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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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 Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject: Washington Times: Husband's (M. Schiavo) motives in question |
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http://insider.washingtontimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050322-121622-9464r
| Quote: | March 22, 2005
Husband's motives in question
By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
From the Nation/Politics section
Michael Schiavo's legal fight to remove his brain-damaged wife's feeding tube has raised suspicions about his motives from those seeking to continue the feeding to keep his wife alive.
Why, they ask, does this muscular, 6-foot-7 Florida prison nurse refuse to divorce his wife, Terri, even though he has been living with another woman for 10 years and fathered two children with her? Mr. Schiavo, who mostly stayed quiet while coverage of the battle was restricted mainly to Florida and specialized pro-life outlets, has come out swinging in recent days, portraying himself as a loving husband seeking to do his wife's bidding despite interfering politicians.
In interviews yesterday on CBS' "Early Show" and ABC's "Good Morning America," Mr. Schiavo was asked about divorce and relinquishing his wife's care to family members who are fighting to keep her alive.
"That [divorce] will never happen. I made a promise to Terri," he said on CBS.
On ABC, Mr. Schiavo said, "I made a promise to Terri. I love her. ... Terri is my family also. I'll be with her every step of the way."
Over the weekend, in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, he called out President Bush.
"Come down, President Bush," he said. "Come talk to me. Meet my wife. Talk to my wife and see if you get an answer. Ask her to lift her arm to shake your hand. She won't do it."
Mrs. Schiavo was diagnosed as being in a "persistent vegetative state" after collapsing when her heart temporarily stopped beating in 1990. On CBS yesterday, Deborah Bushnell, an attorney for Mr. Schiavo, described Mrs. Schiavo's mental state, saying, "There's very little cerebral cortex. There's just no thinking brain to respond."
Mrs. Schiavo can breathe on her own, but she requires a feeding tube to stay alive because she cannot swallow.
Mr. Schiavo insists his wife told him before the 1990 fall that she did not wish to be kept alive by artificial means, but her family points out that Mr. Schiavo waited seven years before disclosing that information.
In an interview Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition," Bobby Schindler, Mrs. Schiavo's brother, said Mr. Schiavo "did not make Terri's wishes known" until "after Michael announced his engagement to the woman he's with now."
In a court filing, Mrs. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, argue their son-in-law is trying to rush his wife's death so he can inherit her estate or benefit from her insurance.
But George J. Felos, a Florida lawyer who represents Mr. Schiavo, told The Washington Times in January that "all the money is gone, and there is no insurance." On CNN Sunday, Bobby Schindler said his brother-in-law stood to gain about $1 million in damages from a malpractice lawsuit he filed and won in late 1992. A jury awarded more than $700,000 for Mrs. Schiavo's care, and Mr. Schiavo received an additional $300,000. "I don't know the financial situation of Terri's trust fund" today, Mr. Schindler said. He pointed out that Mr. Schiavo promised a jury 13 years ago that the money would be used for his wife's "rehabilitation and therapy." "The money now has been used to pay Michael's attorneys in an effort to kill her. These financial documents have been sealed by the court," Mr. Schindler said. In published reports, Mr. Schiavo's brother, Brian, said Michael long believed his wife would eventually recover. He recalled how he flew her to California for treatment and that he slept on a cot beside her bed for a month.
Mr. Schiavo, 41, began studying nursing to take better care of his wife, his brother said.
Two years out of high school, in 1982, Mr. Schiavo met Terri Schindler at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania. The couple married in 1984. In 1986, they moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., where he worked as a restaurant manager and she worked as an insurance clerk.
Today, Mr. Schiavo lives in Clearwater, Fla., and works as a nurse at the Pinellas County Jail. Mrs. Schiavo remains hospitalized in Pinellas Park, Fla.
Mr. Schiavo called House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, a "little slithering snake" and was just as dismissive of the other members of Congress who passed emergency legislation granting his wife access to federal courts. "To make comments that Terri would want to live, how do they know?" he asked.
"Have they ever met her?" Mr. Schiavo asked. "What color are her eyes? What's her middle name? What's her favorite color? They don't have any clue who Terri is. They should all be ashamed of themselves." |
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Fort Campbell
Vice Admiral
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 896
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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A simple question..................with all that we went through to keep John Kerry out of the White House did we never learn to not trust the MSM which always slants what it presents?
