Daily Archives: March 23, 2005

Fla. Dept. of Children and Families Petitions to Intervene in Schiavo Case

The Florida Department of Children and Families has filed a petition to intervene after receiving reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of Terri Schiavo. The petition cites 30 “detailed allegations of abuse.” Here is the PDF Petition.
Hat tip PoliPundit reader Catherine.
UPDATE: Here is the Affidavit in PDF of the expert (Dr. Cheshire). Read it all, its remarkable. Hat tip NRO.
Welcome Polipundit readers.

Curiouser and Curiouser

According to Junk Yard Blog:

The Hapless Misadventures of the Pinellas County Court System keeps getting stinkier and stinkier and scarier and scarier. Michael Schiavo’s attorney George Felos took his case and then filed the petition to introduce HB 2131 in 1999. Then the law in Tallahassee gets changed. Then the Schiavo case gets heard. In that order.

In April 1999 – House Bill 2131 was introduced in the Florida legislature by the Florida Elder Affairs & Long-Term Care Committee to amend Section 765 (Civil Rights) of the Florida Statutes. The amendments to Section 765.101 were the legal definition of “life prolonging procedures” to add: “INCLUDING ARTIFICIALLY PROVIDED SUSTENENCE AND HYDRATION, WHICH SUSTAINS, RESTORES, OR SUPPLANTS A SPONTANEOUS VITAL FUNCTION”. It becomes law on October 1, 1999.

Go read the rest.

Need someone dead? Get a law passed that will assist you in your endeavor.

Welcome Polipundit, Wizbang, & Myopic Zeal readers. There is a list to the right of other Terri stories at this site.

More Nurses Coming Forward In Schiavo Case

Apparently two more nurses have come forward to substantiate Carla Iyer’s claims about Michael Schiavo. Our friends at OpiniPundit are all over it. Below we provide the video and transcript of Carla’s damning revelations.

It was interesting when I saw a similar interview of Carla Iyer on CNN (which, not surprisingly, was more hostile than the Fox interview we linked to) the host asked in an accusatory manner why other nurses hadn’t come forward.

Milestone

We just reached 10,000 on our sitemeter. Thanks to all our visitors and referrers.

Also just to put our growth in perspective, while we had 2000 hits last month, this month we’re approaching 6,000. It’s been great working with kimsch and we really appreciate all of our visitors and……….and………there I go……I promised myself I wouldn’t cry……………..talk amongst yourselves. (Jeff)

Schiavo Appeal Rejected on 2-1 Decision

From Fox News:

TAMPA, Fla. — The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has denied a request by the parents of Terri Schiavo to reinsert the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to deny the request, a day after a federal judge in Florida rejected a similar appeal.

In its ruling, the panel said the woman’s parents “failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims.”

“There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo,” the ruling reads. “We all have our own family, our own loved ones, and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law.”

From the dissenting judge:

But in the dissenting opinion, Judge Charles R. Wilson expressed concern that Schiavo’s “imminent” death would end the case before it could be fully considered.

“In fact, I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube,” he wrote.

I find it objectionable that the majority would cast itself as slaves to “the law” while at the same time acknowledging the “absolute tragedy” Terri Schiavo faces. As for the dissenting opinion, many of our current laws today have arisen from dissenting opinions of judges who had the courage to see that the state of the law as it was, could not equitably be applied to the facts before them. I can think of no case where this applies moreso than the case of Terri Schiavo.

mm-5