Theresa Marie Schindler - December 3, 1963 - March 31, 2005
Posted on 03/31/2005 6:53:45 AM PST by watchdog_writer
Dick Morris said: Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) better look for a new line of work. The right is mad at him for not standing in the hospice door.
A little knowledge of the law in Florida may be helpful. Maybe then laymen will be able to better understand that it was the liberals in the Florida Legislature that set the stage for this calamity.
765.101 Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
(1) "Advance directive" means a witnessed written document or oral statement in which instructions are given by a principal or in which the principal's desires are expressed concerning any aspect of the principal's health care, and includes, but is not limited to, the designation of a health care surrogate, a living will, or an anatomical gift made pursuant to part X of chapter 732.
(2) "Attending physician" means the primary physician who has responsibility for the treatment and care of the patient.
(3) "Close personal friend" means any person 18 years of age or older who has exhibited special care and concern for the patient, and who presents an affidavit to the health care facility or to the attending or treating physician stating that he or she is a friend of the patient; is willing and able to become involved in the patient's health care; and has maintained such regular contact with the patient so as to be familiar with the patient's activities, health, and religious or moral beliefs.
(4) "End-stage condition" means an irreversible condition that is caused by injury, disease, or illness which has resulted in progressively severe and permanent deterioration, and which, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, treatment of the condition would be ineffective.
(5) "Health care decision" means:
(a) Informed consent, refusal of consent, or withdrawal of consent to any and all health care, including life-prolonging procedures.
(b) The decision to apply for private, public, government, or veterans' benefits to defray the cost of health care.
(c) The right of access to all records of the principal reasonably necessary for a health care surrogate to make decisions involving health care and to apply for benefits.
(d) The decision to make an anatomical gift pursuant to part X of chapter 732.
(6) "Health care facility" means a hospital, nursing home, hospice, home health agency, or health maintenance organization licensed in this state, or any facility subject to part I of chapter 394.
(7) "Health care provider" or "provider" means any person licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by law to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession.
(8) "Incapacity" or "incompetent" means the patient is physically or mentally unable to communicate a willful and knowing health care decision. For the purposes of making an anatomical gift, the term also includes a patient who is deceased.
(9) "Informed consent" means consent voluntarily given by a person after a sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable that person to have a general understanding of the treatment or procedure and the medically acceptable alternatives, including the substantial risks and hazards inherent in the proposed treatment or procedures, and to make a knowing health care decision without coercion or undue influence.
(10) "Life-prolonging procedure" means any medical procedure, treatment, or intervention, including artificially provided sustenance and hydration, which sustains, restores, or supplants a spontaneous vital function. The term does not include the administration of medication or performance of medical procedure, when such medication or procedure is deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviate pain.
(11) "Living will" or "declaration" means:
(a) A witnessed document in writing, voluntarily executed by the principal in accordance with s. 765.302; or
(b) A witnessed oral statement made by the principal expressing the principal's instructions concerning life-prolonging procedures.
(12) "Persistent vegetative state" means a permanent and irreversible condition of unconsciousness in which there is:
(a) The absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind.
(b) An inability to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment.
(13) "Physician" means a person licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459.
(14) "Principal" means a competent adult executing an advance directive and on whose behalf health care decisions are to be made.
(15) "Proxy" means a competent adult who has not been expressly designated to make health care decisions for a particular incapacitated individual, but who, nevertheless, is authorized pursuant to s. 765.401 to make health care decisions for such individual.
(16) "Surrogate" means any competent adult expressly designated by a principal to make health care decisions on behalf of the principal upon the principal's incapacity.
(17) "Terminal condition" means a condition caused by injury, disease, or illness from which there is no reasonable medical probability of recovery and which, without treatment, can be expected to cause death.
765.401 The proxy.--
(1) If an incapacitated or developmentally disabled patient has not executed an advance directive, or designated a surrogate to execute an advance directive, or the designated or alternate surrogate is no longer available to make health care decisions, health care decisions may be made for the patient by any of the following individuals, in the following order of priority, if no individual in a prior class is reasonably available, willing, or competent to act:
(a) The judicially appointed guardian of the patient or the guardian advocate of the person having a developmental disability as defined in s. 393.063, who has been authorized to consent to medical treatment, if such guardian has previously been appointed; however, this paragraph shall not be construed to require such appointment before a treatment decision can be made under this subsection;
(b) The patient's spouse;
(c) An adult child of the patient, or if the patient has more than one adult child, a majority of the adult children who are reasonably available for consultation;
(d) A parent of the patient;
(e) The adult sibling of the patient or, if the patient has more than one sibling, a majority of the adult siblings who are reasonably available for consultation;
(f) An adult relative of the patient who has exhibited special care and concern for the patient and who has maintained regular contact with the patient and who is familiar with the patient's activities, health, and religious or moral beliefs; or
(g) A close friend of the patient.
(h) A clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter 491, or who is a graduate of a court-approved guardianship program. Such a proxy must be selected by the provider's bioethics committee and must not be employed by the provider. If the provider does not have a bioethics committee, then such a proxy may be chosen through an arrangement with the bioethics committee of another provider. The proxy will be notified that, upon request, the provider shall make available a second physician, not involved in the patient's care to assist the proxy in evaluating treatment. Decisions to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging procedures will be reviewed by the facility's bioethics committee. Documentation of efforts to locate proxies from prior classes must be recorded in the patient record.
