Schiavo lawyers challenge 'Terri's Law'

AP | 10/29/03

[kattracks]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A hastily passed state law that empowered Gov. Jeb Bush to keep a severely brain-damaged woman alive is unconstitutional, attorneys for the woman's husband claimed Wednesday.

In a court filing, attorneys for Michael Schiavo challenged what Florida lawmakers dubbed "Terri's Law," which gave Bush the authority to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube be reinserted Oct. 21. They asked that the law be overturned.

The filing's major contentions are that the law violates Terri Schiavo's right to privacy under the Florida Constitution and the separation of power provisions of the state constitution.

Michael Schiavo has been battling in court for years to carry out what he says is his wife's wish to not be kept alive artificially.

His in-laws, Bob and Mary Schindler, have fought him, saying their daughter had no such wishes and is not in a permanent vegetative state, as a probate judge has declared. They say she is responsive and could improve with therapy.

[texasbluebell]

I've wondering the same thing. I'd like to know the age of the other child. I'd like to know if that child was born before or after this happened to Terri.

From what I've seen so far in articles, MS had a child with a woman not his wife--that child is in his/her teens. That child was born before Terri's collapse.

Now he has 2 young children with another woman, his "fiancee" -- so there are 3 children out of wedlock, to 2 different girlfriends.

I keep wondering how you can have a fiancee if you're still married to your wife...

[texasbluebell]

I wonder what Terri's reaction would be to this madness, I wonder if shes consider a divorce? or she'd be proud of her philandering husband.

She wouldn't be proud of this philanderer! She had spoken of divorce to at least one of her friends before her "collapse" and her brother also mentioned it the other night.

She wanted out before -- now she's chained to this guy.

[Theodore R.]

So why isn't Schiavo's previous use of dehydration and starvation causing this case to blow wide open for Terri now? Yet the law is still with Schiavo -- not even a new guardian ad litem yet, much less a real guardian.

[Theodore R.]

Again, it is inconceivable to me that the media is not picking up on Schiavo telling King that he had dehydrated and starved both his parents previously!!!! What am I missing here?

[Quester]

... no, but it is my decision about what to do with my spouse in such a situation, not her parents. I would hope we would all agree, but if not, the decision is mine .......

May God help your spouse.

[Theodore R.]

Schiavo told King regarding dehydration and starvation: And it doesn't bother me at all. I've seen it happen. I had to do it with my own parents.


To me, this is the most important development of the case thus far. Why do others think this is not a significant point?

[sport]

Are you Michael Schivo or George Felios in real life?

[sport]

......I just wonder if Schiavo truly is the father of all three children...


102 posted on 10/29/2003 7:07 PM PST by Pan_Yans Wife (You may forget the one with whom you have laughed, but never the one with whom you have wept.)




It was not Michael. It was the man in the moon.

[Aliska]

So why isn't Schiavo's previous use of dehydration and starvation causing this case to blow wide open for Terri now?

Because character doesn't matter any more. That's why the fact that adultery is so acceptable in our society no longer raises eyebrows in the public at large. The only real problem I have with MS' adultery is that it poses a conflict of interest regarding his wife. Otherwise it is irrelevant according to the law. If it is relevant because of an obsure law, it is going to get a pass.

To be honest, I could cut MS some slack regarding his adultery if it weren't complicating matters regarding his wife. But it seems to be doing just that in a major way. Please don't take that to mean that I'm condoning it.

[mvpel]

So, Terri's right to privacy is being violated? What about this portion of the Florida Constitution:

All natural persons, ... have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life ... No person shall be deprived of any right because of ... physical disability.

[Aliska]

who will be holding her parents' hand when she dies ten years from now?

I think they are people of faith who will be able to let go. They may face more tough decisions, but I am almost 100% certain that they will give her the love and care which will make all the difference. And that will give them peace and they will be able to let her go when the time is right.

[Ohioan from Florida]

The company is called Jerger & Centonze Insurance Agency and it is run from Michael and Jodi's home in Clearwater. Michael is listed as an officer/director of the company, along with a Richard M. Jerger, Jr. and a Catherine M. Quinn-Jerger. I'll try to find you a link, but it's been listed many times on these Terri threads. Give me a few minutes to hunt it down.

[Ohioan from Florida]

Here's the link for the insurance company run from the Centonze/Schiavo home.
http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?a1=DETFIL&n1=P01000004292&n2=OFFFWD&n3=0002&n4=P&r1=333372&r2=&r3=&r4=&r5=&r6=0005&r7=SCHIAVOMARJORY&r8=P

[Ohioan from Florida]

Get a grip.....Her husband is her legal gaurdian and has the right to honor her wishes by taking out the tube.....

OK, fine. But tell me why he had the tube put in in the first place, if she never wanted to be hooked up to anything artificial. Why didn't he honor her wishes then?

[Ohioan from Florida]

Yet the law is still with Schiavo -- not even a new guardian ad litem yet, much less a real guardian.

I keep trying to take solace in my belief that God has assigned a really wonderful guardian angel to take care of Terri in the ways it matters most.

[OpusatFR]

Last time I checked, it was the family who demanded that the son-in-law back off, not the government. It is the judiciary that signed her death warrant. It is a motion that is allowing her temporary respite.

[stanz]

The fact that MS has three children with two other women should have dawned on the courts when they were doing all that deliberating about his wishes to end Terri's life. The judicial system is a sham- - - the plum goes to the highest bidder...in this case, the man with the settlement payout.

This raises the question of why is he so anxious for Terri to die. Is he afraid that with the proper rehabilitation, Terri might communicate how her "collapse" occurred?

Yes, this is reminiscent of the movie "Gaslight" and also reminds me of the Klaus von Bulow case. Isn't Sunny still alive?

[aristeides]

Note the misspelling "Insurnace," rather than "Insurance". Is that deliberate (to impede searches, say)?

[aristeides]

It's called the media having an agenda.

[demkicker]

This raises the question of why is he so anxious for Terri to die. Is he afraid that with the proper rehabilitation, Terri might communicate how her "collapse" occurred?

***Bingo*** Even an inanimate object could figure out Michael is going out of his way to kill his wife. Denying Terri the most basic therapy after promising a jury he would use the court settlement money to care for her is all one needs to know. The man is proudly trying to kill his wife and get away with it. I don't doubt that he just wants to finish the job that he started years ago.