posted 10-18-2003 07:11 PM            

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Posted: October 18, 2003
1:41 p.m. Eastern

By Sarah Foster
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

With Terri Schindler-Schiavo's judge-ordered starvation well into its fourth day, it is clear to her family and supporters that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush probably will not step in and prevent her death, despite indications earlier this week.

Terri responding to her mother in video clip available on terrisfight.org

The family's mood ranges from despair to slow, burning rage at the court system and the refusal of the governor to take charge when a disabled woman's life is at stake, according to Pamela Hennessey, spokeswoman for the Schindler family.

"The judges, and it looks like the governor too, have absolutely failed her as a person," said Hennessey bitterly. "Her rights have not been respected, they have not been maintained, and they are inalienable rights."

As WorldNetDaily reported, Bush met Wednesday morning with Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, and her siblings behind closed doors and assured them that if there were some way he could intervene and prevent the killing of the brain-disabled woman, he would do so.

That same afternoon, Terri's life-sustaining feeding tube was removed by court order, an action long-sought by her husband Michael Schiavo, who also is her legal guardian.

Michael Schiavo (Photo: Baynews9.com)

Michael Schiavo has been living with another woman, Jodi Centonze, with whom he has a daughter and another child about to be born.

Doctors say that without food and water, Terri will die within two weeks, but her parents fear she will die this weekend from drugs they suspect she is receiving to relieve the pain of starvation and dehydration.

Pro-life advocate Randall Terry, who was with the Schindlers at their meeting with the governor, told WorldNetDaily: "We put the question to him: If there is a legal means for you to intervene and it did not violate the [doctrine of] separation of powers, and you were in fact upholding your oath of office, would you do it? He said, 'Yes. I would be very interested. Let us know.'"

Criminal investigation urged

Bush's legal team set to work. Constitutional attorneys and law firms contacted by his legal office explained to the governor in faxed memoranda that he has the authority and the obligation to use his executive powers to prevent Terri's death and urged him to launch a criminal investigation into the case itself.

Gov. Jeb Bush

"Not only does the governor have such power, but the governor has the constitutional duty to prevent any action taken pursuant to such a court order, because such action would violate Ms. Schindler-Schiavo's constitutionally guaranteed 'inalienable right to enjoy and defend life' regardless of her 'physical disability' as secured by Article 1 Section 2 of the Florida State Constitution," declared constitutional attorney Herb Titus, of Chesapeake, Va.

Titus, one of the constitutional experts contacted by the governor's office, represents Judge Roy Moore in his battle over the 10 Commandments monument in the courthouse in Montgomery, Ala.

Attorney Richard Thompson, who heads the Thomas More Law Center, a public-interest law firm in Ann Arbor, Mich., wrote that Terri is "a victim of abuse and neglect," and under Florida law, "it is a crime to abuse or neglect a disabled adult and to encourage another person to do so."

He called on the governor to launch a full-scale criminal investigation into the circumstances of the case "and to take measures to prevent future harm to Ms. Schiavo pending the outcome of the investigation."

The documents were made public Thursday at a noon press conference outside the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast's Woodside Facility in Pinellas Park, where, by order of her husband, Terri has lived isolated from friends and other patients since April 2000.

Schiavo's attorney George Felos, a right-to-die advocate, dismissed the opinions as "ideological and inflammatory rhetoric."

The removal of Terri's feeding tube is the final victory for Michael Schiavo in a battle with Terri's family that has gone entirely in his favor.

As WorldNetDaily reported, the Schindlers had been fighting their son-in-law for 10 years over the lack of care and therapy provided for their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under mysterious circumstances at the age of 26.

The ongoing dispute escalated five years ago when Schiavo petitioned the court for permission to end his wife's life by removing her feeding tube, insisting she is in a "persistent vegetative state" and maintaining she had told him years before she would not want to be maintained "by tubes" and "artificial means" Although Terri breathes on her on and maintains her own blood pressure, she requires a simple tube into her abdomen to her stomach for nourishment and hydration. The Schindlers and many medical professionals believe that with therapy she could eat and drink without the tube, but Schiavo consistently has prevented that.

The Schindlers fought tenaciously to keep their daughter and the case alive in the courts, but they have been blocked virtually at every turn, particularly by probate Judge George W. Greer of the Pinellas County Circuit Court, who has had charge of the case almost from the beginning. When the seven-member Florida Supreme Court in August turned down a petition to review the case, the way was clear for Schiavo to starve his wife to death.

On Sept. 17, Greer scheduled Oct. 15 as the day Terri's feeding tube would be removed. At the same time, in separate rulings, he denied any rehabilitation for the disabled woman or a chance to be spoon-fed.

Bush's handling of this case is unlikely to win him respect or friends in either camp.

The Clearwater Bar Association denounced him earlier this month for sending a letter in late August to Greer, asking the judge to delay the date for removal of Terri's feeding tube until a guardian ad litem [guardian of the litigation] is appointed who would "independently investigate the circumstances of this case and provide the court with an unbiased view that considers the best interests of Mrs. Schiavo."

Greer said he ignored the letter.

"I read it because it came from the governor," he told the Tampa Tribune. "Beyond that, it's going in the file."

Bush rebuked

The directors and officers of the Clearwater Bar Association were outraged at the governor's letter-writing, seeing it as an intrusion not only on its turf in Pinellas County, but upon the judiciary branch as a whole and a threat to the constitutional structure of American government.

On Oct. 2, the association's directors passed a formal resolution rebuking Bush.

"In attempting to influence the decision of a circuit judge," the governor's actions were "improper, tended to impair the independence of the judiciary, and violated the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers," the resolution reads.

Worse, in their eyes, his actions "undermine and threaten the public's confidence in the independence and objectivity of the judiciary, the rule of law, and the state of Florida's ability to impartially administer justice through its state court system."

The directors called on the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar to "address this matter further," an indication Bush is not going to escape the continuing wrath of the Clearwater Bar Association.

"What concerns me is that the governor felt it appropriate to involve himself officially in a pending civil lawsuit in which neither he nor the state of Florida is a party or witness, for the apparent purpose of influencing the outcome of the case," the association's president Robert Dickinson declared in a press release announcing the resolution. "By doing so the governor violated one of the basic tenets of our constitutional government."

The division of "our constitutional republic," he explained, is that the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government must be separate and distinct.

"The separation of these powers is the cornerstone of the 'checks-and-balances' system of government under which the United States has prospered and each of its citizens expects to be treated fairly," he said.

120,000 e-mails for Terri

When told about the resolution, Pamela Hennessey dismissed the notion that the public's confidence in the judiciary system and rule of law would be shaken if the governor wrote a letter to Greer or intervened to save Terri, or that his doing so would violate the separation-of-powers doctrine.

"If anything, people will lose confidence in the judiciary system if he doesn't step in," she exclaimed.

In addition to acting as spokesperson for the Schindlers, Hennessey is webmistress for the family's website. Through its petition to Bush asking him to intervene, she keeps her finger on the pulse of public opinion.

She reports that since setting up the online petition in late July, the number of e-mails surging through the server to the governor's office has topped 120,000 and are coming in at a rate of 10 per second, so many her side of the server had to be shut down, though they are still going to the governor.

"People are very angry, very cross that he's not stepping in," Hennessey said. "He needs to step in and act as a check upon the actions of the judge and the judicial system.

