Columnist Attacks Terri Schiavo Supporters

The St. Petersburg Times ^ | September 28, 2003 | Mary Jo Melone

[amdgmary]

A columnist for the St. Petersburg Times, Mary Jo Melone, wrote a hateful article on people who support Terri Schiavo's case. Ms. Melone has attacked Terri Schiavo's parents in the last 3 articles she has writting on Terri. I urge you to respond to Mary Jo by sending her an e-mail at mjmelone@sptimes.com.

[amdgmary]

A columnist for the St. Petersburg Times, Mary Jo Melone, wrote a hateful article on people who support Terri Schiavo's case. Ms. Melone has attacked Terri Schiavo's parents in the last 3 articles she has writting on Terri. I urge you to respond to Mary Jo by sending her an e-mail at mjmelone@sptimes.com.

[TheAngryClam]

Maybe we should see this column and decide for ourselves before just randomly emailing in rage about an article we haven't read.

[NautiNurse]

As Schiavo debate rages, others play their hands

MELONE

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By MARY JO MELONE, Times Staff Writer
Published September 28, 2003

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Death hovers like a bird over Florence Lessac, waiting to land on the St. Petersburg woman's shoulder.

She is 90 years old. Already, she has begun to go through her possessions, sorting out what should be saved, what should be tossed when she's gone.

Already, she has planned for her cremation. She has her living will, wants no special measures used to keep her alive.

The nearness of her own death has led Lessac to pay close attention to the Terri Schiavo case.

"Those parents are crazy," Lessac said. "And I'm Catholic. I'm for life."

I wrote again about this melodrama last Thursday. With another order to remove Schiavo's feeding tube pending, I described how death would occur. Medical experts told me that denying food and water is a common and painless way to die.

I struck quite a nerve. The proof was in the deluge of phone messages and e-mail.

I expected to hear from the well-organized army of supporters of Schiavo's parents, and I did.

The most thoughtful comment came from Dr. Diane Gowski of Clearwater, who said that because Schiavo is not terminally ill, it would be immoral to deny her food and water. "I don't think you should end someone's life because she's severely disabled," Dr. Gowski said.

Other readers were off the wall. I was called an abortion fanatic, an atheist, a backer of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. Don't ask me to explain what Dean has to do with this.

Such is the tenor of the save-Terri campaign.

On a Web site dedicated to her, you can find court records and other information. There is a report of a bone scan that the lawyer for Schiavo's parents uses to claim Schiavo was asswebfeedalso affidavits from a few nursing assistants who cared for Schiavo who said her husband purposely mistreated her or withheld treatment.

Read those things and you get the impression they're facts. Nowhere does it say the state judge in the case agreed with the testimony of doctors for Schiavo's husband. The doctors said the bone breaks were the result of Schiavo being immobile for so long.

Nowhere does it say that when Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe and Pinellas Sheriff Everett Rice were asked to investigate, they declined. They told me last week they saw no evidence of a crime. Even if there had been evidence, the statute of limitations passed long ago.

Are Rice and McCabe part of the conspiracy, too?

Yeah.

So is Howard Dean.

The court case is about to move to a new arena. The lawyer for Schiavo's parents, Pat Anderson, has sued in federal court. She had no choice. There is no place left in state court. She has lost there four times.

You can see this thing stretching into perpetuity - political perpetuity.

Gov. Jeb Bush already has asked that a guardian other than her husband be named for Terri Schiavo. The judge, Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer - who has had this case since its beginning - wisely said no.

The federal judge now involved, U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara, invited state Attorney General Charlie Crist to participate because Schiavo's parents are challenging the constitutionality of the state law covering the right to die.

I can't wait. There would be no better way for a man like Crist to play to religiously minded, conservative voters.

I heard from other people after that last column. They were not pushing politics, nor calling names. These people saw in Schiavo's story some of their own struggles - in which they finally ended medical treatment and nutrition for relatives, typically elderly parents, who were never going to get better, even in cases where there was no living will.

"My father had Alzheimer's and in 1991, unable to speak, one day simply refused food," wrote Jackie Owen of New Port Richey. She followed what she guessed were his wishes. "He died peacefully," she said.

- You can reach Mary Jo Melone at mjmelone@sptimes.com or 813 226-3402.

[tioga]

-only a sicko makes a career out of wishing a poor, innocent woman dead.

[EllaMinnow]

As soon as I saw the headline, I knew it had to be her. Mary Jo has never been right about anything in her life.

[trussell]

Place Marker

[trussell]

Hey all, thought you might be interested in seeing this.

[floriduh voter]

Thanks for the separate thread for newbies to Terri's fight. It's actually a plus to do letters to the editor of the St. Pete Times. The News Dept. recommended it and upon talking to staff after Melone's column re: Terri before this one, St. Pete Times staffers are horrified by what's happening to Terri. They want volume at the Editor's desk.

Maybe we can post that email address here? I don't have it.

