TERRI SCHINDLER SCHIAVO FEBRUARY DAILY THREAD 2005: TERRI IS OUR VALENTINE!

*Michael, HAVE A HEART !!!!!For Valentines Day give Terri back to her MOM & DAD, The Schindlers!!!!!!!!*

The Terri Schindler Schiavo Daily Threads are created month to month as we watch local and national news regarding Terri and her family.

Since Terri's supporters are in every time zone, you may see something FIRST. Please share news with us that you don't see here already. Now, why would you want to do that? Terri's Daily Thread for September/October of 2004 was viewed over 15,000 times. Terri's November Daily Thread was viewed over 6,000 times. December's thread is over 3,000 views. January 2005 Daily Thread was a RECORD HIGH!!!!!!! 15, 103 VIEWS!!!!!!

More and more good folks are finding out about Terri and that judicial tyranny would take her life, but for lots and lots of prayer and non-stop lobbying of relatives, friends, clergy, our leaders, the media, a passerby, a cashier - ANYONE who you feel comfortable chatting with.

Folks always want to know how can this be in America or on earth for that matter? Unfortunately, this is really happening to an innocent woman who just celebrated her 41st birthday. She's not the only one but she's the one with devoted parents and siblings who knows what's in Terri's heart. Terri has a strong will to live. That's apparent. It's been 14 years.

Besides, feeding tubes have been around practically since the Civil War. They are not high tech devices. Terri is "not hooked up to machines". Her feeding tube is the diameter of a piece of spaghetti.

Talkin' about Terri is the best way to lobby for her. It is a salespitch to save her life and subsequently, many lives. If you've never sold anything in your life, START NOW. START WITH TERRI.

See Terri's flash movies if you need more information. You can see for yourself that's she's interactive and follows the doctor's instructions.

NOTE: Terri's December Dailies are noted as a source above. There are lots of important links at the very top of that thread. If you missed Terri's Celebration of Life, you can click on it from there.

AGAIN WE HAVE A NEW RECORD: 15,103 views on the tote board for the Terri Schindler Schiavo January Daily Thread!

The most significant event in Terri's case in January, was the Supreme's Courts refusal to hear Governor Jeb Bush's appeal, after the Florida State Legislature struck down Terri's Law. This once again places Terri's life in extreme jeopardy, though there are other issues regarding her case before the court.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Psychiatric Expert Witness profiles Michael Schiavo

In response to several reader's emails asking if a psychiatrist had ever profiled Michael Schiavo's demeaner or possible psychiatric problems, I offer the following 2004 expert witness testimony. Mindful that this is an expert witness in behalf of the Schindler's position and therefore prejudicial to Michael's case. However, according to Dr. Lieberman's testimony, Michael's own psychiatrist warned the Schindlers to call the police.

--- "Michael has been under psychiatric care, including being prescribed several psychotropic medications. One of his treating therapists, Dr. Peter Kaplan, told Terri’s father that he should have called the police after Michael argued with Terri’s sister, Susanne, and Michael tried to attack her. This occurred right after Terri’s collapse, when they were all in a house together. Terri’s father told Susanne to lock her door and keep a hammer nearby."

--- "Michael fits the profile of an abusive husband. He should most definitely be investigated as the perpetrator of the ‘incident’ that caused Terri’s collapse and her current condition."

Testimony of Carole Lieberman, M.D., M.P.H., Psychiatrist/Expert Witness
Diplomat, American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
Clinical Faculty, UCLA Department of Psychiatry
247 South Beverly Drive, Suite 202
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

July 12, 2004

Preliminary Thoughts On How Terri Schiavo's Husband, Michael, Fits The Profile Of A Wife Abuser.