"The checks and balances that are failing are those of the circuit court," she said. "The judge in this case is immune from the consequences of what he has done. There is obviously nothing to stop him from issuing a death warrant and seeing that is carried out -- and people do not like that. They are very concerned."

An 'unshackled judiciary'

The resolution rebuking Bush was passed before he filed his Oct. 6 amicus [friend-of-the-court] brief in a failed attempt to bring the case under federal jurisdiction. The brief will no doubt prompt an even greater outcry from the Clearwater Bar Association than the letter to Greer, with increasingly vehement charges made about Bush being a threat to the separation-of-powers system.

But attorneys at the AFA Law Center in Tupelo, Miss., challenge those charges. The American Family Association was among those contacted by the governor's legal office for advice on the powers and obligations of the executive branch.

The immediate problem, says the public-interest law firm, is not an over-reaching executive, but an out-of-control judiciary, one that has "unshackled itself from constitutional restraints" and is "embarking on a campaign to impose its own will over the will of the law," as Joe Murray, staff attorney and communications director, put it.

In his memorandum, Law Center attorney Brian Fahling explained to the governor that under the Florida Constitution he has the authority to make certain the laws of the state are "faithfully executed."

Section 943.04 of the Florida statutes authorizes the governor, upon written order, to direct the Department of Criminal Justice, Investigations and Forensic Science, "to investigate violations of any of the criminal laws of the state."

In fact, Bush's own amicus brief cites reasons to believe the statute prohibiting assisted suicide [Section 782.02] is being violated, because -- in the words of the brief -- "Terri's right to life is violated by the state when the state, acting as her guardian, assumes that her wish to live without artificial sustenance is the same as a wish not to be fed at all. The state has an 'unqualified' interest in life."

Again, quoting Bush's own brief, denying Terri oral sustenance creates "an unnecessary conflict with Florida statutory law by implying that physicians may cooperate with a person's alleged express wish not to feed herself."

"The laws of the state of Florida, then, as set forth in the governor's brief, are not being faithfully executed," Fahling wrote. "The authority of the governor to issue an executive order in this case is consonant with his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed. If the consequences of the husband's exercise of discretion [given him by Judge Greer] are determined to result in the unlawful taking of life, it is entirely appropriate that such actions be interdicted by law enforcement at the direction of the governor."

Bush derelict in his duty?

Not only is it appropriate, it is incumbent upon Bush to do so, contends AFA Law Center chief counsel Stephen Crampton.

"Failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty," he said.

While the Clearwater Bar Association and the courts insist intervention by the governor would violate the doctrine of separation of powers, there is a second doctrine that Bush runs afoul of if he does not intervene -- the doctrine of checks-and-balances -- in which each branch of government is empowered to act as a check upon actions by the other two branches, Crampton maintains.

The veto power is one of the ways a governor or president can check an action by a state legislature or the Congress.

"That is why enforcement of the laws is in the hands of the executive branch, at every level of government, not in the hands of the legislative body or the courts," said Crampton. "Executive officers that take orders directly from the executive -- not from the legislature or the courts -- to go out and actually implement and enforce whatever law or decree the legislature or court issues. That power lies with the executive branch -- in Terri's case that's the governor. That in and of itself is the embodiment of the check-and-balance system. That is why Governor Bush has every right to weigh in and to take an independent stand with regard to the constitutionality of what the court has done in this case.

"Stepping in for Terri would be analogous to vetoing a piece of legislation," Crampton continued. "It is doing what he is duty-bound to do as the chief executive officer of the state of Florida. The whole concept of checks and balances encompasses the duty to independently weigh the pros and cons of the actions that you're called upon to enforce -- not blind obedience to judge-made rulings."

The memoranda and other legal documents and information on Terri's case are posted on the family's website.

posted 10-18-2003 07:49 PM            

Make no mistake about it folks...the state can now get away with murdering people who don't happen to fit a certain definition of "health".

Isnt that what the Nazis did?

They killed off the retarded, mentally handicapped and unfit.

Those who do not remember the past are condemed to repeat it.

posted 10-18-2003 09:41 PM            

An email update:

On Sunday, October 19, 2003, as the round-the-clock vigil continues for Terri Schindler-Schiavo, protesters have arranged a demonstration to show their dismay at Floridas Governor Jeb Bush.

Volunteers for the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation have learned that a group of Republican demonstrators are planning to shred their voter registration cards and officially change their party affiliations in order to call attention to the Governors refusal to intervene on behalf of Terri Schindler-Schiavo.

Governor Bush has received more than 130,000 petitions to intervene on behalf of the disabled Pinellas County woman since July of this year. He has been instructed by 7 distinguished legal experts that, not only does he have the authority to act, but that he also has an obligation to take action.

Mr. Bush, during his Gubernatorial race in Florida, called himself a Champion of the disabled.

On other fronts, Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, who has been Terris spiritual provider for over 3 years, was told he may not administer to her the sacrament of Holy Communion. Monsignor was informed by police at Hospice that he would be stopped if he tried to administer the Catholic woman the sacrament.

In a statement to the press, Michael Schiavos attorney, George Felos stated that the reason for this was that he didnt want anyone to do something that would cause Terri distress.

Demonstrators will be convening at Hospice Woodside at 10.00am on Sunday. At that time, there will also be Sunday Worship in Terris name.
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Auschwitz in America

Posted: October 18, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By William J. Federer

Even before the rise of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, the way for the gruesome Nazi Holocaust of human extermination and cruel butchery was being prepared in the 1930 German Weimar Republic through the medical establishment and philosophical elite's adoption of the "quality of life" concept in place of the "sanctity of life."

Will America chose the "sanctity of life" concept as demonstrated by Mother Teresa, or will America chose the "quality of life" concept championed by self-proclaimed doctors of death – such as in the case of the court-ordered starvation of Terri Schiavo – and continue its slide toward Auschwitz? What kind of subtle anesthetic has been allowed to deaden our national conscience? What horrors await us? The question is not whether the suffering and dying person's life should be terminated; the question is what kind of nation will we become if they are. Their physical death is preceded only by our moral death.

To read the entire article:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35138

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

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posted 10-20-2003 05:47 AM            

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Posted: October 20, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Sarah Foster
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Will Terri Schindler-Schiavo, the brain-disabled woman who is being starved to death, get a reprieve from Florida lawmakers?

Fla. House Speaker Johnnie Byrd

Florida's Speaker of the House Johnnie Byrd, is expected to introduce ''Terri's Bill'' during a one-day special session of the state legislature being held today in Tallahassee.

The legislation would put an immediate moratorium on all dehydration and starvation deaths currently pending in Florida until the legislature goes back into regular session.

Terri responding to her mother in video clip available on terrisfight.org

Schindler-Schiavo is being slowly starved to death under a court order initiated by her husband, Michael Schiavo, who is also her legal guardian. Terri has had no food or liquid since Wednesday when the feeding tube that sustains her was removed.

The special session was originally slated to handle another topic unrelated to her case, but Byrd sensed the urgency of Terri's plight and added his resolution to the agenda.

"I can't think of anything more important than saving someone's life because life is precious," Byrd told Tampa Bay's Fox News affiliate, WTVT-TV.

Florida law requires a two-thirds majority vote of each house for a topic to be accepted for discussion and vote.