[trussell]

The thread was posted by amdgmary. I only pinged you all to it so you could help with what is needed.

[floriduh voter]

News Dept. says please write Letters to the Editor. FR wrote half of Melone's column today. I never identify myself as from Free Republic unless I'm talking to national media who are on the conservative side.

What Melone is attempting to do is paint Terri's fight as a "religious right" crusade.

The truth be told that people who are supporting Terri and her family are from the medical field, law backgrounds, media, other areas including religious folks. They can't paint well over 40K people with a broad brush like Melone and hubby's attorney have done.

They wish we hadn't found out at all but then Judge Greer put Governor Bush's letter in the file. BIG MISTAKE... The red flag that Florida too note of.

Terri's other threads are very detailed in re: Judge Greer.

[floriduh voter]

We're just helping her write beyond her capabilities. The paper recommends writing Letters to the Editor instead - the more the merrier. St. Pete Times staffers are not with Melone on this one. In fact, one person I talked to doesn't ever read Melone's columns because she'd get migraines.

So, since Melone is getting paid to write her columns and I didn't get paid zip, she's getting nothing else from me. lol

[floriduh voter]

Correction: Melone gives one news staffer high blood pressure so they can't read her column.

Melone gives FV a headache.

[floriduh voter]

"I can't wait. There would be no better way for a man like Crist to play to religiously minded, conservative voters."

Terri's fight goes beyond religious or conservative voters. Melone's clueless that many people who are neither religious or conservative don't wish to be starved and dehydrated. Even logic tells us that something's terribly wrong with Florida exit protocols.

That's why email addresses for media, etc. are provided on Terri Schiavo's 2 huge threads at FR. I like to email creators.com (great way to email lots of columnists). Visit Terrisfight.org and worldnetdaily.com to read more.

It's been a flame-free weekend and I really enjoyed it.

[floriduh voter]

I saw it after the fact. Thanks anyway.

[trussell]

I hope that your being here will draw the others and will help get this problem the attention it needs.

[isrul]

According to Florida law it is a crime to conspire to assist a suicide. If you accept the husband's claim that Terri would want to be denied food when she is not terminally ill, then she is (by proxy) requesting that others assist her in committing suicide. I know this is a real stretch but wouldn't that make the husband, his attorney, the judge, and anyone else involved guilty of a felony?

[isrul]

Damn! I just found out Terri's attorney tried that track in the last appeal rejected by the Greer Reaper.

[kimmie7]

ping to #3 for more Mary Jo Melone drivel....

[sfRummygirl]

I sent a letter to the editor off from the other thread.
This melone woman is a real case.

[iowamomforfreedom]

Thanks for the ping, kimmie.

Here's what I e-mailed Letters to the Editor. I know they won't print it, but it felt good writing it anyway.

RE: As Schiavo Debate Rages, Others Play Their Hands by M.J. Melone

Perhaps Ms. Melone could explain to me what a 90 year old woman who has prepared for her own death, has a living will, is waiting for her "natural death" and can clearly state her wishes, has to do with a 39 year old disabled woman who has no way of communicating her own wishes, and who is about to be legally killed by her so-called "loving" husband? Has Ms. Lessac quit eating of her own accord so that she may die? If she is really ready to die, then why does she continue eating?

I really fail to see the connection.

Here are a few facts that Ms. Melone neglected to mention in her article:

FACT: Judge Greer believes that just because Terri's husband SAYS that Terri would not want to be kept alive artificially, that this is clear and convincing evidence that she wants to be starved and dehydrated.

FACT: Michael Schiavo stopped ALL therapy once he got his hands on the money from the malpractice lawsuit.

FACT: The money from the malpractice suit was awarded for TERRI'S medical care and rehabilitation. Yet the majority of it has been spent on Michael Schiavo's legal bills.

FACT: Judge Greer will not even allow a simple swallow test to see if she could eat by mouth, thereby eliminating any "artificial" means of "life support".

These are just a few of the facts Ms.Melone neglected to mention in her article. But the bottom line is this: if the Judge is wrong about his ruling, Terri is DEAD. There is no turning back. Most states require clear and convincing evidence before ending a person's life in these circumstances. Unfortunately, the laws of the state of Florida do not seem to require this safeguard. Perhaps the sane people of Florida will wake up to this fact and do something about it before they experience this horror for themselves. But personally, I have my doubts.

Ms. Melone's insinuation that Terri's parent's supporters are a bunch of political and religious radicals reveals Ms. Melone's own agenda. I support Terri's fight because I am convinced that to deny Terri the right to live, and a chance to pursue therapy, is a grievous denial of her most basic human rights. That's my agenda. Ms. Melone continues to sneer at those who simply want to to see justice done for Terri, filling her articles with political pot shots, half-truths, and malicious spin. Her feined words of compassion do not mask her elitist attitude that somehow Terri's disability makes her unworthy of living. I find Ms. Melone's articles offensive and dangerously misleading.