Post by Sky on Feb 26, 2005 12:19:59 GMT -6
What do you think?
Schiavo judge sets deadline
A judge issued a ruling that could end Terri Schiavo's life in three weeks, but legislators say they will try to act to prevent the feeding tube keeping the brain-damaged woman alive from being removed.
BY PHIL LONG AND MARY ELLEN KLAS
plong@herald.com
In a strongly worded ruling indicating he has run out of patience with the years of litigation over Terri Schiavo's fate, the judge in the case said Friday her husband can remove the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube at 1 p.m. March 18.
The judge said his ruling will stand unless he is overturned by a higher court, and acknowledged that by setting a date more than three weeks away he is giving Schiavo's parents a chance to appeal his decision.
The date the judge set also leaves room for the Legislature -- which begins its annual session March 8 -- to attempt to act to prolong the litigation.
''Five years have passed since the order authorizing the removal of Theresa Schiavo's nutrition and hydration, and there appears to be no finality in sight to this process,'' Circuit Judge Douglas Greer of Clearwater wrote in a 2 ½-page opinion. ``The court, therefore, is no longer comfortable in continuing to grant stays pending appeals of orders.''
Greer first ruled in 2000 that Schiavo, who suffered brain damage when her heart stopped beating 15 years ago because of a chemical imbalance, is in a ''persistent vegetative state'' with no hope of improving. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, asked for permission to remove the tube, saying she had told him and others that she would not want to be kept alive artificially. The court agreed.
Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, say they believe their daughter can improve with therapy and have fought their son-in-law in the courts. In their latest effort, they asked the judge on Wednesday to grant another delay so their daughter can be examined again using a new kind of brain-function testing.
Friday, Greer said no.
MOTION DENIED
''The process does not work,'' the judge wrote, when he denies a motion to delay withdrawal of the feeding tube, then delays the effect of his denial ``for months pending appellate review.''
There will always be ''new issues that can be pled,'' Greer wrote. He said the Schindlers will need to convince a higher court that their efforts merit another delay.
Appeal courts all the way to the state Supreme Court have previously ruled that the feeding tube can be removed, and the U.S. Supreme Court has already declined to hear the case.
George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, said in a written statement that he is ``very pleased that the court has recognized there must be a finality to this process. . . . I am hopeful and confident that the appellate court will also agree that Terri's wishes not to be kept alive artificially must now be enforced.''
The Schindlers did not see Greer's ruling as a victory, despite the three week timetable. ''It's a relief, a temporary relief,'' Bob Schindler told reporters in a news conference outside the hospice center where his daughter now lives. ``I don't see it as a victory. The victory is when we take Terri home and we get her therapy.''
The judge said in his order that chose March 18 so that ``last rites and other similar matters can be addressed in an orderly manner.''
GOVERNOR'S OPTIONS
A spokeswoman for Gov. Jeb Bush said the governor welcomed the extra time and added that Bush is still exploring options to keep the feeding tube from being removed.
The judge's ruling all but guarantees that the issue will return to the Legislature as a centerpiece when lawmakers meet in regular session in two weeks. Rep. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican, and Sen. Steve Wise, a Jacksonville Republican, filed legislation earlier this month that would prohibit a court from ordering a feeding tube removed from an incompetent person, unless there is a previously written directive.
''We're very pleased with the ruling,'' Baxley said Friday. ``It does give us time to review this situation and deal with it appropriately within the legislative window.''
Questions linger over whether the legislature will be able to apply any legislation to Schiavo. In 2003, after Schiavo's feeding tube had been removed, the Legislature passed ''Terri's Law,'' ordering the tube reinserted. Bush signed the law and the tube was put back in. But the Florida Supreme Court threw out the law, saying it was an unconstitutional attempt by the Legislature to interfere in judicial decisions.
House Speaker Allan Bense said this week that the Legislature will work to find a solution that would hold up in court. ''I think its imperative that everything that we do meet the constitutional test and be thoughtful and well-planned,'' he said. ``It's a gut wrenching issue for all of us as lawmakers.''
