House GOPs Want Feeding Tube Reinserted

[Torog]

House GOPs Want Feeding Tube Reinserted
Yahoo News AP ^ | March 19, 2005 | MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer



PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - With a furious legal and political battle raging outside her hospice room, doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday after a judge rebuffed an unprecedented attempt by Congress to keep the brain-damaged woman alive.

Schiavo, 41, could linger one to two weeks without the tube, provided no one intercedes and gets it reinserted â?? as happened twice before.

Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites), without comment, denied an emergency request from the House committee that issued the subpoenas to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube while the committee files appeals in the lower courts to have its subpoenas recognized.

Republicans on Capitol Hill used their subpoena power to demand that Schiavo be brought before a congressional hearing, saying removing the tube amounted to "barbarism." The attorney for Schiavo's husband shot back at a news conference, calling the subpoenas "nothing short of thuggery."

"It was odious, it was shocking, it was disgusting, and I think all Americans should be very alarmed about that," George Felos said.

The judge presiding over the case ruled in the husband's favor early Friday afternoon and rejected the request from House attorneys to delay the removal, which he had previously ordered to take place at 1 p.m. EST. Felos said Michael Schiavo was at his wife's side shortly after the tube was disconnected.

Meanwhile, Republican congressional leaders said in a statement that they planned to work through the weekend to try to save Terri Schiavo's life.

The removal of the tube signals that an end may be near in a decade-long family feud between Schiavo's husband and her devoutly Roman Catholic parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. The parents have been trying to oust Michael Schiavo as their daughter's guardian and keep in place the tube that has kept her alive for more than 15 years.

Michael Schiavo says his wife told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents dispute that, saying she could get better and that their daughter has laughed, cried, smiled and responded to their voices. Court-appointed physicians testified her brain damage was so severe that there was no hope she would ever have any cognitive abilities.

"This is what Terri wanted. This is her wish," the husband said late Friday, making his first comments after the tube removal on CNN's "Larry King Live." He said he was angry that "government has just trampled all over my personal life."

The family is still hoping for a long-shot legal victory to have the tube re-inserted.

It is unclear how much time the family will have. The effects of such feeding tubes being removed can be seen by the third or fourth day, when the patient's mouth begins to look dry and the eyes appear sunken. From days five to 10, respiration becomes irregular with periods of very fast and then very slow breathing. By the final days, kidney function declines, toxins begin accumulating in the body, and multiple organ systems fail from lack of nutrition.

Court-appointed doctors have said Schiavo will not feel any pain given her state, but her parents' doctors dispute that.

Several right-to-die cases across the nation have been fought in the courts in recent years, but few, if any, have been this drawn-out and bitter.

The case has garnered attention around the world and served as a rallying cry for conservative Christian groups and anti-abortion activists, who flooded members of Congress and Florida legislators with messages seeking to keep Schiavo alive.

Outside Schiavo's hospice, about 30 people keeping vigil dropped to their knees in prayer when word spread of the judge's ruling calling for removal of the tube.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President Bush (news - web sites) discussed the case with his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and members of the state's congressional delegation during his swing through Florida on Friday to discuss Social Security (news - web sites) reform.

"We're continuing to monitor developments," McClellan said. "The president believes when there are serious questions or doubts in a case like this that the presumption ought to be in favor of life."

Gov. Jeb Bush said the judge's decision "breaks my heart" and noted that it often takes two decades for a death row inmate's appeals to go through the system.

"There's this rush to starve her to death," Bush said.

But Rep. Henry Waxman (news, bio, voting record) of California, senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, called the subpoenas a "flagrant abuse of power" and said they amounted to Congress dictating the medical care Terri Schiavo should receive.

"Congress is turning the Schiavo family's personal tragedy into a national political farce," Waxman said.

Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when a chemical imbalance apparently brought on by an eating disorder caused her heart to stop beating for a few minutes. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding and hydration tube to keep her alive.

Both sides accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance.

The Schindlers also said that Michael Schiavo wants their daughter dead so he can marry his longtime girlfriend, with whom he has young children. They have begged him to divorce their daughter, and let them care for her.

The tangled case has encompassed at least 19 judges in at least six different courts.

In 2001, Schiavo went without food and water for two days before a judge ordered the tube reinserted when a new witness surfaced.