Byrd, a Republican from the Plant City area, was elected to the House in 1996 and subsequently re-elected. He has set his sights on Washington, D.C., and kicked off his campaign for U.S. Senate at a barbecue Saturday before a hometown crowd, where he promised to fight for "common sense, conservative values."

Fla. Senate President Jim King

Volunteers with the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation have learned that Senate President Jim King is opposed to the bill and has said he would not present it to the upper house for a vote.

According to his website, King is a member of the Florida Hospice Board of Directors and the Florida Task Force on Government-Financed Health Care, and is a recipient of the Hospice Hall of Fame Award.

Last year he wrote an amendment to the Advanced Directives Law expanding the definition of "proxy."

"The way it reads now, a total and complete stranger that doesn't even know the patient, can come into the institution and say it's in the patient's best interest to die – that was his contribution to the law," said Pat Anderson, attorney for Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler.

A Republican from the Jacksonville area, King served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1986 through 1999, and was elected to the state Senate in March 1999.

Volunteers with the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation urge all concerned Floridians to contact their senators and State House members and encourage them to support "Terri's Bill."

Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of legislators are listed on the Florida Legislature's website. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/

posted 10-20-2003 05:50 AM            

Open letter to Gov. Bush on Terri Schindler-Schiavo

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Posted: October 20, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Dear Gov. Bush,

You have before you the most important decision of your political career: Will you or will you not uphold your oath of office to protect the constitutional rights of Terri Schindler-Schiavo?

Additionally, many of our readers have asked questions which, frankly – as reasonable as they are – I don't know how to answer them. Perhaps you do. For example:

Why is it that a governor can commute the death sentence of a person convicted of murder, but cannot stop the execution of an innocent young woman?

By the definitions of "cruel and unusual," our courts would not allow a convicted murderer to die of legally sanctioned starvation and dehydration. Why are you allowing this to be done to an innocent young woman?

If any person in America tried to euthanize their dog the way you are allowing to be done to Terri Schindler-Schiavo, they would be prosecuted for cruelty to an animal. Why are you allowing this to be done to an innocent human being?

Gov. Bush, I must also tell you that your pitiful attempt to make people think you are impotent to act in this matter is not credible. It makes people think you are acting in bad faith – washing your hands of a difficult matter just as Pontius Pilate did with Jesus 2,000 years ago. If such is the case – and I believe it is likely – you sir are a coward without modern-day peer. I hope I'm wrong. But, if you let this woman die, her blood is on your hands.

Oh, and yes, Gov. Bush, I am aware there may be a special session of the state legislature that might include a bill to address this matter. But the simple fact is you already have grounds to take charge now. By the time this "special session" gets done, Terri may very well be dead. But then you'll be able to shrug your shoulders and give yourself and the legislature enough cover to pretend you really tried to help Terri, right?

Surely, governor, there are ample reasons to warrant investigations into the activities of the people involved in seeking Terri's death. And surely there is ample evidence that Terri is no more a vegetable than you are, governor – she laughs, she cries, she moves in response to words and other stimuli. She is awake. She is alive. And she is a citizen of your state who is entitled to the full protection of the law.

Terri Schindler-Schiavo is being denied her right to life. She needs help to be rehabilitated. She does not deserve a painful execution that we wouldn't even subject dogs or criminals to.

So, governor, will you act honorably and uphold the integrity of your oath of office or will you allow an innocent, helpless woman to be murdered by legally mandated neglect?

The world is watching.

posted 10-20-2003 12:43 PM            

Becki Snow wrote and posted this article on her site nearly a year ago! What a tragedy that so many of us learned so late about Terri's plight.

And discover yet more collusion between the players in this travesty. Felos, Michael Schiavo's lawyer, a board member of the Hospice Internment Camp where Terri has been languishing under  the watchful eye of former Felos employees, to make certain Terry received no rehabilitation therapy -- either range of motion or stimulation; no antibiotics for life-threatening infections, and especially NO RESUSCITATION were it needed.

Please forward this to your e-mail lists, news stations, and where ever else you think to send it. Maybe it would be appropriate to send it to the Judge George Greer so at least they will know that we know.
Jackie
Sunday, October 19th, 2003

http://becki-snow.blogspot.com/2002_11_24_becki-snow_archive.html

Sunday, November 24, 2002

TERRI SCHIAVO TO DIE IN ATTORNEY'S "DEATH FACTORY"?

SUNCOAST HOSPICE BOSS WAS GEORGE FELOS...

Man "finds" Wife unconscious.

Man keeps Wife unconscious.

Man gets malpractice money for Wife.

Man wants Wife's money.

Man wants Wife dead so Man can have money.

Man gets Lawyer.

Lawyer is/was Hospice Board Member.

Lawyer promises Man that Wife will die at the Hospice...

It reads like fiction, but it parallels the story of Michael Schiavo (the Man), Terri Schiavo (his Wife), and George J. Felos (the Lawyer/Board Member/Past Board Member of "The Hospice") - and unless some brave soul intervenes, it will end with the murder of Terri Schiavo.

     Terri Schiavo, an incapacitated but warmly responsive young woman, is in the care of "The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast" ("Hospice House Woodside") at 300 East Bay Drive, Largo, Florida. But unknown to her advocates, all of Terri's medical care has been influenced by a Past Chairman of the Hospice's Board of Directors - George J. Felos, attorney for Michael Schiavo, and self-described "right-to-die" advocate.

     Many of the Hospice nurses, volunteers, and doctors who are charged with the care, feeding, and unbiased medical evaluation of Terri Schiavo worked for George J. Felos, a man who has publically proclaimed that Terri must die.

     The death Felos has prescribed for Terri starts with a ban on all but the most basic physical care - the once beautiful woman rots in her "Hospice of the Florida Suncoast" bed; Terri's advocates claim her teeth are unbrushed, her nails untrimmed, her infections untreated.

    This was not always the case - even after her brain injury, Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, kept her groomed and pretty. Terri was even starting to speak again - words like "yes" "no" and "stop that" - but that was before Michael Schiavo hired George Felos to help his wife "die with dignity." Now, Terri's parents have been safely removed so as to avoid "false hope."

    All media and medical access is tightly controlled by Micheal Schiavo and Felos; in response, Terri has at last physically and mentally degenerated to the level where she may be exterminated by polite society.

     Terri's slow death will grind down to a brutal, final starvation, executed at Felos' request on Jan 3, 2003. Upon Terri's death, several hundred thousand dollars that were earmarked for Terri's long-term care and therapy will finally be released to her husband Michael Schiavo, his new lover and their baby, to his attorney George Felos, and quite possibly in turn to the Hospice itself.

     It is unknown if Felos would advocate quick death for hospice patients who do not have large sums of money lubricating their exit from life; evidently the Hospice has not been forthcoming with clients in regard to George Felos' true role at the Hospice.

    "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" has kept this information largely out of the public eye, but an investigation of the Hospice's annual reports reveals a new twist in the case of Terri Schiavo: George J. Felos was the official but unseen hand of the Hospice - and he advocates death for those in his care.

    Neither George Felos nor "The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast" have openly disclosed the facts of Terri Schiavo's case to Terri's many advocates - that from February 13, 1997 until at least April 26, 2001, George J. Felos was listed as a member or recent member of the Board of Directors for "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" on the non-profit's annual reports.

