Court-Sanctioned Torture/Murder in Progress in Florida

Terri Schiavo, a 39-year old Florida woman, is now undergoing a court-sanctioned starvation/dehydration death at the request of her husband, Michael Schiavo. Terri has been sustained for 13 years by a feeding tube after an unexplained collapse deprived her brain of oxygen for several minutes. George Greer, a Florida probate court judge, ruled that in the absence of a will Terri's husband could determine whether Terri will continue to be fed.

The husband announced five years ago that he wanted to remove the feeding tube. Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, have fought him through the courts, hoping to get custody of their daughter so they can care for her and arrange for therapy. The Florida courts and one federal judge have agreed with Michael Schiavo, and Terri's feeding tube was removed on October 15, 2003.

There are many controversial issues in the case: Terri's condition, her wishes concerning life-sustaining treatment, Michael's motives and treatment of Terri during her illness, and more. I'll try to explain it concisely, but if you want more information, the internet news site WorldNetDaily has been covering it in detail.

Michael claims, and the courts have agreed, that Terri is in a "persistent vegetative state" and thus under Florida law may be deprived of all forms of life support. The Schindlers and some of the nurses that have cared for Terri claim that Michael has never provided the treatment or attempted the therapy that would be necessary to determine Terri's true state.

According to the Schindlers, Terri often responds when they talk to her. She makes unintelligible speaking sounds, laughs and cries. Her father claims that when he explained to her that her husband wanted to starve her to death, she sat bolt upright and tried to get out of bed. Doctors and therapists who have visited with Terri at her parents' behest have testified that she is not "vegetative," and is in fact a good candidate for speech therapy. They even believe that she might be taught to feed herself if given the necessary therapy.

Michael Schiavo and the "right-to-die" lawyer and doctors he has hired claim that all of Terri's responses are unconscious reflex actions. The courts have agreed, and have forbidden any attempts either to provide her with speech therapy or to train her to feed herself. Schiavo also claims that, in casual conversation before her collapse, Terri indicated that she wouldn't want to be kept alive by artificial means. The probate judge has taken that statement at face value. There are several problems with that decision.

Would a feeding tube qualify as "artificial means" of life support? Terri breathes on her own and maintains her own blood pressure. I don't think she would necessarily think of being fed as artificial life support. Even if Terri would have agreed with Michael's assessment, it is doubtful that this would have been an informed opinion. Death by starvation and dehydration is very slow (doctors say 10 to 14 days) and painful. Would Terri choose that for herself if she knew the facts? There is also the question of whether she actually said anything about the matter. We have only Michael's word about that. Is he telling the truth?

This brings us to the question of Michael Schiavo's motives. After Terri's collapse and medical treatment, he sued her doctors for malpractice and received a $1.3 million judgment, with the proceeds to go into a trust fund for Terri's future care. Instead of using the money to care for her, he has been trying to get the courts to allow him to terminate her. Meanwhile, according to the Schindler's own web site, he has been living with a woman, with whom he has fathered a child. A reasonable court would at least question whether Michael doesn't have some financial and other interest in getting Terri out of the way.

Convicted murderers on death row in Florida and other states receive much more due process than Terri Schiavo has experienced. After being found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, there is a lengthy process to determine whether anyone believes they can be rehabilitated. For Terri's termination, her husband's unsupported word is taken to be sufficient. No one is allowed even to test whether she could be rehabilitated. Instead of questioning whether Terri's civil rights had been fully considered, the federal judge, like Pilate, washed his hands of the matter: he says it's out of his jurisdiction.

If a murderer is finally executed, it is by some relatively fast and humane means such as lethal injection. Even the Communists in China usually employ a bullet to the back of the head. Why do the courts allow the innocent Terri Schiavo to be slowly and painfully killed over a period of two weeks?

Until Terri's torture/homicide is complete, we need to deluge public officials with letters urging them to save her. Whether she ultimately lives or dies, it's time for a "Terri's Law" to ensure that this can never happen again in America.