The husband of the Florida woman who received a last-minute reprieve from certain death yesterday has barred her family members from visiting her in the hospital.
Terri Schiavo was moved to Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Fla., after Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law allowing him to order her feeding to resume. The brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube, her only source of sustenance, was removed a week ago at the order of her husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo.
Lawyers for Terri’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, said her brother Bob was turned away when he tried to see her last night.
Health-care workers spent the night rehydrating the woman, according to WEAR-TV, but the hosptial has not released information about her condition.
 Gov. Jeb Bush |
“Like the tens of thousands of Floridians who have raised their voices in support of Terri Schiavo’s right to live, I have been deeply moved by these tragic circumstances,” Bush said in a statement. “I understand the limitations cited by the judges who have declined to hear the later stages of this case. However, any life or death decision should be made only after careful consideration of all related facts and conditions. For that reason, I appreciate the extraordinary action of the legislature today, and will use the discretion they have granted regarding the restoration of nutrition and water to Terri Schiavo.”
“I’m not playing God,” he said earlier in the day, deflecting reporters’ criticism.
Michael Schiavo’s attorney, George Felos, has vowed to sue anyone who reinserted the feeding tube, reports local television station WFTS.
Legislative ‘Hail-Mary’
Influenced by a massive and sustained outpouring of support for the 39-year-old 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.
Yesterday afternoon, the state Senate voted 23-15 in favor of a bill to authorize the governor’s intervention.
The Senate passage of S 12 E follows similar action by state representatives late Monday 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.”
Felos called the legislation “absurdly unconstitutional” and maintains Terri has a right under the Florida Constitution to not be kept alive artificially.
“The fight is no longer about Terri. It’s about the rights of every one of us to control our own lives. It’s about whether your choices will be honored by the courts of this land. It’s about whether the governor and the legislature have the right to tell you what your medical treatment decisions should be,” Felos said in a press conference following the Senate vote.
Senate supporters had to win over staunch foes, namely
Senate President Jim King, a Republican representing the northeast Florida coast area and Jacksonville, who expressed reservations over intervening in a case already vetted by the courts.
 Fla. Senate President Jim King |
But citing “unique and unusual circumstances,” King signed off on what he considers a narrowly drafted measure that still delivered what House Speaker Johnnie Byrd and Bush wanted, the Tampa Tribune reported.
“If we are going to err, then let us err on the side of caution,” the paper quoted King as saying. “I just hope to God we’ve done the right thing.”
The amended Senate bill then went back to the House, which minutes later approved it 73-24.
News of the vote prompted cheers from a crowd of about 80 protesters keeping vigil outside the Pinellas Park, Fla., hospice where Terri has been a patient for three years.
“The screaming and crying and singing and praying! It was one of the happiest moments of my life,” Christine Brundage, a retired registered nurse who handles the correspondence for the Schindler family, told WorldNetDaily.
Suzanne Carr, Terri’s sister, called the development “a miracle, an absolute miracle” as their mother broke down crying, according to the Associated Press.
“We’re not home yet, but we’re damn near there,” Bob Schindler, Terri’s father told AP.
Physically attacked?
Monday 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 and reject the notion she wants to die.
 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.
Judge 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.
Last week, two separate state courts rejected a motion to have the tube re-inserted 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.
In his statement, Gov. Bush said the case was a warning for everyone.
“The conflict among family members over the best interests of this young woman has made us all acutely aware that uncertainty in these situations can, and does, compound the tragedy,” he said. “I hope all Floridians, and any others who have followed this case, will ensure their best interests are clearly documented in a living will or other directive to spare their families a similar anguish.”
Updates and other information about Terri’s fight for life are posted on the family’s website.
Previous stories:
Florida House votes to save Terri Schiavo
Will ‘Terri’s Bill’
save her life now?
Terri Schiavo denied Last Rites
Abuse report filed for Terri Schiavo
Desperate parents plead to Jeb Bush
Lawyers: Bush can step in for Terri
Starvation begins for Terri Schiavo
Husband protests video showing alert Terri
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WND Staff