(2) Any health care decision made under this part must be based on the proxy's informed consent and on the decision the proxy reasonably believes the patient would have made under the circumstances. If there is no indication of what the patient would have chosen, the proxy may consider the patient's best interest in deciding that proposed treatments are to be withheld or that treatments currently in effect are to be withdrawn.
(3) Before exercising the incapacitated patient's rights to select or decline health care, the proxy must comply with the provisions of ss. 765.205 and 765.305, except that a proxy's decision to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging procedures must be supported by clear and convincing evidence that the decision would have been the one the patient would have chosen had the patient been competent or, if there is no indication of what the patient would have chosen, that the decision is in the patient's best interest.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt the designation of persons who may consent to the medical care or treatment of minors established pursuant to s. 743.0645. 765.404 Persistent vegetative state.--For persons in a persistent vegetative state, as determined by the attending physician in accordance with currently accepted medical standards, who have no advance directive and for whom there is no evidence indicating what the person would have wanted under such conditions, and for whom, after a reasonably diligent inquiry, no family or friends are available or willing to serve as a proxy to make health care decisions for them, life-prolonging procedures may be withheld or withdrawn under the following conditions:
(1) The person has a judicially appointed guardian representing his or her best interest with authority to consent to medical treatment; and
(2) The guardian and the person's attending physician, in consultation with the medical ethics committee of the facility where the patient is located, conclude that the condition is permanent and that there is no reasonable medical probability for recovery and that withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging procedures is in the best interest of the patient. If there is no medical ethics committee at the facility, the facility must have an arrangement with the medical ethics committee of another facility or with a community-based ethics committee approved by the Florida Bio-ethics Network. The ethics committee shall review the case with the guardian, in consultation with the person's attending physician, to determine whether the condition is permanent and there is no reasonable medical probability for recovery. The individual committee members and the facility associated with an ethics committee shall not be held liable in any civil action related to the performance of any duties required in this subsection.
765.404 Persistent vegetative state.--For persons in a persistent vegetative state, as determined by the attending physician in accordance with currently accepted medical standards, who have no advance directive and for whom there is no evidence indicating what the person would have wanted under such conditions, and for whom, after a reasonably diligent inquiry, no family or friends are available or willing to serve as a proxy to make health care decisions for them, life-prolonging procedures may be withheld or withdrawn under the following conditions:
(1) The person has a judicially appointed guardian representing his or her best interest with authority to consent to medical treatment; and
(2) The guardian and the person's attending physician, in consultation with the medical ethics committee of the facility where the patient is located, conclude that the condition is permanent and that there is no reasonable medical probability for recovery and that withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging procedures is in the best interest of the patient. If there is no medical ethics committee at the facility, the facility must have an arrangement with the medical ethics committee of another facility or with a community-based ethics committee approved by the Florida Bio-ethics Network. The ethics committee shall review the case with the guardian, in consultation with the person's attending physician, to determine whether the condition is permanent and there is no reasonable medical probability for recovery. The individual committee members and the facility associated with an ethics committee shall not be held liable in any civil action related to the performance of any duties required in this subsection.
765.309 Mercy killing or euthanasia not authorized; suicide distinguished.--
(1) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to condone, authorize, or approve mercy killing or euthanasia, or to permit any affirmative or deliberate act or omission to end life other than to permit the natural process of dying.
(2) The withholding or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures from a patient in accordance with any provision of this chapter does not, for any purpose, constitute a suicide.
Currently the law in Florida is this: 765.305 Procedure in absence of a living will: (1) In the absence of a living will, the decision to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging procedures from a patient may be made by a health care surrogate designated by the patient pursuant to part II unless the designation limits the surrogate's authority to consent to the withholding or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures.
(2) Before exercising the incompetent patient's right to forego treatment, the surrogate must be satisfied that:
(a) The patient does not have a reasonable medical probability of recovering capacity so that the right could be exercised by the patient.
(b) The patient has an end-stage condition, the patient is in a persistent vegetative state, or the patient's physical condition is terminal.
See Also: rule 5.900 of the Florida Probate Rules,
She has died breaking on FOX. Prayers for her and her family.
Don't blame the republicans.
Blame michael the evil scum
Uh, Bush signed it.
Theresa Marie Schindler - December 3, 1963 - March 31, 2005
Republican Judge = RINO
Republican Legislature = Hampered by stupidity
Republican Governor = Shackled by Law
Republican President = Went as far as he could without stomping state's rights.
Republican Congress = Stuck their necks out only to be criticized by their constituents.
This BS of it is end of Jeb's career is just that. He and his brother did what they could and should be applauded for their efforts.
Right. It is not a party issue. It is a lying husband backed by a death cult lawyer and a stupid judge allowed to flourish in a broken system.
Even so...it is a Republican problem. None of this need have occured. Jeb had 6 years in which to recognize the problem inherent in the 1999 amendment and correct it, and he did nothing and continues to do nothing.
Thank you for the photo. God rest her soul. God help America.
Amen.
Blame him till your head caves in and join the Democrats. I don't care. Blame yourself for electing him. Blame, blame, blame!
Well I hope you find all the answers to your problems in the Kerry, Clinton, Kennedy camp because thats who you support by damning the people who tried their best to help within the law. If you want to live in a banana republic pack your bags.
The next time you have a vanity, be sure not to share it with anyone else.
The problem is that our legislators have allowed their rightful power to be usurped by the judicial system. The only real solution here is for the legislators to force the judiciary to relent. Barring that, they need to begin disbanding, and re-organizing the judiciary. Rather than trying to impeach a judge, just eliminate his court, or a complete court system.
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