L.A. Times Hides the Ball on the Schiavo Decision
It’s certainly nothing new, but the L.A. Times does not give readers an accurate picture of the reasons that Terri Schinder-Schiavo’s parents have fought to save their daughter’s life.
It is important to understand that there is substantial disagreement about whether Terri could improve. Everyone agrees that she will never be a normal, walking, talking human again. But many experts believe that she could learn to swallow food on her own, and to react appropriately to her environment.
In the court battle, Terri’s parents obtained testimony from experts, including a world-renowned expert and Nobel Prize nominee, saying Terri was not in a persistent vegetative state.
In October 2003, I asked a friend of mine to look at the videos of Terri. My friend is no slouch: he has been a director of neurology at a major New York area metropolitan hospital. He told me:
The responses she demonstrates indicate that her brain is functioning above the level of the foramen magnum and therefore she is not brain dead. Therefore, it is inhuman to stop feeding her or giving her hydration.
Oh, and by the way, doctors have been known to be wrong when they have diagnosed patients to be vegetables.
But today’s article deals with her condition by making this technically accurate but highly misleading statement: “Neurologists have said she is in a persistent vegetative state, where higher brain functions have stopped.” Well, I guess that’s accurate — but it would also be accurate to say: “Neurologists have said she is not in a persistent vegetative state.” Because neurologists have opined on both sides.
This reminds me of when a New York Times story claimed that, according to “many leading neurologists,” the video that appeared to show Terri responding appropriately to stimuli in fact “means no such thing.” But once you took a close look at the actual claims of the experts, as I did, the Times’s assertion looked about as solid as CBS’s claim that its experts authenticated the Killian documents.
The article also portrays the parents’ motivations strictly in terms of religion:
But her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have contended that their daughter, a Roman Catholic, would never willingly defy a papal teaching such as the one issued in March by Pope John Paul II. The statement cited the moral obligation to administer food and water, even by artificial means, to a person whose heart and lungs were still functioning.
Not mentioned in this morning’s story are these facts:
- As I told you last October, a woman has signed an affidavit that says: “[Michael Schiavo] said to me many times that he had no idea what [Terri Schindler-Schiavo's] wishes were.” Another friend said that Terri told her she “did not approve of what was going on in the [Karen Ann] Quinlan case” in which a court battle was being waged to take Quinlan off life support. The friend quotes Terri as saying: “How did they know she would want this?”
- At last report, Michael Schiavo was engaged to another woman, with whom he had already fathered one child and had another on the way.
- A nurse has alleged in an affidavit that Terri was making progress, but that positive entries in her chart would be removed at the apparent direction of Michael Schiavo. The nurse’s affidavit also says:
Michael would say “When is she going to die?,” “Has she died yet?” and “When is that bitch gonna die?”
. . . .
Any time Terri would be sick, like with a UTI or fluid buildup in her lungs, colds, or pneumonia, Michael would be visibly excited, thrilled even, hoping that she would die. He would say something like, “Hallelujah! You’ve made my day!” . . . He would blurt out “I’m going to be rich!” and would talk about all the things he would buy when Terri died, which included a new car, a new boat, and going to Europe, among other things.
That a nurse would put such things in an affidavit should give any rational observer pause.
- According to this article, “Michael filed a medical-malpractice lawsuit, during which he said he would care for her for the rest of her life, which, assuming proper care, would be a normal lifespan. He also presented at trial a medical-rehabilitation expert who had developed a plan to provide support for Terri to maximize her ability to respond to her environment.”
- Michael Schiavo won $1.3 million in that civil suit, of which $750,000 was to be held in trust for Terri’s rehabilitation. Michael soon refused to pay for rehabilitative care. Of the $750,000, says Nat Hentoff, “two of Michael Schiavo’s lawyers pressing for removal of her feeding tube have been paid more than $440,000.”
- The parents argue that Michael Schiavo might have put Terri Schindler-Schiavo in the state she is in. It does not appear possible to know for certain whether the accusation is true, and it is such a serious accusation that I hesitate even to mention it. But Nat Hentoff says that there is evidence to support the parents’ contention.
And I could go on. Consult my posts on the Schiavo issue for more.
Even placing aside the parents’ accusations of criminal wrongdoing by Michael Schiavo, it is clear that he is entangled in so many conflicts of interest of an emotional and financial nature that he was never a reliable witness to Terri’s true wishes. Indeed, a previous guardian ad litem came to that exact conclusion.
And it is astounding that Michael Schiavo should be the sole decisionmaker for Terri.