Apparently that lesson has been quickly forgotten. |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Fort Campbell wrote: | A simple question..................with all that we went through to keep John Kerry out of the White House did we never learn to not trust the MSM which always slants what it presents?
Apparently that lesson has been quickly forgotten. |
Your relentless point about our Naiveté’ has been noted. You are mistaken. This article is from the WASHINGTON TIMES! |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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Had to be sure you all saw this bone scan document from www.terrisfight.org Look at all the fractures, history of trauma etc. This was done a year after her 'stroke.' I still haven't figured out why the police didn't investigate this?
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srmorton
PO2
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Posts: 383
Location: Jacksonville, NC
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, Robyn, for posting this. I knew about the abnormal bone scan,
but I had not seen a copy of the report. I know that the Schindlers did
not find out about it until much later, so I assume this was part of the
evidence that Judge Greer refused to admit when a change of Terri's
guardianship was requested.
I was just thinking. My very favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:28 and
I really believe that the Lord can cause some good to result from any
situation. Perhaps what is going on with Terri will galvanize state
legislatures to examine their statutes concerning withdrawing food and
water from a patient based on hearsay evidence when the patient has
left no written document expressing her wishes and there is
disagreement among the family as to what she would have wanted.
I was horrified to learn yesterday via a local talk radio show that my
own state of NC has a statute that could be interpreted the very same
way the one in Florida has been interpreted. Terri's case could serve
the same purpose that the 4-3 decision in Massachusettes did for the
issue of gay marriage.
I also saw on www.freerepublic.com this morning the exact wording of
Judge Greer's order that was unfortunately enforced on March 18, 2005.
It does not specifically refer to the feeding tube. It says that all food
and water should be withheld from Terri beginning on that day. That is
why her parents can not so much as give her a piece of ice or use a
wet washcloth to moisten her lips. Why would this specific wording be
needed if Terri is truly unable to swallow?
_________________
Susan R. Morton |
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tony54
PO2
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 369
Location: cleveland, ohio
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT?
Last edited by tony54 on Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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tony54
PO2
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 369
Location: cleveland, ohio
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | It says that all food
and water should be withheld from Terri beginning on that day. That is
why her parents can not so much as give her a piece of ice or use a
wet washcloth to moisten her lips. Why would this specific wording be
needed if Terri is truly unable to swallow? |
The explanation I heard on FOX was that feeding her water or ice would cause irreversable damage. (She might die)
No, they want her to die of dehidration, wich could take weeks since she was fairly healthy.
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT? |
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Uisguex Jack
Rear Admiral
Joined: 26 Jul 2004
Posts: 613
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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I went to the link supplied( http://www.terrisfight.org ) and watched all the videos. I am just sickend, there is no question the girl is cognizant. No question at all.
There are allot of people going to hell on this one. |
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tony54
PO2
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 369
Location: cleveland, ohio
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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Judge Greer and Schiavo have overstepped their bounds.
Even if Terri's wish was to not live with life support,
She should not be deprived of water by normal means.
By not allowing the family to give her water orally, Greer is ordering the girl to die of dehidration, they basically are committing MURDER,premeditated. |
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becca1223
PO3
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 293
Location: Colonial Heights, VA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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| We can thank the bloggers again (TANG documents) for giving us all the information regarding Terri's case. Thank God for the internet! |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 12:41 am Post subject: |
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I found this on the terrisfight.org site Brings up some good points about how this Judge Greer let this fall thru the cracks. Michael didn't even do what was minimally required to be her legal guardian, and Greer allowed it.
| Quote: | When a Judge Speaks for You
By Jan Warner
When she was a child, she was taught that if she did not brush her teeth, they would rot out. Now her teeth are rotting out, but no one speaks for her.
When she was a child, her parents took her to the doctor when she had an infection. Now, recurring infections and bedsores ravage her body, but no one speaks for her.
When she became disabled, her husband became her guardian and obtained more than $1.5 million from a malpractice case for her rehabilitation and health care. But her funds have been used to warehouse, not rehabilitate her, and to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers hired by her husband to let her die by starvation and dehydration, a slow, painful, inhumane method of death. But no one speaks for her.