When the tube was removed in October 2003, her parents and two siblings frantically sought intervention from Gov Jeb. Bush to stop her slow starvation. The governor pushed through "Terri's Law," and six days later the tube was reinserted.

That set off a new round of legal battles which culminated in September 2004 with the Florida Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruling that Bush had overstepped his authority and declared the law unconstitutional.

On Feb. 25, Circuit Judge George Greer gave Michael Schiavo permission to order the removal of the feeding tube Friday.

"I have had no cogent reason why the (congressional) committee should intervene," Greer told attorneys in a conference call Friday, adding that last-minute action by Congress does not invalidate years of court rulings.

The attorney for the parents said he would likely file a new appeal early next week with a federal appeals court. He also said he hoped lawmakers in Washington or Tallahassee could agree on legislation that would force the tube to be reinserted. Similar efforts have failed in the past.

"I'm hopeful these men and women can get a strategy, get a focus, because we're running out of time," said attorney David Gibbs.

Torog Reviewed by Torog on 03-19-2005. House GOPs Want Feeding Tube Reinserted House GOPs Want Feeding Tube Reinserted Yahoo News AP ^ | March 19, 2005 | MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - With a furious legal and political battle raging outside her hospice room, doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday after a judge rebuffed an unprecedented attempt by Congress to keep the brain-damaged woman alive. Schiavo, 41, could linger one to two weeks without the tube, provided no one intercedes and gets it reinserted â?? as happened Rating: 5

[Torog]

Howdy Y'all,

This pisses me off:"Republicans on Capitol Hill used their subpoena power to demand that Schiavo be brought before a congressional hearing, saying removing the tube amounted to "barbarism." The attorney for Schiavo's husband shot back at a news conference, calling the subpoenas "nothing short of thuggery."

"It was odious, it was shocking, it was disgusting, and I think all Americans should be very alarmed about that," George Felos said. "

What's odious,shocking and disgusting..is to starve a person to death,and dehydrate her as well,both horrible ways to die. There was some young doctor on Fox News yesterday,that was trying to claim that starvation wasn't painful at all,nor dehydration..BULLSHIT !! He said that Terri would eventually slip into a painless coma..although,it may take a couple weeks to git there..AARRRGGGHHH !! After his little speech of bullshit-Linda Vester asked the audience: "Would you take out the feeding tube?" They said no ! The audience didn't believe the punk doctor's crap about how painless it is,to starve to death.

This is a critical issue,many disabled folks are gittin worried,that this will set a precedent,that will make it easier for their relatives,to have them killed off or by the State,just because they may fall into an apparent vegetative state..there was such a man,on Dayside with Linda Vester yesterday,who had been in a so-called vegetative state..and he recovered..he was very alarmed and upset..as we all should be.

The actions of the Left,in opposing the saving of Terri's life,make it clear,that they do indeed,embrace a culture of death,their snobbery against disabled folks,is blatant and alarming.

I reckon,that Terri will be murdered by the State,hopefully tho,legislation will be passed,that slows down the rush to end a disabled person's life,and make provision for testing to determine whether one is in a vegetative state,or not.

Terri,has broken no laws,we don't starve animals to death or criminals or terrorists,death-row inmates git years of appeals..why can't Terri be tested before she's killed slowly and painfully ?

Maybe it's the Left's demand for quick and speedy abortions of children..now they want a quick and speedy way of gittin rid of disabled folks..?

I just know-that I'm fightin mad over this issue..it is the slippery slope of euthanasia..a long held dream of the Left's culture of death.

Have a good one...

[NowhereMan]

hi there torog ya old goat

i must tell ya about this place in hamlin west virginia
it needs siad

they will let folks in nursing home die,if family member request no feeding tube
that means they lay there and starve to death,
yesterday a old lady died after a week of no food
ITS MURDER DONE LEGAL by request
i m not kidding
but am helpless to anything about it
its state laws
they can kill ya for being old and feeble and nobody cares
or so it seems
i think they should be charged with neglect and murder
but instead they will just move in a new person to kill
sad aint it
peac

[juggalo420]

first off she's in a vegatative state, she's brain dead, if anyone actually watches the news not the republican propaganda machine would know this. her husband states that she told him while still alive that if ever left in such a condition she'd wanna die. a person has a right to die if theirs no chance of recovery, why would you want to let there shell rot away when there brain is already gone.