Yet the L.A. Times does not tell you a word of any of this. If you read today’s story and knew nothing else about the controversy, you’d be glad that this woman’s “true wishes” weren’t trumped by her parents, who are obviously blinded by religion.
Now you know better.
I knew better before, but thanks for the summary. Discraceful hardly even begins to describe Terry’s treatment at the hands of her husband and Florida’s judiciary.
I am dumfounded that courts could so consistently find in favor of Mr. Schiavo in the face of the facts as they are. But I am sickened by what is planned for Terry. I would have been arrested if I had let my 12 year old dog, suffering from diabetes and an eating disorder, die of starvation instead of having him put to sleep. But, no problem for Terry, just stop feeding her and watch her slowly suffer and die. Its heartless and cowardly.
If they really believed it was best for Terry to die, they would put her to sleep, but as seems the case for the liberal agenda, my dog is worth more consideration that Terry. Letting her starve to death lets them feel like they are not actually killing her, just letting her take a natural course to the end of her life. Make no mistake, when they remove that feeding tube, they are killing Terry and in a way that would get them arrested if it were an animal.
What they are doing to Terry is cowardly and immoral.
Comment by Matt — 9/24/2004 @ 8:19 am
Where were these people when the matter was being heard by the court? Signing an affidavit and showing up to testify are two very different things, which is why showing up is required for the facts to be in evidence.
Your old post lamented that you have not been able to find court docs. Some can be found at these links:
http://www.jud10.org/2ndDCA/jan01/2D00-1269.htm
http://www.2dca.org/opinion/June%2006,%202003/2D02-5394.pdf
http://www.jud10.org/2ndDCA/oct01/2D01-3626.htm
And especially:
http://www.flcourts.org/pubinfo/summaries/briefs/03/03-1242/Filed_08-13-2003_JurisdictionSchiavo.pdf
If you really give a damn about the facts in this case, go read.
Comment by Ron C — 9/24/2004 @ 9:04 am
Florida Judges Uphold Right to Kill
To the disgust of many but the surprise of none, the Florida Supreme “Court” has granted Michael Schiavo’s request to starve his ex-wife to death. Equally predictably, the American Criminal Liberties Union is crowing and citing ACLU-FL’s Legal Dir…
Trackback by damnum absque injuria — 9/24/2004 @ 9:09 am
When I lamented in one of my first posts on this issue that I could not find the “original court documents” I was speaking not of judicial opinions or litigants’ briefs, but the actual affidavits and other records upon which the probate judge’s decision was based.
I subsequently found many of those affidavits reprinted, and quoted them extensively in this post which I link in the post above.
The contents of those affidavits are eye-opening.
I do indeed give a damn about the facts in this case, Ron C. And those facts cause me to believe that there has been a real miscarriage of justice.
Comment by Patterico — 9/24/2004 @ 9:27 am
But hey, one probate judge was clearly convinced that Terri wanted to starve. What other proof do you need?
Comment by Xrlq — 9/24/2004 @ 10:30 am
Terri Needs a Right to Live
In Should Doctors Live? I made the point, sarcastically, that doctors don’t have perfect knowledge. Therefore, their contention that Terri Schiavo is in such a condition that she will not
Trackback by MediaCulpa — 9/24/2004 @ 1:27 pm
I personally gave the cd mentioned in the press release below to a LA Times reporter the CD has information that proves crimes are being committed against Terri, among them attempted murder. He said he had two daughters and that what is doesn’t understand why Michael doesn’t just hand Terri over to her parents and walk away. I didn’t catch his name. Seemed like a really nice guy. In regards to the clear and convincing hearsay evidence which is a total sham:
The words below inside the quotation marks are the actual words spoken
during the Jan 00 death trial. It is on the basis of these words that
Judge Greer concluded that “Terri wants to die.” Remember that Terri
did not have any advanced directives, living will or anything in
regards to her wanting to be starved and dehydrated to death. Remember
also that she has been heinously denied rehab and therapy for 10+
years.
This is it:
Joan Schiavo
In the context of discussing friends of Joan’s who decided to remove
their year-old infant from a “ventilator machine”:
“She had said that if her and Michael were ever put in that kind of a
situation that that would be a situation that she really would not
want to have to deal with, but she knows that her and Michael would
make the best decision and that would be to do the same thing my
girlfriend and her husband did because she would not want to put the
baby through anything like that.” (Joan Schiavo Trial testimony
232:18-25, 1/24/00) . “Happened Maybe â ˜85 or â ˜86.” (Id. 237:17).
“Her comments related more to what she would do as a parent for a
child. (Id. 238-17-19). They took all the tubing and everything off
the baby.” (Id. 233:2-3) “We had stated that if that ever happened to
one of us, in our lifetime, we would not want to go through that.
