Doctor: Schiavo Autopsy Conclusions Flawed

NewsMax ^ | 6/19/05 | Carl Limbacher

[bjs1779]

No problem with your reply. I just wanted to give her a chance. She didn't get it.

[Howlin]

He's STILL not a Nobel Prize winner - even though he keeps telling people he is.

[bjs1779]

He's STILL not a Nobel Prize winner - even though he keeps telling people he is.

Wrong again. He was just a nominee.

[Howlin]

He was NEVER a nominee; the Nobel Prize Committee has sent him a letter asking him to STOP telling people that.

It's ridiculous to continue to claim it.

[Howlin]

Dubious doctor touted as Nobel Prize nominee by Hannity, Scarborough

Fox News host Sean Hannity and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough both promoted Dr. William Hammesfahr's false claim that he is a Nobel Prize nominee.

Hammesfahr* testified during an October 2002 court hearing on the Schiavo case that his claim to be a Nobel nominee is based on a letter written by Rep. Mike Bilirakis (R-FL) recommending him for the prize. But Bilirakis is not qualified to make a valid nomination under the Nobel rules.

According to the process posted on the Nobel Prize website, the Nobel Assembly sends out invitations to approximately 3,000 people who are allowed to propose candidates. The 3,000 are "mainly members of the Nobel Assembly, previous prize winners, and a selection of professors at universities around the world." In providing detailed information about those who can submit nominations, the site states:

Right to submit proposals for the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, based on the principle of competence and universality, shall by statute be enjoyed by:

1. Members of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm;
2. Swedish and foreign members of the medical class of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences;
3. Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine;
4. Members of the Nobel Committee not qualified under paragraph 1 above;
5. Holders of established posts as professors at the faculties of medicine in Sweden and holders of similar posts at the faculties of medicine or similar institutions in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway;
6. Holders of similar posts at no fewer than six other faculties of medicine selected by the Assembly, with a view to ensuring the appropriate distribution of the task among various countries and their seats of learning; and
7. Practitioners of natural sciences whom the Assembly may otherwise see fit to approach.

Decisions concerning the selection of the persons appointed under paragraphs 6 and 7 above are taken before the end of May each year on the recommendation of the Nobel Committee.

But the fact that Bilirakis is not qualified to nominate Nobel Prize winners did not stop Scarborough or Hannity from referring to Hammesfahr as a Nobel Prize nominee. Hannity did so a total of eight times during a single hour-long program; Scarborough made the reference four times. Additionally, Scarborough erroneously claimed that Hammesfahr has "treated" Schiavo; in fact, Hammesfahr has merely examined her as one of five doctors approved by a Florida court in 2001 to do so. He was one of two doctors selected by Schiavo's parents; two others were selected by Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, and the fifth was chosen by the court.

From the March 21 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

HANNITY: And we're going to talk to a doctor who spent 10 hours with her tonight, and he says that he believes, in his expert opinion -- this is a man that was nominated for a Nobel Prize, by the way -- that she could be rehabilitated.

[...]

HANNITY: And coming up later in the program tonight, we're going to meet a doctor who actually spent 10 hours examining Terri Schiavo. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize. He believes that she could be rehabilitated.

[...]

HANNITY: You were nominated for a Nobel Prize in medicine?

HAMMESFAHR: Yes.

[...]

HANNITY: You were nominated to get a Nobel Peace Prize in this work. Are you saying that this woman could be rehabilitated?

[...]

HANNITY: How is it possible we're in this position if you have examined her? You were up for a Nobel Prize. This is mind boggling to me.

[...]

HANNITY: Well, this is what I want to understand. This is your area of expertise that got you nominated for one of the most prestigious awards in medicine, the Nobel Prize.

[...]

HANNITY: -- hang on a second -- and talk to a Nobel prize-nominated physician who spent 10 hours with her, who believes if, given the opportunity, he can rehabilitate her?

[...]

HANNITY: Imagine being in his position and having a guy like a Nobel Prize nominee like Dr. Hammesfahr, who I'm looking at right now, who spent 10 hours with her and feels that, given the chance, he could rehabilitate this girl.

From the March 21 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country:

SCARBOROUGH: And a Nobel Prize-nominated neurologist who has treated Terri Schiavo, he says Terri should live and that her husband is perpetrating a hoax that is just aimed at killing his wife.

[...]

SCARBOROUGH: And I'm going to be talking with a Nobel Prize-nominated neurologist who has treated Terri Schiavo and he says her husband is pulling a huge hoax simply to kill his wife.

[...]

SCARBOROUGH: Coming up: a Nobel Prize-nominated neurologist who is treating Terri Schiavo says her husband is pulling a hoax.

[...]

SCARBOROUGH: So, what is Terri Schiavo's true medical condition? Here to help us sort it out is Dr. William Hammesfahr. He's a neurologist who was nominated for a Nobel Prize for his work in medicine. And he's one of the doctors who has treated Terri Schiavo.

* Correction: In this item, Media Matters previously wrote that the Florida Board of Medicine disciplined Hammesfahr in 2003. We have subsequently learned that the board's action was reversed on appeal in 2004 by the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal. We regret the error.

[bjs1779]

He was NEVER a nominee; the Nobel Prize Committee has sent him a letter asking him to STOP telling people that.

You said he said he won the Nobel Prize. He never said that. Now you change the subject. Whatever. Show us the letter you speak of.

