Click here: CitizenLink - Extras - State May Step In to Protect Schiavo
http://family.org/cforum/extras/a0035935.cfm
READ TO THE END!!!!! BE ADVISED, AGAIN, REGUARDLESS OF WHAT YOU READ... THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND NOW! LISA
March 23, 2005
State May Step In to Protect Schiavo
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Appeals court, Florida Senate no longer options for saving the disabled Florida woman's life.
Florida state officials indicated today they may intervene to protect the life of Terri Schiavo, welcome news to the disabled woman's family, whose options for stopping their daughter's court-ordered starvation shrunk considerably today.
Bob and Mary Schindler, Schiavo's parents, got a double dose of devastating news today: First, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the second federal court in two days to refuse to consider a new review of Schiavo's case. Then, the Florida Senate failed to pass a bill that would have guaranteed the right to food and water to patients who can't speak for themselves and haven't left specific instructions that they don't want to be fed and hydrated by tube.
While they consider a final legal appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Schindlers did get a glimmer of hope from an afternoon news conference in which Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hinted that the state's executive branch may act on its own to rescue Schiavo.
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), Bush said, has created an Adult Protective Team that is investigating new allegations of abuse against Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael. The department is considering the possibility of intervening and taking possession of Mrs. Schiavo — without judicial approval.
DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi, who appeared alongside Bush at the news conference, told reporters that a department team member — Dr. William Cheshire — had already spent some time examining Schiavo and questions her diagnosis as being in a persistent vegetative state.
When asked whether he would order DCF to directly intervene, Bush replied: "That's not my decision to make."
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus on the Family, was encouraged by the governor's comments.
"The possible intervention by officials with the Florida Department of Children and Families indicates that new allegations of abuse have surfaced in recent days and hours," Earll explained. "The state of Florida has the responsibility and authority to protect Terri Schiavo, and we urge officials in Tallahassee to fulfill their legal obligation to do so."
The news about possible executive office intervention came just as the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused a request for an en banc hearing — having all 12 judges on the court meet to consider the Schindlers' appeal that their daughter's food and water be restored.
Earlier this morning, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit refused to hear the case. In that 2-1 decision, the majority argued that Congress — which passed a law early Monday to give the federal courts jurisdiction over Schiavo's case — did not require them to issue a temporary stay of the state court order to have her feeding tube removed. The judges said they only reviewed whether the district court judge made any procedural errors — and their finding was that he had not.
The lone dissenter, Judge Charles Wilson, a Clinton appointee and former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, argued that Schiavo's imminent death would end the case before it could be fully considered.
"I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube,'' he wrote.
Focus on the Family Judicial Analyst Bruce Hausknecht said Wilson had the more reasoned analysis.
"He said there were two different requests being made," Hausknecht said. "One is for a temporary restraining order; but there is also a request under the All Writs Act, which would essentially enter an injunction to preserve Terri's life so that the federal courts can retain jurisdiction in the matter while Terri is still alive."
Ken Connor, attorney for Gov. Bush, agreed the federal appeals court erred.
"The attorneys for the Schindlers are pointing out that Congress intended the federal courts to actually hear Terri's claim — and that intent has been short-circuited," Connor said.
The next legal move is to petition directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. There, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy — described by Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James Dobson as the "most dangerous man in America" for his anti-family decisions — will decide if the case is considered worthy of the court's attention.
Also today, Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, traveled to the Florida state Capitol to lobby lawmakers to pass the legislation to protect his sister by creating a "presumption" for disabled patients like Terri, who cannot speak for themselves and who did not leave advance medical directives — to give them the benefit of the doubt that they would want to be fed.
It failed on a 21-18 vote.
Florida Rep. Dennis Baxley, the sponsor of the House version of the legislation, said some members of the Senate mistakenly thought the focus was solely on Schiavo.
"I don't think they've quite figured out yet what they have a hold of — that this is really an issue of respect for life," Baxley told CitizenLink this afternoon. "It is an issue about a specific category of people — those who are severely mentally disabled. What our bill has tried to do is reshape public policy. We continue to argue that if public policy — that's reflected in our death and dying law, called the Dignity with Death Act — actually allows big government, via the court, to order the death of a severely mentally disabled person from starvation, then that law is defective.
"We need to cure that defect."
TAKE ACTION
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, Lucy Hadi, are working on possible action to take Terri Schiavo into protective custody as an abused adult.
If you would like to encourage these officials, please call or e-mail Gov. Bush and Mrs. Hadi and thank them for their efforts on Terri's behalf.