That we would want it stated in our will we would want the tubes and
everything taken out.” (Id. 233:12-16)
In the context of Joan and Terri watching a movie about a diving accident:
“No. She did not want to live like that. She didn’t want to go
through that. Have people come and see her like that. Do that to her
family and friends.” (Id. 234:19-22). “We had said during the time
with that movie, at one time we had said that if, that we had always
wanted stated, my husband and myself, make up a will. She would want
it stated, and myself, I would, if it came down to something like
that, we would not want any kind of life support.” (Id. 236:25-237:5)
“The situation with my girlfriend’s baby was when she lived here, not
in Florida.” (Id. 244:17-19)
Michael Schiavo
In the context of Michael discussing a conversation with Terri about
her grandmother’s death and the effect on her Uncle Fred:
“She says, ‘If I ever have to be a burden to anybody, I don’t want to
live like that.’” (Michael Schiavo 31:1-2; 1/24/03) “She made the
comment to me that she would never want to be like that. Don’t ever
keep her alive on anything artificial.” (Id. at 33: 7-8)
Scott Schiavo
In the context of the immediate aftermath of Michael’s grandmother’s
death. The grandmother had been on a ventilator the last few days.
Afterward, her grandchildren and spouses (including Terri) gathered at
a local country club for lunch:
“And Terri made mention at that conversation that, ‘If I ever go like
that, just let me go. Don’t leave me there. I don’t want to be kept
alive on a machine.’ Pretty much everybody at the table that was in
the discussion had made the same comment. No way I want to be kept
alive on a machine.” (Scott 1/24/03 at 102:18-24) “And Terri was
sitting with us and Terri made the mention that she would never want
to be kept alive like that. You know, if it is her time to go, it’s
her time to go.” (Id at 106:22-25)
___
FL AHCA Cover-Up Forces Schoch to Issue Public Writ of Mandamus
A cover-up by the Florida AHCA (under Jeb Bush) in regards to the treatment and care of Theresa Schindler Schiavo, etc. forces Juan Schoch to issue a Public Writ of Mandamaus to various City, County, State and Federal officials.
Tallahassee, FL (PRWEB) September 2, 2004 — The following public writ of mandamus was sent via Express Mail and certified letters to all parties in the letter on 8-28-04. It was also passed out to the media in Tallahassee the day before and on the day of the oral arguments before the Florida Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of HB 35-E/S 12-E (Public Law 03-418). This is my Public Writ of Mandamus. Each letter came with a mini cd of the AHCA documentation and other information which proves there is a cover-up. (Note: If you would like to represent or know someone who would like to represent this case please call Juan Schoch at 407-925-4141):
August 28, 2004
James D. Boyd
Inspector General of AHCA
2727 Mahan Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32308-5403
Re: All information, CCR#s, and yet to be assigned CCR#s contained
and referred to in CIG#200406030002 and AHCA Tracking #05-003, etc.,
other cases yet to be generated and your duties to set Theresa
Schindler Schiavo on the road to her recovery (much can be found in
the enclosed mini compact disc)
Dear Mr. Boyd:
Thank you for your letter of August 13, 2004 regarding my August 9,
2004 e-mail requesting public records and copies of various agency
documents. In your response you write “…the issues raised in your
June 3 letter and July 20 e-mail did not show evidence of possible
violations of statutes, policy or procedure that could constitute
misconduct or wrongdoing on the part of agency staff…” to which I
make the following statement and request:
I demand as a United States citizen and a Florida resident
sufficient corrective actions, remedies, redress, relief, etc. to
what I perceive and know to be illegal actions of AHCA, facilities,
etc. I hereby request AHCA and any other government agency or
entity, local, county, state or federal invested with investigative,
enforcement and prosecutorial powers who may be reading this, or
others of whom it is within their purview of being able to contact
said powers, etc. to do their jobs of investigating, enforcing or
assisting in getting the laws enforced in regards to valid
allegations of acts of felony neglect and attempted murder, etc.
perpetrated against the person of Theresa Schindler Schiavo.
While it is my duty (when it has come to my knowledge) as a resident
of the State of Florida and a United States Citizen to report
abuses, neglect or exploitations against vulnerable people who can’t
speak for themselves it is NOT my job to site book and page. One
would think that the competency level of all persons in agencies
serving the public who by statute are to receive, properly review
and survey complaints for violations of statutes, criminal
violations, disregard for policies and procedures that are in fact
evidence of misconduct or wrongdoing on the part of agency staff and
facilities, persons, etc. would be much higher then heretofore
displayed.