If she were a stray dog or a cat, she would be protected by Florida law from inhumane treatment. Her death would be swift and painless. But as a disabled human being, her death sentence will not be so kind.
When she was a child, her parents instilled in her the need to commit to a relationship before she married. Now her husband lives with a woman and their two illegitimate children in a marriage-like relationship -- and he continues to speak for Terri Schiavo.
If Terri Schiavo was your responsibility, adult protective services would take custody of her and charge you with felony abuse and neglect. And you would be convicted.
But no one will be charged or convicted for abusing or neglecting Terri Schiavo because her lack of care and the waste of her money have been the result of judicial orders issued by Judge George Greer, a publicly elected Florida Circuit Judge in the Tampa-Clearwater-St. Petersburg area.
After Terri Schiavo suffered still unexplained brain damage in 1990, her husband, Michael, was appointed as her guardian because he had priority under Florida law. A guardian is a fiduciary created by law for people who don’t have written financial and health care powers of attorney. Because the legislature of Florida created guardianships to be administered by the courts, judges are mandated to strictly comply with the dictates of the law. But Judge Greer hasn’t.
Even though the law clearly requires guardians of disabled persons to file comprehensive annual reports and care plans, and even though the law clearly requires guardians to not deviate from those plans, Judge Greer has virtually excused Terri’s adulterous husband from filing these plans and reports, a clear violation of Terri’s rights and the law, especially in light of notes in Terri’s records over the years that she has not been properly cared for.
Yet, even without guidelines for her guardian-husband to follow, Judge Greer has authorized payment of expenses to warehouse Terri, but not for one penny’s worth of the rehabilitation that was promised by Michael Schiavo when he sought – and received – large malpractice settlements that were deposited for Terri and controlled under the auspices of Judge Greer.
Rather than pay for swallowing therapy that may have allowed her feeding tube to be removed, Judge Greer authorized payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars from Terri’s rehabilitation money to lawyers hired by her husband to help her die by removing that same feeding tube.
And, of late, at Michael Schiavo’s request, despite the fiduciary obligation of the guardian to grow the account for Terri’s care, Judge Greer has ordered that Terri’s investments be liquidated, that the annual return be slashed, and that her money set aside to pay still more attorney’s fees in order that Terri’s care would be paid for by Medicaid – that’s right, so that you and I can pay for her care while her money is used to put her to death.
Guardian Michael has conflicts of interest and should not be serving as a fiduciary for his wife, not only because he stands to gain financially at her death, but also because he is living in a relationship that is tantamount to marriage with his paramour and their two children.
When Michael’s conflicts were raised by a lawyer then acting as Terri’s guardian ad litem, he was promptly removed, and Judge Greer has chosen not to replace him. Think about it: Terri Schiavo has had no independent representation during proceedings in which her money is being used to pay lawyers hired by her husband to carry out a sentence of death by starvation and dehydration.
Based on recent case filings, Michael Schiavo, as his wife’s fiduciary, is accused of withholding evidence of a bone scan done on Terri in 1991 that substantiates fractures at or about the time of her brain damage. Yet, not surprisingly, Judge Greer has ignored this relevant evidence, even though it touches on yet another facet of Michael Schiavo’s conflict of interest.
Think about it: If Judge Greer has not required the filing of mandated plans and reports, how could Michael Schiavo have acted legally as Terri’s guardian when, by law, the guardian must act within the guidelines of the filed plans? If there were no plans and all of Michael's acts were unauthorized, how could Judge Greer approve payments for Terri’s care?
While most of us think of the courts as the safest place to preserve the rights of disabled persons, Judge Greer has set new standards for judicial undersight. Judge George Greer may well be an aberration, a deviation from the norm, but what he has done to – and not done for – Terri Schiavo shocks the conscience of a civilized society.
Face it: Judge Greer will never be a posterboy for appropriate judicial conduct, but if he and others like him are not dealt with swiftly and appropriately, you and I may someday find ourselves in a position like Terri Schiavo -- with no one to speak for us.
Jan Warner, a matrimonial and elder law attorney, and Jan Collins, an editor and writer, co-author NextSteps®, a weekly newspaper column about matters affecting the elderly and disabled (www.nextsteps.net) |
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