    Certainly one would hope that if the true role George Felos had been revealed in court, Judge George Greer would have made a much different ruling concerning Terri Schiavo's fate. Without knowledge of this conflict of interest, the Sixth Circuit Judge would be forgiven if he seemed to believe that such a noble institution as hospice - caring compassionately for the dying - could be trusted to make an unbiased report regarding Terri Schiavo's medical condition and with her care.

     With the information regarding this conflict of interest, the courts will be remiss to believe any evidence that Felos OR his "Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" might proffer in reference to Terri. Considering this new evidence, it is the opinion of this writer that the courts of Florida would be complicit in Felos' duplicity should they not review this ruling.

    Conversely, if Felos' chairmanship at the Hospice was indeed known to the courts during the trial, it would have been imperative that the court make this information known to the opposing council, Terri Schiavo's parents, and to the public.

     Suppression of information regarding the Hospice and Felos' conflict of interest would destroy the integrity of this court, considering that Judge Greer himself was declared by the court to be Terri's guardian ad litem by default. The guardian ad litem is required to act in the best interest of Terri Schiavo - not in the best interests of Mike Schiavo, the Schindlers, Attorney Felos or the Hospice.

     In the minds of many, no honest court could defensibly argue that Terri's best interests would be served by lawyers, individuals or entities who stand to profit from her death.

     This information regarding lack of disclosure of conflict of interest by Felos and "The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast" should warrant appeal of the Court's Nov. 22 ruling, and should spur a call for further investigation into other cases of conflict of interest concerning the Hospice and Felos.

     The court's Nov. 22 ruling is based in part on medical information taken from Terri while she was in the care of the Hospice - information which may have been tainted by the lack of full disclosure regarding Past Chairman/Attorney George Felos.

     According to The Hospice Patients Alliance Website and the Washington Post, ("Hospices Big Business, Thanks to Medicare; Exploitation of some patients is alleged" 06/14/98) this type of unethical activity is nothing new - it also may be illegal.

     If "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" is to cast itself as an ethical entity, it should rectify and resolve this conflict of interest regarding it's Board of Directors and Past Chairman, George Felos:

     It is this writer's opinion that:

- The Board of Directors of "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" cannot justify their actions, or the actions of past Chairman, George Felos if The Hospice knowingly placed Terri Schiavo in the care of Felos and his paid/volunteer subordinates without disclosing his role at the Hospice to the court, the public, or the Terri Schiavo's parents.

- The Board of Directors of "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" cannot claim to be advocates for their clients if they are not fully open regarding the past or present roles of George Felos with their donors, the courts, or the clients they purport to serve.

- The Board of Directors of "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast", cannot state they are caretakers if Felos and the Hospice worked together to hasten Terri Schiavo's death from the moment she was clandestinely removed from her nursing home and brought to the Hospice by Felos.

     These new insights into the Hospice's inner workings raise questions that must be answered.

- How many elderly or infirm persons have Felos and the Hospice possibly exploited for monetary gain?

- How many other impaired but recovering persons may have been brought into the Hospice's "care" without their explicit consent?

- How many other incapacitated or differently-abled people might have suffered or will suffer the same fate as Terri Schiavo?

-Under Florida law, do these human beings qualify for the basic guarantees of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or are they only products to be mined by George Felos and "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast"?

-If Felos and the Hospice espouse that incapacitated people have no rights other than those assigned to them by the Hospice and it's agents, then is "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" nothing more than a Death Factory?

     It is the opinion of this writer that George Felos' "Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" is not an uninterested third party in this case, as they portray themselves to be. The Board of Directors hired Michael Shiavo's lawyer as their Chairman, then obscured Felos' role while bringing Terri under Hospice's care.

     "The Hospice of The Florida Suncoast" should come clean and come forward with any additional information they may hold regarding George Felos, Terri Schiavo, or any other hospice patients who may have been "represented" by Felos. The Hospice must also reveal any plans that they and their past Chairman of the Board may have for Terri's award money following her "facilitated" death.

     For Michael Schiavo, George J. Felos and the Board of Directors of "The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast", it seems that Terri Schiavo's death cannot come soon enough - and unless the American public can persuade the courts to rule otherwise, Terri will die October 15, 2003.

Copyright November 24, 2002 - Becki Snow

Disclaimer: This article is the opinion of Becki Snow, and makes no guarantee as to the accuracy or reliability of its sources although the sources have been verified as accurately as possible through public record resources.

This article may be copied and posted in accordance with fair use, in its entirety or excerpted, but only with full credit to the author and with notification to the author. Please notify the author by email at beckisnow@yahoo.com

posted 10-20-2003 02:35 PM            

BUSH.

posted 10-21-2003 06:27 AM            

I fear this is too little too late...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35175

Florida House votes
to save Terri Schiavo
Bill gives Jeb Bush power to 'stay' case, but needs to overcome Senate foes today

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Posted: October 20, 2003
11:45 p.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Six days after Terri Schindler-Schiavo's feeding tube was removed on court order – sentencing her to a slow and painful death – the Florida House of Representatives, influenced by a massive and sustained outpouring of support for the 39-year-old brain-disabled woman, voted tonight to give Gov. Jeb Bush the power to order Terri's feeding tube re-inserted.

Legislation H35-E, known as Terri's Bill, passed House on a 68-23 vote at approximately 10:15 p.m. Eastern.

The bill "authorizes the governor to issue a one-time stay to prevent withholding of nutrition and hydration under certain circumstances; provides for expiration of stay; authorizes Governor to lift stay under certain circumstances; provides that person is not civilly liable & is not subject to regulatory or disciplinary sanctions for taking action in compliance with any such stay."

The Senate version, S 0012-E, will be debated by the state Senate at 8 a.m.

Nicole DeLara, press secretary for House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, who strongly supported the legislation, said the goal was to save Terri if at all possible, and he "remains committed to supporting legislation that would help us provide maximum protection and law for Terri and other vulnerable Floridians. And we want to see justice prevail for those who cannot speak for themselves."

However, the bill's fate in the Senate remains uncertain, due to known opposition of Senate President Jim King, a Republican representing northeast Florida coast area and Jacksonville.

Terri responding to her mother in video clip available on terrisfight.org

The development occurred just hours after the Tallahasse-based Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities filed for an injunction to keep Schiavo alive to have time to investigate whether removal of her life-sustaining feeding tube was an act of abuse by her husband, Michael Schiavo, according to an Associated Press report.

Schiavo – who lives with another woman with whom he has a child and another on the way – cut off all access to Terri's therapy and claims he only is fulfilling wishes expressed before she suffered a sudden collapse in 1990 under mysterious circumstances.

Florida lawmakers are in the capital for a special session on economic development, and the Senate could pass the bill authorizing Bush to order the feeding tube re-inserted tomorrow.

According to AP, Byrd called the special House session today, as the governor asked to have the Schiavo issue added to the agenda.

"President King, Speaker Byrd and others in the Legislature recognize the unique and tragic circumstances of Ms. Schiavo's case, and I am hopeful the Legislature will pass a bill immediately," said Bush.

Physically attacked?

The Schindlers, who maintain a website on their daughter's case, say they have evidence Terri was physically attacked.

Gordon Scott, an attorney for the advocacy group, asked for a 10-day injunction to provide time for an investigation after he had conversations with the Schindlers and a neurologist. Scott said he is not convinced Terri is in a "persistent vegetative state" as claimed by Michael Schiavo and his advocates.

Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer agreed to that assessment, however, and ordered the feeding tube removed Oct. 15.

