off a horse, yet had numerous very serious fractures to her femur, back, legs, ankles, etc… and neck trauma. the doctor who summarized the bone scan report (still alive and available for interviews, by the way) wrote “this patient has a history of trauma”. that bone scan report was not discovered until 1998. the lawyer for the insurance company that paid the damages to michael said “i never saw it”. you can bet that if he had, it would’ve changed things considerably. it could be that he was incompetent, or that the hospital records were misplaced or misfiled, or whatever. but the bone scan report CANNOT be explained away.

117. 

     jerome on April 10, 2005 at 10:50 pm

     kim
     unable to answer any of the things i pointed out eh? it is not ‘one viewpoint’ to ask people with the approximate intelligence of a pencil eraser to actually think and reason.
     i don’t need to go to your pro-death website, thank you. any website that is “dedicated to terri schiavo” would not support her murder, as you obviously do. her husband, a greedy lawyer, and a corrupt judge had her killed, period. that is what happened – it isn’t a viewpoint, but reality.

118. 

     tony on April 10, 2005 at 10:51 pm

     kim
     explain the bone scan, please.

119. 

     Debora Taylor on April 11, 2005 at 2:29 am

     Kim, God is the creator of Earth, given to His
     Son Jesus to govern….You claimed that you were a Christian, so you should know that…just because you believe in God, does NOT mean that you a Christian…you are a Pagan, who has grown
     up believing that you are a Christian ,if you think America is run by church and State separation…you are in for a big suprize.
     Jesus is the Cornerstone of America…not the
     church, not the state! it’s the Born-Again Christians….Born Again Lutherns,Catholics,Mormons ect,even Believers have to be Born-Again…if you were not born of the
     flesh and WATER,then you are not a Christian.
     Is Christ your Savior? do you know the difference?. Church and State as nothing to do
     with it because everyone has different beliefs,
     that is why God has said in the Bible “unless you are Born-Again,you can not enter the Kingdom
     of God” (Romans 8:28). Living by man made rules
     such as church and state are man rules, not
     God’s rule.The Goverment doesn’t control me,
     the Church is the Bride of Christ, are you going to kick God out of the goverment that He made for you? I’d think differently about that if I was you, it’s God and our Christian enviorment
     that gives you the right’s you have now.And yes,
     I really hate to break the news to you, there is ONLY HEAVEN OR HELL,DEAD OR ALIVE,BORN-AGAIN OR PAGEN. I did not write the Bible (KJV/Hebrew Scriptures),and yes, if you believe anything but the Bible (alone) then you and everyone else who
     believes anything other than what which CHRIST JESUS has written, you are very,very wrong.
     Respecting other’s belief’s? yes I can be friendly and all, but I try not to hang with unbeliever’s alot of the time. AMERICA was a
     CHRIST-ian nation, there is so many religion’s
     in this America, that’s why you must be BornAgain
     Hey, that’s what the Book says and I obey it.
     You dear, have no idea of what an emotional argument consist of,with your very open-minded worldly view of thing’s, yep you are definately
     a Christian,no pun intended. And no, I wasn’t saying everything had to be CHRISTIAN, it was however stated to you being a CHRISTIAN as you claimed. Church and State was a dead giveway,
     a Born-Again Christian could of figured that out.
     Yes I am very closed-minded,Thank You and my yes is yes and my no is no, I’m not double minded,
     and I guess because of it I don’t have too much
     of a worldly view of stuff God has separated me from,silly me and I LOVE THIS WEBSITE!!!!!!

120. 

     Robert on April 12, 2005 at 12:10 am

     Hey jerry, I saw your post saying “What if Terri Schiavo was gay”
     Tell me, what would YOU have done if she was gay and they were letting her strave to death? Would you be down in Florida protesting right now? Would you be pleading with the courts not to kill her? I don’t want insults, I want you to answer my question.
     Correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t see you doing that.