Judge Greer orders Terri Schiavo’s food, water to stop Mar. 18

CLEARWATER (FBW)—Clearly leaving the appellate courts 21 days to decide if any of the legal motions or appeals in the Terri Schiavo case have merit, Sixth Circuit Judge George W. Greer Feb. 25 denied an emergency stay in the case of Terri Schiavo.

The two-part written order, issued at 2:50 p.m. EST and faxed to the attorneys’ offices, also instructed Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband and legal guardian, to “cause the removal of nutrition and hydration” March 18 at 1 p.m. EST, clearing the way for him to begin a starvation and dehydration process which would cause her to die within 7-10 days from that date.

“Even though the court will not issue another stay,” Greer wrote, “the scheduling of a date certain for implementation of the February 11, 2000 ruling will give respondents ample time to appeal this denial, similar in duration to previous short-time stays granted for that purpose.”

At a Feb. 23 hearing, lawyers for Michael Schiavo and for Terri’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had requested the judge to clarify when the starvation process could begin.

“The court is persuaded … a date and time certain should be established so that last rites and other similar matters can be addressed in an orderly manner,” Greer said in the order.

Greer also noted a Feb. 23 action of Florida’s Department of Children and Families to attempt to intervene in the case moments before his initial hearing on the motion for an emergency stay—as well as a new motion filed by Terri’s parent’s attorney citing new medical procedures available for patients in her condition and requesting experimental treatment.

Nearly an hour after the judge’s order, Terri’s parents—and their son, Bobby Jr., and daughter, Suzanne—joined their lawyer in a press conference in the rain outside of the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park where Terri resides.

“We are 110 percent committed and absolutely resolved to saving the life of Terri,”  attorney David W. Gibbs, lead counsel for the family, told reporters. “We are feeling good about the order today in one respect, and that in that it has given us 21 days where Terri’s life is protected and nothing can be done to end her life in that time, period.”

Gibbs said he will work with other attorneys from around the country who have volunteered their time and expertise to pursue dozens of legal options and motions—including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on a motion dealing with Terri’s religious liberty rights.  He also acknowledged the fact that the Florida Legislature will be back into session March 8, 10 days before the March 18 deadline. That might give lawmakers a chance to adopt or change a law that would save Terri’s life, he said. Short of receiving an order with a “more relaxed pace,” Gibbs pledged to work 24-hours-a day for 7-days-a week in a 21-day race” in order to see Terri’s interests are represented. One of his first actions will be to appeal the Feb. 25 order to deny the emergency stay to the Second District Court of Appeal.

Calling attention to dozens of media gathered at the hospice, Gibbs said there is a reason why people are so interested in the Schiavo case, despite years of legal wrangling.

“I think we are a nation of law and I think we are watching,” Gibbs said. “I think why the cameras are here is [that] something unconscionable, something unbelievable is happening.”

Referring to third-world nations where thieves who are caught stealing have their limbs removed and to Nazi Germany where Hitler had people who would turn on the gas chambers thinking they were doing the right thing — Gibbs reminded reporters, “we say that is barbaric, that is unbelievable.”

“Terri Schiavo is far too alive for her to be killed in this painful fashion,” Gibbs aid. “We need to realize starvation, dehydration is one of the most tortuous of deaths imaginable and to do that to a disabled woman, it still shocks my thought that that would even be considered in our country.”

Pointing out that Terri has never had an attorney of her own—unlike serial-killer Ted Bundy who was given proper legal representation—Gibbs said her parents have joined him in keeping her apprised of the court’s actions.

“I saw Terri yesterday. Saw her again today. She looks terrific,” Gibbs told reporters. “She is responding delightfully to her mother and father and one of the comments that I made to Terri that indeed, despite all these attacks—this barbaric attempt to end her life through starvation and dehydration–that she is indeed blessed, she has a mother and a father who love her dearly and they are deeply committed to saving her life.”

Bob Schindler thanked reporters and supporters for their presence in spite of the rain, but stopped short of calling the order a “victory” for either side.

“The victory is when we take Terri home and get her therapy, then it’s a victory,” he said to applause. “ It’s all been condensed now down to three weeks, and … I’ll be very candid, I’m not happy at all about that.”

Acknowledging “a temporary relief” he said the family is at least “off the griddle” for the time being.

After the news conference, Schindler told Florida Baptist Witness his daughter, Suzanne, had been the one to break the news to him in Terri’s room at the hospice.