Gov. Bush
850-488-2272 or 488-4441
jeb@myflorida.com
Department of Children and Families/Secretary Lucy Hadi
(850) 487-1111
dcf-osc@dcf.state.fl.us
================================================
See:
http://www.nationalreview.com/pdf/affidavit.pdf
http://family.org/cforum/extras/a0035935.cfm
READ TO THE END!!!!! BE ADVISED, AGAIN, REGUARDLESS OF WHAT YOU READ... THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND NOW! LISA
March 23, 2005
State May Step In to Protect Schiavo
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Appeals court, Florida Senate no longer options for saving the disabled Florida woman's life.
Florida state officials indicated today they may intervene to protect the life of Terri Schiavo, welcome news to the disabled woman's family, whose options for stopping their daughter's court-ordered starvation shrunk considerably today.
Bob and Mary Schindler, Schiavo's parents, got a double dose of devastating news today: First, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the second federal court in two days to refuse to consider a new review of Schiavo's case. Then, the Florida Senate failed to pass a bill that would have guaranteed the right to food and water to patients who can't speak for themselves and haven't left specific instructions that they don't want to be fed and hydrated by tube.
While they consider a final legal appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Schindlers did get a glimmer of hope from an afternoon news conference in which Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hinted that the state's executive branch may act on its own to rescue Schiavo.
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), Bush said, has created an Adult Protective Team that is investigating new allegations of abuse against Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael. The department is considering the possibility of intervening and taking possession of Mrs. Schiavo — without judicial approval.
DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi, who appeared alongside Bush at the news conference, told reporters that a department team member — Dr. William Cheshire — had already spent some time examining Schiavo and questions her diagnosis as being in a persistent vegetative state.
When asked whether he would order DCF to directly intervene, Bush replied: "That's not my decision to make."
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus on the Family, was encouraged by the governor's comments.
"The possible intervention by officials with the Florida Department of Children and Families indicates that new allegations of abuse have surfaced in recent days and hours," Earll explained. "The state of Florida has the responsibility and authority to protect Terri Schiavo, and we urge officials in Tallahassee to fulfill their legal obligation to do so."
The news about possible executive office intervention came just as the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused a request for an en banc hearing — having all 12 judges on the court meet to consider the Schindlers' appeal that their daughter's food and water be restored.
Earlier this morning, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit refused to hear the case. In that 2-1 decision, the majority argued that Congress — which passed a law early Monday to give the federal courts jurisdiction over Schiavo's case — did not require them to issue a temporary stay of the state court order to have her feeding tube removed. The judges said they only reviewed whether the district court judge made any procedural errors — and their finding was that he had not.
The lone dissenter, Judge Charles Wilson, a Clinton appointee and former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, argued that Schiavo's imminent death would end the case before it could be fully considered.
"I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube,'' he wrote.
Focus on the Family Judicial Analyst Bruce Hausknecht said Wilson had the more reasoned analysis.
"He said there were two different requests being made," Hausknecht said. "One is for a temporary restraining order; but there is also a request under the All Writs Act, which would essentially enter an injunction to preserve Terri's life so that the federal courts can retain jurisdiction in the matter while Terri is still alive."
Ken Connor, attorney for Gov. Bush, agreed the federal appeals court erred.
"The attorneys for the Schindlers are pointing out that Congress intended the federal courts to actually hear Terri's claim — and that intent has been short-circuited," Connor said.
The next legal move is to petition directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. There, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy — described by Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James Dobson as the "most dangerous man in America" for his anti-family decisions — will decide if the case is considered worthy of the court's attention.
Also today, Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, traveled to the Florida state Capitol to lobby lawmakers to pass the legislation to protect his sister by creating a "presumption" for disabled patients like Terri, who cannot speak for themselves and who did not leave advance medical directives — to give them the benefit of the doubt that they would want to be fed.
It failed on a 21-18 vote.
Florida Rep. Dennis Baxley, the sponsor of the House version of the legislation, said some members of the Senate mistakenly thought the focus was solely on Schiavo.
"I don't think they've quite figured out yet what they have a hold of — that this is really an issue of respect for life," Baxley told CitizenLink this afternoon. "It is an issue about a specific category of people — those who are severely mentally disabled. What our bill has tried to do is reshape public policy. We continue to argue that if public policy — that's reflected in our death and dying law, called the Dignity with Death Act — actually allows big government, via the court, to order the death of a severely mentally disabled person from starvation, then that law is defective.
"We need to cure that defect."
TAKE ACTION
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, Lucy Hadi, are working on possible action to take Terri Schiavo into protective custody as an abused adult.
If you would like to encourage these officials, please call or e-mail Gov. Bush and Mrs. Hadi and thank them for their efforts on Terri's behalf.
Gov. Bush
850-488-2272 or 488-4441
jeb@myflorida.com
Department of Children and Families/Secretary Lucy Hadi
(850) 487-1111
dcf-osc@dcf.state.fl.us
================================================
See:
http://www.nationalreview.com/pdf/affidavit.pdf
- Governor Bush and DCF can take Terri into protective custody —[SAVE TERRI], Thu Mar 24 01:03
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