I have provided, while perhaps to some seemingly disconnected or
incongruent, sufficient, overall and comprehensive evidence to
illuminate within the average persons mind and their reasonable
ability to piece together and comprehend pertinent data, more than
enough evidences of illegal conduct, which point to statute
violations on the part of agency staff and facilities, etc. and it
has become painfully clear that people in your and other agencies
are spending more time sending not just me, but most complainants,
relating to the matters presented, far afield from the matter at
hand, of which there is or are:
* Non-delivery of all 15 retained rights of this incapacitated
person pursuant to Florida Statute 744.3215(1)(a-o) both
individually and collectively as a whole
* State licensed facilities bowing to the abuse of power by the
guardian, his attorneys, local law enforcement, the state attorneys
office, and other public officials to facilitate and further the
denial and withholding of this citizens statutory and constitutional
retained rights
* Illegal acts and or omissions by many supervisory level personnel
in many agencies and facilities, in non-fulfillment of their duty by
those personnel pursuant to Florida Statute 415.1034 mandatory
reporting to invoke and call upon protections under the
whistleblowers act when their employment is threatened. Such and
other failures are enabling, promoting and facilitating what appears
to be an overall agenda of their various supervisors (and others)
who indirectly and/or directly are working collectively (knowingly
or unknowingly) pursuant to a directed agenda by the recently
exposed many in positions of public trust
In light of the fact that AHCA Complaint Administration Unit intake
operator Justina told me that they “didn’t want to hear about what
particular statute violations were occurring as it is the AHCA’s job
to know these things,” and as I have stated above it is not my job
to point out the specific violations of statutes, policy, or
procedure that could constitute misconduct or wrongdoing on the part
of agency staff, facilities, etc. (your words in bold), it should be
obvious to you that while I am perfectly capable of seeing and
reporting specific violations I was being told not to do this by the
Complaint Administration Unit intake personnel. Now I am being told
by you to the contrary that I must do your jobs. This in and of
itself is evidence of an agency and a system that continues to
notoriously exhibit incompetence in this matter, and only proves a
limited ability to send the very people who you serve, on endless
tail-chases and endless non-productive rabbit trails.
While all of this energy is expended, the primary matter at hand,
the FS825.102 and FS825.103 abuse, neglect and exploitation of
Theresa Marie Schiavo continues at the liable hands of all agencies,
various personnel and public officials, etc. to the detriment of not
only her but all vulnerable adults, elderly and disabled persons
throughout the State of Florida by the acts and omissions of every
one of these negligent persons who are entrusted with the Public’s
Trust.
BE IT KNOWN, that everyone is officially on notice, that to continue
to obey these illegal and subversive directives, of persons who wish
to continue to further the obvious and blatant efforts to
intentionally cause the death of this very conscious, self-aware,
cognitive, disabled and vulnerable adult (who has been actively
prevented from getting better) as defined by Florida Statute 415,
744, 825, 400, 782, the ADA Act, and CFR42 rises to the level of
felony crimes and is unlawful, collectively, pursuant to Florida
Statute 876.22 through FS876.31 known as the Subversive Activities
Act, in that the collective efforts, whether knowingly or
unknowingly, of all the involved including medical professionals,
public servants, facilities, guardians, caregivers, and others, is
ultimately resulting in the destruction of all that we as free
citizens enjoy as our constitutional protections, which are there to
guarantee our inalienable right to life, liberty to that life, and
the pursuit of happiness through our FS744.3215 retained right to be
restored to capacity at the earliest possible time, which has no
time limit.
An Inalienable Right is particularly defined as: That which cannot
be given or taken away. Thusly, a person cannot Give their Life away
nor can it be Taken away. Both are crimes, and protections of life
are networked rather thoroughly throughout our Laws and our
Constitution.
Consider this my public Writ of Mandamus to all (with various media
as my witness) who will be receiving this letter, to cease and
desist your acts or omissions which are felony crime statute
violations, which may lead ultimately to this woman’s death by your
incompetency, complacency, malfeasance, misfeasance, obedience to
personal or collective agendas, disobedience of mandatory reporting
of abuse, neglect and exploitations. This will require your
proactive efforts in conjunction with other agencies and persons, to
go against those who draw you in and only use you as pawns in a
bigger agenda, by this case, to create a constitutional Right To
Make You Dead. Investigate and prosecute the guilty parties. It is
your obligation to set Theresa on the road to her recovery.
Do your jobs or suffer the consequences in the long run for your
participation in blatant, in your face, felony crimes.