“Dad, it’s not tomorrow, it’s March 18th,” Schindler recalled Suzanne telling him. “So it’s a relief, it’s a double-edged sword. Boy that’s great, you’re not going to kill my daughter tomorrow, you’re going to kill her in three weeks, is essentially what this judge did.”

Concerned about his wife, Mary, who left the press conference to go back to Terri’s room immediately after it concluded, Schindler said she has worked hard to subdue her emotions.

“She has become almost expressionless. You know, numb,” Schindler said. “I’m sure she will go home and try and sleep. She hasn’t slept in God knows how long. I’m worried about her and about my son and daughter, too.”

Tearing up, Schindler said he is also concerned about the attorneys who are putting in long hours—and pulling people together from various religious and non-religious groups who are typically unlikely to be working on the same cause—but in awe at the result.

“All the denominations have come together,” Schindler said, pointing out that though his family is Catholic and the lead attorney is Baptist, supporters “all have united under Terri with one flag, and that’s a miracle. It makes you cry, it does.”

In response to questions at the press conference, Gibbs said what has happened to Terri violates not only her religious rights, but also her rights as a disabled American.

“We believe what is happening is unconscionable. We believe it is illegal, we believe it is immoral, it is unbiblical,” Gibbs said. “It is certainly contrary to the teachings of Terri’s church.”

Gibbs invited Thomas J. Euteneur, head of Human Life International, a Catholic ministry which supports Terri, to read a statement made recently on Vatican radio by Cardinal Renato Martino, considered an official spokesperson of the Catholic church. He is the former Vatican delegate to the United Nations:

“If Mr. Schiavo succeeds legally in causing the death of his wife, this not only would be tragic in itself, but would be a grave step toward the legal approval of euthanasia in the United States,” Martino said. “I would like to remind everyone in this connection, about all that the Holy Father has said in past days to the Pontifical Academy for Life, confirming that the quality of life is not interpreted as economic success, beauty and physical pleasure, but consists in the supreme dignity of the creature made in the image and likeness of God.

“No one can be the arbiter of life except God himself.”

Terri Schiavo was found unconscious in her home in 1990, having suffered brain damage after her heart stopped. Some doctors have said she is in a persistent vegetative state. Her parents and others disagree and say she is in a minimally conscious state—at least—and will improve with therapy.

Although Michael Schiavo says his wife would want to die, no written request from Terri Schiavo exists—and the witnesses who testified with Michael that Terri would want to die are his relatives. For the past 10 years, Michael Schiavo has lived with another woman to whom he is engaged and the couple has two children together.

Schiavo’s lawyer, George Felos, defended Michael’s actions to Florida Baptist Witness following a Feb. 23 hearing at the Clearwater Courthouse, stating his client “deeply loves Terri” and cares about her.

Saying it’s a “subjective opinion” to believe Schiavo did not adhere to his marriage vows, Felos said it is “cruel-hearted” and a “moral judgement” to question Schiavo’s fidelity.

“I think it’s hard-hearted to say to somebody whose spouse has Alzheimer’s, or whose spouse has had some catastrophic accident, that they are consigned to a life of loneliness and then can’t form other relationships,” Felos told the Witness.

Bob and Mary Schindler believe Michael Schiavo should be removed as guardian because of a potential conflict of interest based on his affair and for other reasons. That case, put before the court in 2002, has not yet made progress because until now Michael Shiavo and others have not followed orders to be deposed, according to Bob Schindler. Currently the depositions are set for April.

Greer ruled in February 2000 that Schiavo’s feeding tube could be removed and since that time it has been removed twice – only to be restored after intervention by a court once and the Florida legislature the second time.

“Five years have passed since the issuance of the February 2000 order authorizing the removal of Theresa Schiavo’s nutrition and hydration,” Greer wrote in his Feb. 25 order, “and their appears to be no finality in sight to this process. The court, therefore, is no longer comfortable in continuing to grant stays pending appeal of orders. ...”

After the judge’s order Feb. 25, Felos released the following statement:

“I am very pleased that the Court has recognized there must be a finality to this process,” Felos said. “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.”

Meanwhile in Tallahassee, a pro-life organization delivered Internet petitions Feb. 25 from more than 100,000 individuals, asking Gov. Bush to intercede on the behalf of the Schindlers.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Gary Cass, executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America, a ministry of Coral Ridge Ministries in Fort Lauderdale, told reporters he hoped Bush would “continue to make a very courageous and principled stand on this issue and exhaust every lawful remedy available to Terri.”