Terri Schiavo's feeding tube removal-flurry of motions

Euthanasia/Right to Die Forum

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Florida judge on Friday temporarily blocked removal of a brain-damaged woman's feeding tube, a lobbyist on behalf of the woman's parents said.

The court action came moments before a deadline approached to allow Terri Schiavo's husband to ask for the removal of the tube.

The order followed congressional subpoenas as the latest steps in a contentious family saga that began 15 years ago, when Schiavo collapsed from heart failure that resulted in severe brain damage.

Seven years ago Schiavo's husband, Michael, and her parents began a legal tug-of-war over whether to have her feeding tube removed and allow her to die. The case has drawn national attention and rallied activists on both sides of the right-to-die debate.

Earlier Friday, a House committee subpoenaed the brain-damaged woman to appear before Congress next week, and Schiavo's family was "hopeful" the brain-damaged woman would make that appearance in Washington, an attorney for her parents said Friday.

Meanwhile, a Senate committee issued an invitation for Terri Schiavo and her husband to testify on Capitol Hill.

U.S. marshals served subpoenas at The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast on Friday, attorney David Gibbs said.

The House committee said it has issued five subpoenas -- for Terri, her husband Michael -- who is her guardian and has been leading the fight for removal of her feeding tube -- and three health-care officials. Details, such as whether the Schiavos could appear from Florida, were still being worked out. The five are being asked to appear March 25.

Senior legislative attorneys were scheduled to meet with Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer at 12:30 p.m. ET to go over the subpoenas, officials in Florida said.

The congressional action is a last-ditch attempt to block the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube. The severely brain-damaged woman has been at the heart of a legal tug-of-war since 1998 when her husband, Michael, petitioned courts to remove her feeding tube.

Her feeding tube has been removed twice before, most recently in 2003. That year, Gov. Jeb Bush pushed a law through the Florida Legislature that authorized him to resume the woman's feedings six days after a court stopped them. The law was later ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court.

Supreme Court appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday rejected an emergency appeal by Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, to stop the tube's removal. Meanwhile, legislation that would keep her alive has appeared to stall in Florida's Legislature and in Congress.

A Senate committee has issued an invitation for Terri and Michael Schiavo to testify.

"What the U.S. Congress is saying is, 'We want to see Terri Schiavo,' " Gibbs said. "The family applauds these actions taken by Congress. We are very hopeful that indeed, Terri will get to make a trip to Washington, D.C."

Asked whether that would be feasible, he said, "Absolutely. She would need a wheelchair."

In addition, Gibbs said he filed a petition in federal court in the Middle District of Florida. The petition asks the court to review the state court process, he said.

"Terri is not terminal," he said. "If we feed Terri ... she will live another 30 to 40 years."

He described Schiavo as "responsive" although he acknowledged she functions at the level of a 6- to 11-month-old child. She recognizes her family, he said. "She teases. She plays. She smiles. She tries to talk." Schiavo also can breathe and swallow on her own, he said.

Asked why, if she can swallow, a feeding tube is necessary, Gibbs said he has inquired whether Schiavo could receive food by mouth, and "courts in Florida have said no. The order is to stop all food and water."

But the subpoena and the invitation from Congress, he said, "should serve as a significant deterrent to doing anything that would put Terri's life in jeopardy."

In 1990, when she was 26, Terri Schiavo collapsed in her home and suffered severe brain damage when oxygen to her brain was interrupted for five minutes. Lower courts have ruled that she is in a "persistent vegetative" state.

Congressional intervention
"Later this morning, we will issue a subpoena, which will require hospice administrators and attending physicians to preserve nutrition and hydration for Terri Schiavo to allow Congress to fully understand the procedures and practices that are currently keeping her alive," a statement from the House Republican leadership said.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis released that statement.

"The Committee on Government Reform has initiated an inquiry into the long-term care of incapacitated adults, an issue of growing importance to the federal government and federal healthcare policy," the statement said.

"This inquiry should give hope to Terri, her parents and friends, and the millions of people throughout the world who are praying for her safety. This fight is not over."

Regarding the subpoena, Ron Bonjean, a spokesman for Hastert, said: "We're on very comfortable ground that we have a federal interest in long-term care."

Five years ago, the same House committee issued a subpoena for 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez with the goal of preventing federal immigration officials from returning the refugee to Cuba.

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana, who was then chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said the subpoena would "provide a measure of legal protection while the court is considering this case." While the tactic was never tested because court action delayed Elian's deportation for months, it remained a potential delaying device.

On another front, the Florida Supreme Court rejected a request for a stay by the state's Department of Children and Family Services, citing a lack of jurisdiction. The agency had argued that it needed time to investigate allegations of abuse by Schiavo's guardian, her husband Michael

I can not believe that congress got involved in this. It is none of their business, and they are using this family's pain to posture.


Latest news:Judge reinstates order to remove tube.

If this women is as bad as the story makes out then she should have the tube removed, I know that some people say she will live 30 - 40 years with the tube but the point is she will have no life to speak of.

I think the judge made the right call. Is the judges decision final or can Congress overturn it? I am not sure on what powers congress has and does not have.

Congress can not overturn it. It was just congressmen trying to use this case for their own right to life agenda. It is sad because as her husband, Michael Shiavo is her guardian. Her parents should have respected that bond and allowed him to make the decision. The parents claimed he wanted the insurance money. Well, some guy in San Diego offered him 1 million dollars if he would turn over Terri to her parents care. He said no. He is trying to abide by the wishes his wife expressed to him alone.