Scott also believes, contrary to Michael Schiavo's claims, Terri is feeling pain from the starvation and dehydration.

The Schindler family said Terri appears to be in stable condition at the Pinellas Park, Fla., hospice where she resides.

"She seems to be alert,'' said her brother, Bob Schindler Jr., according to the Associated Press. "But every day that goes by, we're getting into a crucial time for her. She's got an incredible will to live."

Christine Brundage, a retired registered nurse who handles the correspondence for the Schindler family, told WorldNetDaily people who have seen Terri say she is beginning to fade, and they fear she can't hold out much longer. She is reported to be alert still and vocalizing, but her face is thinner and her skin is becoming drawn, showing the effects of five days of dehydration.

Fla. House Speaker Johnnie Byrd

Last week, two separate state courts rejected a motion to have the tube reinserted so law enforcement could investigate the case.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly of the Catholic Medical Association passed a resolution at its annual meeting Friday that summarizes the view of many advocates of the Schindler family.

It declared removal of Terri's feeding tube "without first undertaking rehabilitation therapy to ascertain her ability to swallow and digest nourishment" constitutes "depriving her of life without due process of law," according to Florida Statutes Section 744, 3211.

Volunteers with the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation urge all concerned Floridians to contact their senators and encourage them to support "Terri's Bill."

Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of legislators are listed on the Florida Legislature's website.

posted 10-21-2003 01:31 PM            

Excerpt

Read this first...
...if you've heard all the myths, and don't have all the FACTS surrounding the circumstances that have brought Terri Schiavo to the edge of death. Every precious moment counts for Terri NOW.

The following is a transcript from a PDF file at www.terrisfight.org.

This answers all the questions I had, and has put the whole affair into perspective relating to time, circumstances, etc.

We've transcribed and posted it here at sweetliberty.org in hopes that you will read it, forward it to your e-mail lists, print it out, and hand it out to friends and associates who believe that Terri Schindler-Schiavo is a vegetable, that her husband loves her and just wants to 'let her go' because he loves her so much, that her husband is just following Terri's wishes, and that all the people fighting for Terri's lives are nut-cases.

Media Mind Control is so intense and successful that even people who've seen the videos of Terri awake, alert, smiling, laughing, etc. will turn right around and parrot the words: "She's just a vegetable." Then they say: "If I were in that condition, I'd want someone to pull the plug for me, too."

TERRI WANTS TO LIVE, AND A RENOWNED DOCTOR HAS SAID SHE CAN RECOVER WITH PROPER THERAPY. HE'S OFFERED TO TREAT TERRI !!! You'll read about it here.

As this is being transcribed -- Saturday night, October 18th, 9:30 PM -- Terri has now been without food and water for 79 hours (three and a half days).

TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR TERRI. PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP AND DO MAKE THE CALLS. IF YOU'VE ALREADY CALLED, DO IT AGAIN, AND AGAIN.

Keep Terri in your prayers, in your mind, in your heart. Wrap her in the protective Light and Love and Peace of our Father/Creator.

Thank you. God bless you. -- Jackie --
________________________________

Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation

4615 Gulf Boulevard, #104-103

St. Petersburg Beach, Florida 33707
www.terrisfight.org

THERESA SCHINDLER-SCHIAVO (Terri) is a disabled young woman who is the victim of gross abuse and the complete denial of her basic human rights.

Terri is under a Florida Court order to die by starvation [and dehydration] simply because her present condition has been confused by misleading information entered into court records.

The Facts that follow should be cause for outrage.

Not only is Terri being systematically denied her right to life and ordinary care, but half-truths and outright distortions about her case have been deliberately and consistently supplied to members of the media and other influential individuals. This propaganda has seriously damaged public understanding of the truth of Terri's condition and the significance of her cause.

Please take the time to read the following information. Terri needs your involvement NOW. We respectfully ask that you take any action you can to bring focus back to this case and to help us make the truth known.

We will promptly provide you with any additional factual information you may need. Please do not hesitate to contact me personally with your questions or comments.

Thank you on behalf of Terri Schindler-Schiavo,

< signature >

Robert Schindler, Sr.

(Terri's dad)

________________________________

MYTHS, QUESTIONS & FACTS

MYTH: Terri is in a coma

FACT: Terri is NOT in a coma. Like you and I, Terri has separate periods of sleep and wakefulness.  Like you and I, she is able to breathe normally, maintain a normal heartbeat and has involuntary functions other than the residual effects associated with a brain damaged patient. Terri is not using a respirator or any other machine to stay alive. She is NOT in a coma, nor is she in a "persistent vegetative state" as her husband, Michael Schiavo has claimed. by Florida Law. a persistent vegetative state is defined as:

a) The absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind. this does not apply to Terri. She tracks objects with her eyes, she moves her limbs on command, she vocalizes when her family or friends are present, she laughs, she cries and she has been video taped while responding to her mother's words and touch, trying to speak and trying desperately to communicate.

b) An inability to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment.

Terri is able to interact purposefully with her environment and experiences pain and discomfort like you and I. Medical records verify that Terri has verbally expressed annoyance with caretakers and with at least one medical practitioner during examination -- clearly indicating that Terri is able to communicate.

MYTH: Many doctors have said that there is no hope for her.

FACT: Terri doesn't actually see many doctors. Dr. Victor Gambone testified that he visits Terri 3 times a year. His visits last for approximately 10 minutes. He also testified, after viewing the court videotapes at Terri's recent trial, that he was surprised to see Terri's level of awareness.

This doctor is part of a team hand-picked by her husband, Michael Schiavo, shortly before he filed to have Terri's feeding removed. Contrary to Schiavo's team, 10 independent physicians have given either statements or testimony that Terri is NOT in a Persistent Vegetative State. Additionally, there has never been any medical dispute of Terri's ability to swallow. Even with this compelling evidence, Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, has denied any form of therapy for her for over ten years.

Dr. Melvin Greer, appointed by Schiavo, testified that a doctor need not examine a patient to know the appropriate medical treatment. He spent approximately 45 minutes with Terri. Dr. Peter Bambakidas, appointed by Judge Greer, spent approximately 30 minutes with Terri. Dr. Ronald Cranford, also appointed by schiavo and who has publicly labeled himself "Dr. Death", spent less than 45 minutes examining and interacting with Terri.

MYTH: Terri's condition was caused by a heart attack.

FACT: Terri was NEVER diagnosed as a heart attack victim when she was admitted to the Northside Humana emergency room in February 1990. To this day, her family does not know the true cause of her collapse. Doctors immediately excluded heart attack as her blood enzymes were not elevated -- typical in all heart attack victims. Terri's toxicology screen also eliminated any suspicion of drugs.

At the time of Terri's admittance, blood tests revealed a depletion of electrolytes and her attending physician HYPOTHESIZED that low blood potassium MAY have caused her collapse. It was with this information that Michael Schiavo entered into a lawsuit against Terri's General Practitioner and Gynecologist, claiming negligence on their part.

In preparation for Terri's October 2002 trial, her ER records were reviewed and it was plainly noted in the "Admitting Summary" that Terri had a "rigid neck" when she was admitted to the hospital. These injuries were never disclosed to Terri's family, nor -- to their knowledge -- were they ever investigated. The doctor reviewing these records testified that the only other patient he treated with similar injuries was the victim of an attempted strangulation.