[juggalo420]

This is a critical issue,many disabled folks are gittin worried,that this will set a precedent,that will make it easier for their relatives,to have them killed off or by the State,just because they may fall into an apparent vegetative state..there was such a man,on Dayside with Linda Vester yesterday,who had been in a so-called vegetative state..and he recovered..he was very alarmed and upset..as we all should be.

ive been trying to be nice to you in my posts lately, but honestly are you retarded. this has nothing to do with killing diabeled people, its about a persons right to die. all of this is being manipulated by these christian fundamentalist wackos. if a person wants to live in a vegitative state for the rest of there life they can, all they have to do is say nothing or say they do. this has absolutely no precendce.

[NowhereMan]

first off she's in a vegatative state, she's brain dead, if anyone actually watches the news not the republican propaganda machine would know this. her husband states that she told him while still alive that if ever left in such a condition she'd wanna die. a person has a right to die if theirs no chance of recovery, why would you want to let there shell rot away when there brain is already gone.

i just dont agree with starving them

would you like to be starved slow
or shot up with morphine and put to rest fast ,if it was you ?

it comes down to who gets to decide who lives or how they die
sad fucking days

[juggalo420]

i just dont agree with starving them

would you like to be starved slow
or shot up with morphine and put to rest fast ,if it was you ?

it comes down to who gets to decide who lives or how they die
sad fucking days

unfortunetly this is the result of the right to life movement, if it wasnt for them euthenasia would be legal, and instead of having a feeding tube removed she could be shot up and die faster.

[Torog]

ive been trying to be nice to you in my posts lately, but honestly are you retarded. this has nothing to do with killing diabeled people, its about a persons right to die. all of this is being manipulated by these christian fundamentalist wackos. if a person wants to live in a vegitative state for the rest of there life they can, all they have to do is say nothing or say they do. this has absolutely no precendce.

Howdy juggalo420,

The insanity of the Left..continues to grow ever larger..day by day..word by word....you're the one-who's retarded..if you think a slow,painful death is acceptable..for someone who's committed no crime to warrant such,indeed-no crime is punishable in this way..yet you approve-because unborn children and the elderly and disabled,mean nothing to you.

[Torog]

hi there torog ya old goat

i must tell ya about this place in hamlin west virginia
it needs siad

they will let folks in nursing home die,if family member request no feeding tube
that means they lay there and starve to death,
yesterday a old lady died after a week of no food
ITS MURDER DONE LEGAL by request
i m not kidding
but am helpless to anything about it
its state laws
they can kill ya for being old and feeble and nobody cares
or so it seems
i think they should be charged with neglect and murder
but instead they will just move in a new person to kill
sad aint it
peac

Howdy NWM,

Well..at least I ain't the only old goat around here ! lol

Yup..it's sad that folks can be done in this way..and the folks that do it to them..will reap God's Wrath.

Have a good one....

[juggalo420]

Howdy juggalo420,

The insanity of the Left..continues to grow ever larger..day by day..word by word....you're the one-who's retarded..if you think a slow,painful death is acceptable..for someone who's committed no crime to warrant such,indeed-no crime is punishable in this way..yet you approve-because unborn children and the elderly and disabled,mean nothing to you.

i honestly dont know how to explain this to you,

ill try smaller words- person hurt, no get better, they say before they dont want to live hurt if cant recover, they can make choice for self, no force death if no want.

back to big people words now, your the person who obviously dont give a shit about the elderly and vegatative (use the word vegatative not disabled, thats dishonest and conjuers up images of a guy in a wheel chair being allowed to die just cause he cant walk), if you cared about them and respected them you would respect there wishes to die if left in a vegatative state, no ones going to be going around pulling plugs and feeding tubes if the person has not previously expressed a desire to die rather than live in such a condition.

you dont care what people want, if you did you would support terri shavo right to die as she previously expressed to her husband, and you would support a person whose in extreme irreversable pains right to euthanasia, you want to take peoples fundamental rights away because of some back-wards religious philosophy, you want to force your faith on another humans life, thats very anti-american.

and abortion has nothing to do with this arguement, were talking about adults being able to choose whether they want to live as a vegetable.