The judge who first ordered the removal reinstated his order. The tube was removed a few hours ago.

I wonder what would have happened if someone killed/kills Michael Schiavo. Would the tube still have been removed?

Congress Announces Deal in Schiavo Case

11 minutes ago Top Stories - AP


By SIOBHAN McDONOUGH, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Congress leaders announced agreement Saturday on legislation they said would allow a severely brain-damaged woman to resume being fed while a federal court decides the right-to-die battle between her parents and her husband.


"We think we have found a solution" to the Terri Schiavo case, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said at a Capitol Hills news conference. "All sides agree that this is the best way to proceed."


Final approval was expected Sunday when the House planned to meet in a special session, he said. The Senate planned to pass a resolution Saturday evening that would let House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., call the House into session on Sunday.


DeLay said President Bush would sign the bill as soon as it got to him.


A White House spokesman, Jeanie Mamo, said the president, who was at his Texas ranch "was supportive of the efforts by congressional leaders. We remain in contact with Congress and the president is being kept apprised."


The compromise was similar to a Senate bill passed Thursday that would let a federal court has jurisdiction in the Schiavo case. House Republicans had favored broader legislation that applied similar cases that questioned the legality of withholding food or medical treatment from people who are incapacitated.


Schiavo's feeding tube was disconnected Friday afternoon. Schiavo, 41, could linger for one to two weeks if no one intercedes and gets the tube reinserted.


Rep. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the legislation would move the case to federal court where a judge would determine who has the legal right to decide the question of nutrition and hydration for Schiavo and whether they can be terminated.


Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said the measure was "narrowly targeted," does not set a precedent and would allow Schiavo to resume being fed and hydrated during the legal appeals.


For a decade, a feud has raged between Schiavo's husband, Michael, and her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who have tried 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.


On Friday, Republicans used their subpoena power to demand that Schiavo be brought before a congressional hearing, with lawmakers saying that removing the tube amounted to "barbarism."


The Florida judge presiding over the case rejected the request from House lawyers to delay the tube's removal. Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, denied an emergency request from the House committee that issued the subpoenas to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube while the committee filed appeals in the lower courts to have its subpoenas recognized.

Senate Intervenes in Right-To-Die Case

4 minutes ago Top Stories - Reuters



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Sunday unanimously passed legislation aimed at prolonging the life of a brain-damaged woman, Terri Schiavo, by moving the Florida case into the jurisdiction of federal courts.


In a rare Sunday session, the Senate interrupted what was to have been the start of a two-week congressional break, to pass the bill on a voice vote.


After a temporary delay due to objections by some Democrats, the House of Representatives was expected to take up the same legislation late Sunday night and pass the measure early Monday morning.

Just heard on the news that George Bush is to cust short his holiday to get involved with the debate.
This whole thing should be between the husband and the doctors they should be making the descions. does George Bush or any other politician in the US have a medical background?, if not they should should back off.

Our country is in a sad state when Congress decides to interfere with what the state courts have decided. The U.S. Supreme court refused to hear the case, yet Congress insists on pushing the right to life agenda onto a family crisis. The husband is the legal guardian, and time after time the state has ruled that he has the right to make this decision. Eight years of court battles is not enough for Congress.

Mark my words, this is just the beginning of the agenda to keep all of us from making the choice of how we want to live and how we chose to die. The next step will be trying to force us to receive medical care that we do not want. Will they make people take chemotherapy when they chose not to? Will they try to make Jehovah's Witnesses receive blood products against their will? They just might.

CNN is having live coverage over this case in House right now.

FYI

And its not final until it passes a federal court review!
What is happening in this country?
My head is spinning, trying to see how any of this is constitutional.
And then I remember in 2000....when the Supreme Court decided for us who our president was going to be.
Should I be surprised by these freakish events?
Can I say I am speaking the truth when I say the rule of law in this country is no more?
It's a free for all!

I sent an e-mail to my representative last night voicing my opposition to their action. I encourage those that feel the same to do so also. The ones who wanted the legislation are very vocal. Those of us who are opposed should be just as vocal. We can not let the selected few make the decisions for the majority.

One thing I would like to know. Is the US government agianst living wills?
It wont make a diffrence in this case but it might in future cases

Yes they are but in the absence of a Living Will, how is it that Congress believe they have the right to intervene? I know you're not defending them, just inserting my 2 cents.

Some one said, and it makes perfect sense, how many 26 yr olds have Living Wills? Certainly at that age, you're almost ready to come to grips that you are indeed mortal and may someday die when you're about 80, and that's a gazillion years away.

By the way, I agree with the questions you purposed to Mystic SWTT.

Sordid I certainly hope that you are not advocating the murder of her guardian. There are enough crazy people out there that are threatening his life. We don't need that idea thrown around in the forum.

These allegations have already been proven as false.

Jeb Bush needs to butt out of this already!

This particular situation may finally look like it's ending but I wonder when will our elected government leaders decide to interject themselves in the middle of the next privacy issues of family.

Congress blatantly over-reached with its authority. In the end, it looks like it's coming down to what was the original order in the first place, that her husband has the rights to honor her wishes.

However, I don't believe for one moment that Congress learned a thing by this.