The prospect that foul play may have led to Terri's collapse and ensuing heart stoppage was enhanced when a bone scan was recently found. This scan, taken 53 weeks after Terri's collapse revealed that Terri had fractured ribs, damage to her pelvic area, LI vertebrae, spine, both knees and both ankles. It also revealed that Terri had suffered a broken femur and a broken back. Three doctors concluded that Terri had endured trauma of some sort. The radiologist responsible for the scan plainly stated: "This patient has a history of trauma"

MYTH: Terri said she wanted to die if her life could only be sustained artificially.

FACT: Terri never executed a will or a living will. Terri had NO WRITTEN DIRECTIVE nor is there any written record expressing Terri's wishes regarding medical care should she ever become incapacitated. There is NO DOCUMENT in existence indicating Terri's wishes, much less any wish to die or be refused therapy should she become disabled.

During the 1992 malpractice suit, Schiavo testified: "I believe in the vows I took with my wife, through sickness, in health, for richer or poor. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that".He also told the jury that he intended to bring Terri home and that, if he had the equipment and resources, he would do so immediately.

Terri's alleged "wishes" only surfaced in 1998, after Schiavo petitioned the courts to remove Terri's feeding tube. However, during the 1992 malpractice lawsuit, Schiavo, in pursuit of a 20 million dollar award, pleaded with the courts for money he said he needed for Terri's extended long term care. He presented this case based on Terri's estimated life expectancy of 50 years or more. However, seven months later, after receiving this money, Schiavo instructed nurses caring for Terri not to give her antibiotics for a urinary tract infection. This untreated infection could have brought about Terri's death and this fact was know to Schiavo.

Terri's "wishes" came under scrutiny when the court appointed Guardian Ad Litem filed a court ordered report, recommending the court deny Schiavo's petition to withdraw Terri's feeding tube. The report cited Schiavo's "death wish" story lacked credibility, noting that he was the only witness. Weeks prior to Terri's January 2000 feeding removal trial, Schiavo introduced 2 new witnesses to corroborate Terri's verbal "death wish". The new witnesses were Schiavo's brother and sister-in-law. After years of silence, they suddenly recalled Terri making statements concerning her end of life wishes. terri's alleged "wishes" were never, however, discussed with anyone in her family nor with her friends, and the statements made by Schiavo's witnesses were simply hearsay evidence.

Florida Law dictates that an "end of life directive" is a requirement in order to legally remove a person's nutrition and hydration, but there is none in Terri's case.

MYTH: People like Terri are a burden on the system.

FACT: Terri brother and sister have consistently volunteered to work as her guardians. Terri's mother and father have volunteered to be responsible for her care and therapy -- which Terri has a right to [Under the Florida State Law, regardless of court rulings]. Terri also had a medical fund and would NOT be cared for by tax-payers' money. Though the Schindlers have lovingly volunteered to provide Terri rehabilitation and affectionate care, Schiavo refuses to relinquish Terri's guardianship to them and continues to pursue his court battle to end her life by way of starvation.

MYTH: Terri is in a nursing home. She must be receiving the best of care.

FACT: In April of 2000, Terri was improperly admitted to a Hospice facility. Hospice is not a nursing home, nor is it licensed to care for the chronically ill. The mission of Hospice is to provide palliative care to the terminally ill and Terri has no terminal illness or condition. Upon admittance, the attending physician must certify that the patient is likely to die within six months, yet there is no such prognosis affecting Terri's life expectancy. Terri was moved to Hospice from a full care Nursing Facility secretively and outside of normal facility hours. Although an objection was filed on Terri's behalf upon discovery of this, Judge Greer approved the move after the fact.

The Director of Nurses/Administrator at Hospice stated she would not medicate Terri, even if the outcome of refusing medication would bring about her death -- because of orders by Schiavo. When asked if she would advise the family of a life threatening situation on Terri's part, she stated only if Michael Schiavo allowed her. Further, she stated the family would not be advised of any problem Terri may have, regardless of severity, unless approved by Schiavo.

QUESTION: Why doesn't her family do something?

ANSWER: The courts will not allow it. Outside of the court room, there is little Terri's family can do to help her. Terri parents have made dozens of petitions on the court to allow them more ability to care for their daughter. The vast majority were flatly denied. Schiavo has terminated open visitation to Terri's family. He has also ordered that Terri's medical records and information be kept from her family. He deals with Terri's medical providers in complete secrecy.

MYTH: This is just a family battle over money.

FACT: In 1992, Terri was awarded nearly one million dollars by a malpractice jury and an out-of-court settlement which was designated for future medical expenses. Of these funds, less than $140,000 remains today. The financial records revealing how Terri's medical fund money is managed are SEALED from inspection. Court records, however, show that Judge Greer has approved the spending down of Terri's medical fund on Schiavo's attorney's fees- thought it was expressly awarded to Terry for her medical care.

Schiavo's primary attorney, George Felos, has received upwards of $400,000 dollars since Schiavo hired him. The same attorney, at the expense of Terri's medical fund, publicly likened Terri to a "houseplant" and has used Terri's case on national television to promote his newly published book.

MYTH: Michael Schiavo volunteered to donate the balance of the inheritance to charity.

FACT: In October, 1996, Schiavo's attorney proposed that, if Terri's parents would agree to her death by starvation, Schiavo would donate his inheritance to charity. The proposal came after a court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem cited Schiavo's conflict of interest since he stood to inherit the balance of Terri's medical fund upon her death. This one and only offer stated, "if the proposal is not fully accepted within 10 days, it shall automatically be withdrawn". Naturally, Terri's parents immediately rejected the offer. Yet, for 4 years, Schiavo has repeatedly implied to the media that he was willing to donate Terri's inheritance to charity.

[Note: Anyone can establish a charitable foundation. Schiavo could have created his own 'charitable foundation', with himself as the 'administrator', and the money would have all been in his hands anyway.]

MYTH: Terri's husband is only trying to do the right thing for her.

FACT: Prior to the outcome of Terri's 1992 malpractice lawsuit, Michael Schiavo placed her in a rehabilitation center and testified that he "wanted to take care of his wife". After Terri was awarded her settlement, and Schiavo was awarded $630,000, he stopped all progressive treatment and admitted Terri to a nursing home facility - which only provided routine care and maintenance. This was in spite of a promising neurological prognosis indicating that Terri was making progress on the way to recovery.

Schiavo is living with and has fathered a child with a woman he titles his "fiancee". By Florida Statute 798, this is open adultery and considered lewd and lascivious cohabitation under Florida Law. Under such laws, Schiavo is disqualified as Terri's legal guardian. Yet, the court refuses to remove him as such. He refuses to seek divorce (which would be a natural process if he truly intended to move on with his life) and, instead, persists in his demands that Terri be put to death.

MYTH: Terri's family just doesn't want to let her go. They're keeping her alive unnecessarily.

FACT: A renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. William Hammesfahr, has offered to treat Terri and to give her the rehabilitation she needs to recover. Dr. Hammesfahr was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1999 and has recently been acknowledged by the Florida Board of Medicine as "The first and only doctor in medical history to reverse the effects of stroke".

Dr. Hammesfahr thoroughly examined Terri and testified that Terri was not in a Persistent Vegetative State. Terri's parents only want their daughter to have access to this treatment as well as any other appropriate therapy. As a patient, Terri has been sequestered from treatment and recovery. Terri's family only want to change this and to have Terri's human rights restored.