Sincerely,
Juan Schoch / Lake Mary, FL
P.S. I was never issued new CCR#’s per my written complaints (June
3, 2004) and yet you have done nothing but obfuscate that fact. I
find this more than just a little reprehensible and believe it shows
the complete and total incompetence, if not outright obstruction of
justice, by you, your staff, the AHCA Complaint Administration Unit
and others in your agency. It would be smart to stop digging
yourself a hole and get back on the right track.
cc: Jeb Bush, Governor
c/o Christa Calamas, Governor’s General Counsel,
Charlie Crist, Attorney General,
Lee Constantine, Senator, District 22,
Derry Harper, Chief Inspector General, Executive Office of Governor,
Dawn Case, Director of Investigations, Executive Office of Governor,
Guy M. Tunnell, Commissioner, Florida Department of Law Enforcement,
Lance Newman, Director, Tampa District Office, Florida Department of
Law Enforcement,
Cynthia Schuler, District Administrator of District 14, Department
of Children and Families,
Bernie McCabe, Pinellas Pasco State Attorney,
Dorene Thomas, Chief of Police, Pinellas Park Police Department,
Sid Klein, Chief of Police, Clearwater Police Department,
Everett Rice, Pinellas County Sheriff,
Carl Whitehead, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Tampa Division,
John L. Wodatch, Chief, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights
Section, U.S. Department of Justice,
Representatives of House Committees Elder Affairs and Long Term
Care, Family Health, Health Care and Health Services: Rep. Hugh
Gibson / Rep. Dorothy Mindingall / Rep. Tom Anderson / Rep. Joyce
Cusack / Rep. Carole Green / Rep. Richard Machek / Rep. Sheri
McInvale / Rep. John Quinones / Rep. Dave Russell / Rep. Heather
Florentino / Rep. Sandy Adams / Rep. Aaron Bean / Rep. Faye Culp /
Rep. Nancy Detert / Rep. Matt Meadows / Rep. Sandra Murman / Rep.
Nan Rich / Rep. Frank Farkas / Rep. Ed Homan / Rep. Holly Benson /
Rep. Gus Bilirakis / Rep. Marty Bowen / Rep. Susan Bucher / Rep.
Larry Cretul / Rep. Rene Garcia / Rep. Gayle Harrell / Rep. Arthenia
Joyner / Rep. Stan Mayfield / Rep. Dave Murzin / Rep. Joe Negron /
Rep. Ralph Poppell / Rep. Manuel Prieguez / Rep. Julio Robaina /
Rep. Yolly Roberson / Rep. Ray Sansom / Rep. Eleanor Sobel / Rep.
Shelley Vana / Rep. Roger Wishner / Rep. Juan Zapata
Kate O’Beirne, Washington Editor, National Review / David Sommer,
Reporter, Tampa Tribune / Brendan Farrington, Correspondent,
Associated Press / Jim Witters, City Editor, Bradenton Herald / Mike
Vasilinda, Bureau Chief, Capitol News Service / John Lucas, Bureau
Chief, Florida News Network / Marshall Griffin, News Director,
Florida Public Radio / John Baker, Bureau Chief, Florida’s Radio
Networks / Rick Flagg, Bureau Chief, Florida Radio News / Jim
Saunders, Bureau Chief, The Florida Times-Union / Paige St. John,
Bureau Chief, Gannett News Service / Marc Caputo, Reporter, The
Miami Herald / Lloyd Dunkelberger, Bureau Chief, New York Times
Florida Newspapers / John Kennedy, Bureau Chief, Orlando Sentinel /
Shirish Date, Bureau Chief, The Palm Beach Post / Lucy Morgan,
Bureau Chief, St. Petersburg Times / Linda Kleindienst, Bureau
Chief, Sun-Sentinel, South Florida / Nancy Cook Lauer, Bureau Chief,
Tallahassee Democrat / David Wasson, Bureau Chief, Tampa Tribune /
Georgia Davis, News Director, WFSU-TV/The Florida Channel / Jim
Lehrer, NewsHour w/, PBS / Diane Sawyer, ABC News / Dan Rather, CBS
News / Larry King, CNN/Atlanta / David Shaw, Media Critic, Los
Angeles Times / Richard S. Newcombe, Creators Syndicate / Reed
Irvine, Chairman, Emeritus, Accuracy in Media
# # #
Comment by Juan Schoch — 10/3/2004 @ 11:12 am
[...] again here. I have done it extensively many times, including on other occasions (such as this one) where the L.A. Times has failed to tell its rea [...]
Pingback by Patterico's Pontifications » L.A. Times Once Again Presents Only One Side of the Schiavo Controversy — 3/20/2005 @ 9:36 am