[Howlin]

You said he said he won the Nobel Prize.

I misspoke.

He never said that.

He said he was a nominee. Testified to it.

Now you change the subject.

No, it's you who is ignoring facts right in front of your face.

[Trinity_Tx]

Forget "Facts Don't Matter". That was always only half the story, revised as it was.

Truth is, it was *lies* that didn't matter, and obviously still don't.

Not as long as they're the lies of the right "side", anyway.

Any other subject, and Hammesfahr and these lies would be rightly reviled by freepers. Such hypocrisy is disgusting to those of us who used to expect credibility to count here.

Oh well... World Nut Daily has an even more absurd article out. I came here to see if it was posted, and how y'all who remain here were doing. I'm impressed, as usual. :)

[bjs1779]

No, it's you who is ignoring facts right in front of your face.

I am sorry, but you did not put one fact in my face yet.

[Howlin]

The Nobel site has a searchable database for its nominees, and the doctor is NOT in it.

http://nobelprize.org/medicine/nomination/database.html

[bjs1779]

The Nobel site has a searchable database for its nominees, and the doctor is NOT in it.

Howlin, please calm down. You sent me to a link that only has nominees for:

"The Nomination Database for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1901-1949"

[Dave S]

Can someone refrsh my memory as to what year the balloon tape was made? It's obvious she had some sight at that point in time.

The tape you saw was a few minutes in length. It came from four hours of recordings that were never released because they show that Terri was not tracking the ballon as her parents moved it about. If anything, her parents were following Terri's eyes and moving the ballon to make it appear that Terri was tracking it with her eyes. Dont know if it was conscious or unconsicous but given some of the lies that they have spoken, I tend to think they would falsify the tape to keep their daughter alive.

[Howlin]

About the Schiavo "Nobel Prize Nominated" Doctor
Amended 23 March. NewsMax reports that Dr. William Hammesfahr "believes that Terri Schiavo can recover with proper treatment." NewsMax -- along with FOX, MSNBC, the National Review and Dr. Hammesfahr's website -- indicates that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1999.

From Nobel Prize FAQ (emphasis added):

3. Has X been nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize, or where do I find a list of Nobel Prize nominees?

According to the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, information about the nominations is not to be disclosed, publicly or privately, for a period of fifty years. The restriction not only concerns the nominees and nominators, but also investigations and opinions in the awarding of a prize. Nomination information older than fifty years is public.

So, if he had been truly nominated -- he would be violating fundamental Nobel Foundation principles to say that. The 50 year vow of silence is up in 2049. But wait. There's more.

The Tampa Tribune reported in 2003 that the Nobel Prize nomination was a letter written by Hammesfahr's Congressman to the Nobel committee.

The Nobel Prize website articulates the nomination procedure: a letter from a Congressman isn't on the list. Does the Nobel Committee consider these "informal" nominations? In a word: no. (and a nod to News Hounds)

The Florida court found Hammesfahr's 2002 testimony in the Schiavo case to be anecdotal. A quick review of the handful of published research on his web site makes that judgment abundantly clear. It reminds me of the "doctor-by-mail-order" materials that land by the truckload in my parents' mailbox each month.

Censured by Florida Board of Medicine
In 2003, the Florida Board of Medicine fined him $2,000 for billing a patient for services not received, forced him to pay $52,000 in court costs, and directed him to perform 100 hours of community service. (cite - pdf) The Board of Medicine also

ruled that Hammesfahr's treatment of stroke patients, using a procedure he has claimed could help Terri Schiavo, was "not within the generally accepted standard of care" (Finding of Fact No. 55, PDF p. 33), it declined to rule that the treatment was harmful to his patients and noted that some patients improved after treatment. (cite)

In March 2004, an appeals court determined that Hammesfahr did charge a patient $3,000 for three days of services; however, the patient received only two days of services. The appeals court reversed the fine:

The record contains competent, substantial evidence to support the Board’s finding that the patient enrolled in a $3000 treatment program but only received a $2000 treatment program. However, the record does not contain clear and convincing evidence to support the Board’s conclusion that the overcharge was the result of exploitation for financial gain under section 458.331(1)(n)... At best, the facts in this case provide a basis for a civil contract dispute between the parties.

[Dave S]

When asked in court to provide evidence of his assertion that he's cured people like Terri, he couldn't do it.

Dr H is probably the prime reason that the Schindlers lost in Judge Greer's court. Schindlers went out and hired a quack for their expert witness. If they had gotten the guy from the Mayo Clinic for their expert early on, they may have done better in their case.

[bjs1779]

Show me a conviction on anything he did. It is just that simple.

[Howlin]

I didn't say he was convicted of anything; I posted the facts of his case right there.

I said he was never nominated for the Nobel Prize, and he wasn't.

If you want to cite a quack, go right ahead.

[unbalanced but fair]

Show me a conviction on anything he did....

So as far as you're concerned; as long as a doctor isn't convicted of something, he is acceptable to you?

[Dave S]

What did he say that wasnt fact and what is YOUR proof for that other than you despearately want to belief the doctor?

[Howlin]

The only award this guy’s ever gotten is to be listed on medical quackery websites (like www.quackwatch.com).

[unbalanced but fair]

Oh, and how about the fact that the only medical journal{and I use that term loosely} that he's ever published anything in is one that he owns. Lol!
People just don't get it, or want to get it.