MYTH: It's a horrible situation, but there's nothing I can do about it.

FACT: Here is the biggest myth of all. There is plenty everyone can do to ensure that an innocent young woman is not exterminated by the Florida Courts. We ask that members of the press bring focus back to this story and report the TRUTH. We ask that members of government intervene and bring relief to a family that wants nothing more than to care for their own flesh and blood. We ask that activist groups take serious effort to pressure those who can determine the final outcome. And we ask that anyone, who knows the love and joy only a child or sibling can bring, to pass the word of Terri's fight for life along. Terri's time is running out. SHE NEEDS YOU NOW!

_____________________________________________________

[NOTE: This file contains two more pages which we aren't transcribing here.

One page is titled "Very real information about this case" which gives timelines and court decisions, demonstrating the miscarriage of justice that has brought Terri now to the brink of a hideous death: MURDER BY TORTURE ORDERED BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA VIA JUDGE GEORGE GREER!

The other page outlines WHAT CAN BE DONE!

You can access this entire Media Kit by going into www.terrisfight.org, click on the 'downloads' and pull up the PDF file titled 'Media Kit'. This is posted here -- with love -- for Terri and all other people who are being murdered by decree of the courts all over America. Perhaps Terri's situation is meant to be a beacon of light shining into the abyss of senseless killing that has been going on all around us without our awareness. It certainly has opened my eyes. And it is breaking my heart. -- Jackie]  

posted 10-21-2003 02:57 PM            

Florida legislature
acts to save Terri
House, Senate pass measure to grant Jeb Bush power to restore disabled woman's feeding tubewoman's feeding tube

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: October 21, 2003
4:53 p.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

With only a few hours remaining before she slips beyond the point where she can be saved, Florida lawmakers delivered Gov. Jeb Bush legislation empowering him to order Terri Schindler-Schiavo's feeding tube re-inserted.

The governor has said he would sign the measure and immediately implement the life-saving law.

Influenced by a massive and sustained outpouring of support for the 39-year-old brain-disabled woman, lawmakers threw a legislative "hail-Mary" pass to move the emotionally charged case out of the judicial arena and into the hands of the state's chief executive.

This afternoon, the state Senate voted 23-15 in favor of a bill to authorize the governor to issue a stay, which amounts to putting the feeding tube back into Terri's abdomen.

The Senate passage of S 12 E follows similar action by state representatives late last night, who voted 68-23 in favor of H35-E, known as Terri's Bill.

Introduced by Republicans John Stargel in the House and Daniel Webster in the Senate, the legislation "authorizes the Governor to issue a one-time stay to prevent withholding of nutrition and hydration under certain circumstances; provides for expiration of stay; authorizes governor to lift stay under certain circumstances; provides that person is not civilly liable and is not subject to regulatory or disciplinary sanctions for taking action in compliance with any such stay."

Earlier today, Terri's supporters feared the Senate, which was originally not scheduled to vote on the matter until tonight, was dragging its feet in an attempt to run out the clock.

"They're just playing with her life," Pamela Hennessey, spokesperson for Terri's family, told WorldNetDaily. "They're arguing over bill language and deliberately letting her die."

Sources on hand for the Senate debate, however, tell WorldNetDaily, lawmakers reworked the language of the legislation in an attempted end-run around an injunction promised by right-to-die attorney George Felos, who represents Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband.

The Senate bill then went back to the House, which approved it 73-24.

The outcome of today's Senate debate had been uncertain, due to known opposition of Senate President Jim King, a Republican representing the northeast Florida coast area and Jacksonville.

King expressed reservations over intervening in a case already vetted in the courts.

Fla. Senate President Jim King

But citing "unique and unusual circumstances,'' he has signed off on what he considers a narrowly drafted measure that still delivers what Byrd and Bush want, reports the Tribune.

"If we are going to err, then let us err on the side of caution,'' the paper quotes King as saying. "I just hope to God we've done the right thing.''

Physically attacked?

Last night's House action occurred just hours after the Tallahasse-based Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities filed for an injunction to keep Schiavo alive to have time to investigate whether removal of her life-sustaining feeding tube was an act of abuse by her husband, according to an Associated Press report.

Schiavo – who lives with another woman with whom he has a child and another on the way – cut off all access to Terri's therapy and claims he only is fulfilling wishes expressed before she suffered a sudden collapse in 1990 under mysterious circumstances.

The Schindlers, who maintain a website on their daughter's case, say they have evidence Terri was physically attacked prior to her mysterious collapse.

Terri responding to her mother in video clip available on terrisfight.org

Gordon Scott, an attorney for the advocacy group, asked for a 10-day injunction to provide time for an investigation after he had conversations with the Schindlers and a neurologist. Scott said he is not convinced Terri is in a "persistent vegetative state" as claimed by Michael Schiavo and his advocates.

Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer agreed to that assessment, however, and ordered the feeding tube removed Oct. 15.

Scott also believes, contrary to Michael Schiavo's claims, Terri is feeling pain from the starvation and dehydration.

The Schindler family said Terri appears to be in stable condition at the Pinellas Park, Fla., hospice where she has been a patient for over three years.

"She seems to be alert,'' said her brother, Bob Schindler Jr., according to the Associated Press. "But every day that goes by, we're getting into a crucial time for her. She's got an incredible will to live."

Christine Brundage, a retired registered nurse who handles the correspondence for the Schindler family, told WorldNetDaily in an e-mail last night Terri is still alert and awake, but very shrunken – the effects of six days of dehydration taking their toll.

Last week, two separate state courts rejected a motion to have the tube reinserted so law enforcement could investigate the case.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly of the Catholic Medical Association passed a resolution at its annual meeting Friday that summarizes the view of many advocates of the Schindler family.

It declared removal of Terri's feeding tube "without first undertaking rehabilitation therapy to ascertain her ability to swallow and digest nourishment" constitutes "depriving her of life without due process of law," according to Florida Statutes Section 744, 3211.

Volunteers with the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation urge all concerned Floridians to contact their senators and encourage them to support "Terri's Bill."

Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of legislators are listed on the Florida legislature's website.

posted 10-21-2003 03:40 PM            

Bush gave his order after the Legislature rushed to pass a bill designed to save the life of Terri Schiavo (search), whose parents have fought to keep her alive. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, says she would rather die.

The Senate voted 23-15 for the legislation, and the House passed the final version 73-24 only minutes later. Bush signed it into law and issued the order just more than an hour later.

• Raw Data: Fla. Bill HB 35-E (FindLaw pdf)

Schiavo's feeding tube was removed last Wednesday. Doctors have said the 39-year-old woman will die within a week to 10 days without food and water.

After the Senate's vote, a cheer went up among about 80 protesters outside Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park.

"We are just ecstatic," Bob Schindler said after Bush told him he would issue the order that will keep his daughter alive. "It's restored my belief in God."

George Felos, a lawyer for Michael Schiavo, took steps to stop Bush even before the governor received the bill. He filed a request for an injunction if Bush issued an order. Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer denied it on technical grounds, but said Felos could refile the request.

In the Senate, even some supporters of the legislation expressed concern about their actions.

"I keep on thinking 'What if Terri didn't really want this done at all?' May God have mercy on all of us," said Senate President Jim King, a Republican.

Lawmakers were already called to the Capitol for a special session on economic development when they decided to intervene in the case.

Bush said he did not think lawmakers were motivated by politics.