Schiavo judge sets deadline
A judge issued a ruling that could end Terri Schiavo's life in three weeks, but legislators say they will try to act to prevent the feeding tube keeping the brain-damaged woman alive from being removed.
BY PHIL LONG AND MARY ELLEN KLAS
plong@herald.com
In a strongly worded ruling indicating he has run out of patience with the years of litigation over Terri Schiavo's fate, the judge in the case said Friday her husband can remove the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube at 1 p.m. March 18.
The judge said his ruling will stand unless he is overturned by a higher court, and acknowledged that by setting a date more than three weeks away he is giving Schiavo's parents a chance to appeal his decision.
The date the judge set also leaves room for the Legislature -- which begins its annual session March 8 -- to attempt to act to prolong the litigation.
''Five years have passed since the order authorizing the removal of Theresa Schiavo's nutrition and hydration, and there appears to be no finality in sight to this process,'' Circuit Judge Douglas Greer of Clearwater wrote in a 2 ½-page opinion. ``The court, therefore, is no longer comfortable in continuing to grant stays pending appeals of orders.''
Greer first ruled in 2000 that Schiavo, who suffered brain damage when her heart stopped beating 15 years ago because of a chemical imbalance, is in a ''persistent vegetative state'' with no hope of improving. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, asked for permission to remove the tube, saying she had told him and others that she would not want to be kept alive artificially. The court agreed.
Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, say they believe their daughter can improve with therapy and have fought their son-in-law in the courts. In their latest effort, they asked the judge on Wednesday to grant another delay so their daughter can be examined again using a new kind of brain-function testing.
Friday, Greer said no.
MOTION DENIED
''The process does not work,'' the judge wrote, when he denies a motion to delay withdrawal of the feeding tube, then delays the effect of his denial ``for months pending appellate review.''
There will always be ''new issues that can be pled,'' Greer wrote. He said the Schindlers will need to convince a higher court that their efforts merit another delay.
Appeal courts all the way to the state Supreme Court have previously ruled that the feeding tube can be removed, and the U.S. Supreme Court has already declined to hear the case.
George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, said in a written statement that he is ``very pleased that the court has recognized there must be a finality to this process. . . . I am hopeful and confident that the appellate court will also agree that Terri's wishes not to be kept alive artificially must now be enforced.''
The Schindlers did not see Greer's ruling as a victory, despite the three week timetable. ''It's a relief, a temporary relief,'' Bob Schindler told reporters in a news conference outside the hospice center where his daughter now lives. ``I don't see it as a victory. The victory is when we take Terri home and we get her therapy.''
The judge said in his order that chose March 18 so that ``last rites and other similar matters can be addressed in an orderly manner.''
GOVERNOR'S OPTIONS
A spokeswoman for Gov. Jeb Bush said the governor welcomed the extra time and added that Bush is still exploring options to keep the feeding tube from being removed.
The judge's ruling all but guarantees that the issue will return to the Legislature as a centerpiece when lawmakers meet in regular session in two weeks. Rep. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican, and Sen. Steve Wise, a Jacksonville Republican, filed legislation earlier this month that would prohibit a court from ordering a feeding tube removed from an incompetent person, unless there is a previously written directive.
''We're very pleased with the ruling,'' Baxley said Friday. ``It does give us time to review this situation and deal with it appropriately within the legislative window.''
Questions linger over whether the legislature will be able to apply any legislation to Schiavo. In 2003, after Schiavo's feeding tube had been removed, the Legislature passed ''Terri's Law,'' ordering the tube reinserted. Bush signed the law and the tube was put back in. But the Florida Supreme Court threw out the law, saying it was an unconstitutional attempt by the Legislature to interfere in judicial decisions.
House Speaker Allan Bense said this week that the Legislature will work to find a solution that would hold up in court. ''I think its imperative that everything that we do meet the constitutional test and be thoughtful and well-planned,'' he said. ``It's a gut wrenching issue for all of us as lawmakers.''
