Mar

30

Terri Schiavo’s Final Appeal

Filed Under Life, Medicine 

I never thought I’d see the day when the Rev. Jesse Jackson and I stood together on the same issue. It just goes to show you how non-partisan this debate really is. It affects us all in ways that are too profound to be fully understood now. Time alone will tell how deeply our lives will have been affected by the forced starvation and death of Terri Schindler-Schaivo. I agree with the Rev. Jackson that the treatment of Terri is inhumane and unnecessary.

Yet, so many people are convinced that we are somehow doing the right thing. We wouldn’t want to live like this, so why would she? Isn’t her “husband” demonstrating real care for her by letting her die? How can those religious-right zealots (read, conservatives) try to undermine her wishes?

The truth is those so-called religious zealots are not attempting to force Terri to continue a miserable life, or even to stay alive at all. What conservatives want is to see the law applied to Terri Schaivo as it is applied to everyone else. We believe in equality before the Law. To this point, the law has not been applied in a just and equal manner.

The real crux of the issue is not what is being portrayed on television or in the newspapers by the “mainstream media.” Terri Schaivo has no representation in this controversy. And because she has no representation, her voice is not heard in this debate. Justice demands that the person most intimately affected by a sentence of death be heard, if not represented by independent counsel. Such is not the case with Terri Schiavo.

Michael Schaivo, Terri’s estranged husband, claimed before the court that Terri expressed wishes to him in informal conversations that she would not wish to continue life if she were being kept alive artificially. His claim is backed up by the word of his brother and a sister-in-law. But the court has also heard from a friend of Terri that just the opposite is true. Her words are upheld by statements from all of Terri’s family members. Both testimonies are based on hearsay. Neither side has solid evidence to prove its argument conclusively. The judge, George Greer, has simply accepted Michael’s hearsay as “clear and convincing.”

Judge Greer, by accepting hearsay evidence as fact, creates a precedent that is singularly dangerous to the rule of law. Under this precedent any claim, no matter how unlikely, unfounded, or uncharacteristic of the person to whom it is attributed can be admitted and accepted by the Court as the truth, provided that person is unable to refute it. It has also caused Terri’s family, the Schindlers, untold grief and heartache as they have tried to appeal the rulings in higher courts, only to be rejected time after time. Because of the ruling, an appellate court can only judge whether or not an error was made in the procedure of the lower court; it cannot address the facts in the case. To do that, the party making the appeal must move for a retrial, which is difficult to obtain.

In the past seven years, Michael Schaivo has repeatedly stated before the court that Terri would want to die. But several points are problematic with his testimony. First, Michael had previously trained as a nurse. He testified under oath that he would continue his training to better meet Terri’s needs. Second, in sworn statements before that court, Mr. Schaivo declared his intentions to care for her for the rest of his life. My question then is: If Terri expressed a desire to terminate her life if she were ever in a state such as she now is, why would Michael bother to study nursing for the purpose of taking care of her? Why did he only bring up her desire to terminate treatment seven years ago?

Perhaps he just couldn’t bring himself to carry out her wishes. Perhaps he just couldn’t let go. If that is the case, why has he changed his mind now? Why is he now so insistent on doing so now, even to the point of preventing anyone else from taking over her guardianship? In my mind, the very fact that Michael studied nursing puts the lie to his current position on Terri’s state of mind.

And what is Terri’s state of mind? The plain and simple fact is that we don’t know. How can we know? It has nowhere been expressed, either in Court or in the Media. Instead we hear a lot about what Michael wants, what Judge Greer wants, and what Michael’s attorney George Felos wants. For the record, Felos is not representing Terri Schaivo in this case. That isn’t opinion; that is fact.

I have heard people say they believe Terri is in a persistent, vegetative state. How did they come to this diagnosis? Because the mainstream media repeats it over and over again. Does any doctor know for certain whether not Terri is in such a state? No. She has not had a full examination in three years. The two doctors who have had the most influence on Judge Greer’s decisions have either not given Terri a full neurological exam, or, because of ongoing Right-to-Die advocacy, are ideologically biased.

Dr. Ronald Cranford, whom Schiavo hired to testify in favor of removing Terri’s feeding tube, has never given Terri a complete neurological examination. He has ordered neither a MRI scan nor a PET scan, which is normally common practice in determining the extent of brain injury in cases like Terri’s. Why has he not ordered the scans? Because Michael has refused to allow them.

Again, Michael has changed his mind in an aspect of this case that raises questions about his motives. Recently, Felos announced that Michael has decided to allow an autopsy of Terri should she die as a way of settling once and for all the questions and rumors surrounding the cause of her original collapse 15 years ago. Why now? Why has he not allowed a MRI scan, which would address the questions and rumors right now, while she is alive? Why now allow an autopsy after her death, after years of refusing?

Why, at the point of her original collapse, did Michael Schaivo not use his nursing training to perform CPR on Terri immediately? CPR was only begun after the paramedics had arrived, long enough after the fact to cause permanent brain damage. Why did he have to be told to call an ambulance by Terri’s father?

There is evidence of Medicare fraud, malfeasance, and mismanagement of funds on Michael Schaivo’s part. The settlement for the original malpractice award was based upon Terri living another 50 years. Will Michael be forced to return any unused portion if Terri dies? What about the portion of funds that was earmarked for Terri’s care that has not been used for that purpose, as he has repeatedly refused rehabilitation for her? Michael never mentioned Terri’s wishes to terminate life during that case. Did he withhold that information from the Court? Will there be any investigation into whether or not Schaivo engaged in fraud to obtain the settlement? The law allows him to change his mind after the fact. Will that law be changed or amended to provide for investigation in such cases?

In my view, the case stinks. The whole thing reeks of cronyism, corruption, and greed. George Felos, Schaivo’s attorney, is a right to die advocate, as is Dr. Cranford. Schaivo has had several attorneys representing himself and (supposedly) Terri since the original malpractice suit in 1992. Several of these attorneys, including Felos, have contributed to George Greer’s campaigns to retain his seat on the Bench. Judge Greer is very friendly with the former and current Sheriffs of Pinella County, the former now holding a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, and who voted against the Bill that would save Terri’s life.

This is not about keeping Terri alive. If it is her wish to be terminated rather than live life under constant care, that is a wish we must respect. And that decision must be made only by the individual. In this case the decision was made by the Court, by Judge George Greer working with George Felos. There is no-one to independently represent Terri’s interests. Since we do not have any clear proof of Terri’s wishes, Greer should have erred in favor of keeping her alive. The assumption must always be that life is preferable. But Greer is too cozy with the Right-to-Die advocates that have circled Terri like the vultures they are.

We must rid our government of this kind of corruption and restore the Rule of Law. It is going to be tough. Removing judicial tyrants, who see themselves as the supreme authority in government, from their offices will not be easily accomplished. But it’s worth it. The place to start is in Pinellas County, Florida.

If Terri dies, she will have the comfort of being released from this mortal plane, where injustice and corruption reign. She will there have the opportunity to make one more appeal, and those who have fought so hard to remove her from this world before her appointed time, along with those who stood by and did nothing to help, will likewise face an eventual accounting before the Great Judge of the Universe, whose rulings are always both perfect and final.

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