"This is a response to a tragic situation." Bush said. "People are responding to cries for help and I think it's legitimate."

Opponents said government was stepping in where it had no business being.

"I do not believe the governor of Florida should be making a decision of life and death rather than the next of kin," said Sen. Steven Geller, a Democrat.

Suzanne Carr, Terri Schiavo's sister, called the development "a miracle, an absolute miracle."

Earlier in Tampa, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday denied a request by an advocacy group that Schiavo be kept alive so it could investigate whether removal of the tube was abusive.

Merryday wrote that federal courts — other than the U.S. Supreme Court — are forbidden from interjecting themselves into matters already decided by state courts. He also said the group failed to provide enough evidence to support its request.

The bill sent to Bush was designed to be as narrow as possible. It is limited to cases in which the patient left no living will, is in a persistent vegetative state, has had nutrition and hydration tubes removed and where a family member has challenged the removal.

Court-appointed doctors have described Schiavo as being in a vegetative state, caused when her heart stopped in 1990 from a suspected chemical imbalance.

Bush last week promised the woman's parents that he would help them if he could find a way.

The Florida Supreme Court (search) has twice refused to hear the case, and it also has been rejected for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, a Florida appeals court again refused to block removal of the tube.

Felos said he thinks the legislation would be unconstitutional. It is Terri Schiavo's right under the Florida Constitution to not be kept alive artificially, and the courts have affirmed that, he said.

During a two-hour debate in the House, several Democrats argued that the Constitution does not let the Legislature give the governor the power to overrule the courts.

"This bill so oversteps our role it ... turns democracy on its head," said Rep. Dan Gelber, a Democrat.

But many Republicans and some Democrats said they need to be involved in dire cases where judges might be wrong.

posted 10-21-2003 08:26 PM            

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Supporters of Terri Schindler Schiavo, the 39-year-old disabled Florida woman whose husband is attempting to remove her feeding tube which would end her life, charged a possible conflict of interest in the case Tuesday, one day after the judge postponed a decision on therapy for the woman to help her re-learn to swallow nutrients given to her by mouth.

The group working to get therapy and rehabilitative services for Terri alleges an improper link between the husband's attorney, George Felos, and court-appointed physician Dr. Peter Bambakidis, who was charged with providing an impartial review of the medical evidence in the case. Felos refused to comment on the allegation.

"Supporters of Terri believe that attorney George Felos had a personal relationship with either the Bambakidis family or with Peter Bambakidis prior to Dr. Peter Bambakidis being assigned as an independent examining physician in April of 2002," said Pamela Hennessy, spokeswoman for the group.

Hennessy referred to marketing materials distributed by Felos in which he lists some of the professional and social organizations in which he holds membership.

"A member of the Florida Bar and Clearwater Bar Association, Felos served as a member of the Clearwater Bar Appellate Law Committee, as governor of the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association (AHEPA), and as chair of numerous National Association of Securities Dealers arbitration panels," the document states.

AHEPA is a Greek fraternal organization that counts among its members Gust Bambakidis, chairman of the physics department at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and the older brother of Peter Bambakidis.

The elder Bambakidis confirmed to CNSNews.com Tuesday that it was his brother, Peter, who testified in the Terri Schindler Schiavo case.

"He was down in Florida because he was, I think he was asked to be an expert witness in a case. I think that's what that was all about" Gust Bambakidis said.

Gust Bambakidis said his younger brother is not a member of AHEPA, which was confirmed by the group's national headquarters. The older brother also said that he does not know George Felos.

Peter Bambakidis did not return calls to his office seeking comment for this report.

Felos refuses to answer questions

Felos Tuesday refused to answer questions about his client's case or about any possible relationship with the Bambakidis family, saying CNSNews.com's coverage of the controversy was "atrociously biased so I'm just not going to participate in it."

"In one of your articles ... I was described, not by someone else, but by the author of the article as a 'euthanasia attorney,' or 'pro-euthanasia attorney,'" Felos claimed, "which is inaccurate. I don't support euthanasia, I never have, I've been very clear about my position."

Felos was unable to identify any article in which the alleged description of him occurred.

Of the 16 articles CNSNews.com has published regarding the Terri Schindler Schiavo case, only six have contained the word "euthanasia" and none have done so referring directly or indirectly to Felos.

He has been identified by CNSNews.com as "a noted author and advocate in Florida's so-called 'right to die' movement," and as "a well-known advocate of the so-called 'right-to-die'," along with variations of the phrase "Michael Schiavo's attorney."

Felos authored the book Litigation as Spiritual Practice, which includes in its promotion by Blue Dolphin Publishing the statement that "Attorney George Felos became the legal advocate of Estelle Browning's right-to-die and in the process plumbed the depths of death and dying and spearheaded a social revolution to enable death with dignity in the state of Florida."

Felos has been described as a "right-to-die lawyer" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Orlando Sentinel has described Felos as the author of "a book about his right-to-die advocacy."

Judge set to rule on removal of feeding tube, swallowing therapy

Pinellas-Pasco, Florida, Circuit Judge George Greer refused to hear the Schindler family's motion that Terri be given immediate therapy to help her re-learn to swallow food on her own, before her feeding tube (technically referred to as a "gastrostomy" or "g-tube") is removed. Greer told attorney Pat Anderson that the issue is still being considered as part of the decision about when the tube will be removed.

"He told litigating attorneys that he would deliver a ruling on the removal of Terri's feeding tube as well as the emergency motion for immediate therapy ... on Wednesday," Hennessy told CNSNews.com. "But he's not calling another hearing. It's assumed, at this stage, that he's going to deliver whatever ruling he has via facsimile or courier."

posted 10-21-2003 08:27 PM            

This law allowed Florida's Governor, Jeb Bush, to issue an Executive Order allowing nutrition and hydration to be returned to the disabled Florida woman.

Terri had been without nutrition and hydration for more than 6 days.

posted 10-21-2003 10:20 PM            

Oct 21, 11:43 PM (ET)
By JACKIE HALLIFAX

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Acting on orders from Gov. Jeb Bush, a hospital began giving fluids to a brain-damaged woman Tuesday, six days after her feeding tube was removed in one of the nation's longest and most bitter right-to-die battles.

A judge later rejected a request by the woman's husband to overturn the governor's order.

Terri Schiavo was being rehydrated intravenously after the Legislature rushed to pass a bill designed to save her life, according to her parents' lawyer. Schiavo's parents have fought to keep her alive. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, says she would rather die.

An ambulance took Schiavo from a Pinellas Park hospice to Morton Plant Hospital after Bush issued his order to resume feeding her. A crowd cheered outside as she left.

"I'm ecstatic she's being fed again," said her brother, Bob Schindler Jr. "I don't think I can describe the way I feel right now. It's been unreal."

Hours earlier, the Senate voted 23-15 for legislation to save Schiavo. Within minutes, the House voted 73-24 to send the bill to Bush. The governor signed it into law and issued his order about an hour later.

"It's restored my belief in God," said Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler.

Michael Schiavo, meanwhile, was "deeply troubled, angry and saddened that his wife's wishes have become a political pingpong," said his attorney, George Felos. "He, as many others, is absolutely stunned at the course of events."

Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed last Wednesday. Doctors said the 39-year-old woman would die within a week to 10 days without nutrition and water.

Suzanne Carr, the woman's sister, called lawmakers' action "a miracle, an absolute miracle."

Her