Based upon my interviews of Terri’s father, Robert Schindler, and my research into media accounts of her case, I can provide the following preliminary opinions at this time:

--As the author of the book, Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live with Them and When to Leave Them, I have studied men who exhibit pathology in their relationships with women. Profiles of the twelve different types of bad boys are explained. Michael Schiavo fits the profile, described in the book as the Prince of Darkness (see chapter 13). O.J. Simpson was cited as a classic example of this type, and there are indeed similarities between the two men. It is especially significant to note that O.J. flew into a homicidal rage when he realized that Nicole was totally abandoning him, as is characteristic of these impulsive men who most dread being abandoned by their woman. Similarly, Michael Schiavo was likely to have known that Terri had begun making plans to divorce him, since she had told a coworker and family member. Stalking is characteristic of this type of man, as well. And a girlfriend of Michael’s, Cindy, accused him of stalking her in 2001.

--Terri’s personality fits that of a woman who would have been attracted (and attractive) to such a man. She was a loner as a child. In high school she was overweight and not popular with boys. She had low self-esteem. She was extremely compassionate, nurturing and subservient. They met when Terri was 20 years old, and married by the time she was 21. Such whirlwind courtships are typical of these men, who are able to spot a vulnerable woman they can dominate, and eager to seal her commitment to him.

Terri was frightened to object to Michael’s pathologically controlling behavior. For example, he would monitor her odometer to control where she went. He tried to isolate her from her friends and family. She had to account for every penny, though they often lived on her income, since he would be fired, sometimes only after two weeks. He would splurge on $400 suits for himself, while she had to economize. He called her at work 3-4 times a day, often complaining of hating his job because no one appreciated him. He was often observed scolding her.

--Terri’s family observed black and blue marks on her before the incident that plunged her into her current state. Medical records and/or experts have revealed that her neck injury was consistent with strangulation. A bone scan revealed multiple fractures occurring within 1-2 months before or after the incident, which has been described as equivalent to her being “hit by a mack truck”. Michael has given three different explanations of how he found Terri after the incident.

--Michael has had Terri’s jewelry re-set into a ring for himself. Terri had two beloved cats that she adopted from an animal shelter, where they’d landed after being mistreated. When he moved in with his girlfriend, Cindy, he had Terri’s cats euthanized. Psychologically, this is symbolic of what he is trying to do now to Terri.

--Michael has been under psychiatric care, including being prescribed several psychotropic medications. One of his treating therapists, Dr. Peter Kaplan, told Terri’s father that he should have called the police after Michael argued with Terri’s sister, Susanne, and Michael tried to attack her. This occurred right after Terri’s collapse, when they were all in a house together. Terri’s father told Susanne to lock her door and keep a hammer nearby.

--As a psychiatric expert witness, I have had experience performing psychiatric examinations of men like Michael Schiavo, and testifying in court about similar cases. The above is simply meant to illustrate some of the indications that Michael fits the profile of an abusive husband. He should most definitely be investigated as the perpetrator of the ‘incident’ that caused Terri’s collapse and her current condition. If Terri were to be allowed to die, as Michael has been desperately struggling to achieve for years, it could help him escape detection. This would be a grave miscarriage of justice.

For more information, you may contact Dr. Carole Lieberman at (310) 456-2458 or via email at drcarole@drcarole.com.

http://hyscience.typepad.com/hyscience/2005/02/_2004_psychiatr.html

" As stated previously, this is the only bill filed. There will be no other chances. This bill may not be tailored to Terri Schiavo, but there are no others addressing withdrawal of nurtition and hydration.

There will be others. That's why it's so important for things not to go wrong with this legislation.

You miss my point, Wampus. Terri's options are nearly exhausted. If this bill is not supported by Floridians, the lawmakers will not give it consideration. Session ends. No new bill till next year. By then, it is too late.
Florida has a part time legislature.

I have seen some internet blogs opposed to Terri's right to live claiming this bill as Terri's bill II. It is not. This is a bill for all Floridians.

Many lawmakers do not want anything to do with a bill that has Terri's name attached. We spent months talking to these reps.

We must remember that we are supporting the Bill to protect all incapacitated persons. There are many legislators that will stand in the way of any bill that they think is for Terri and some are still smarting after Terri's Law. We know that we are trying to save Terri, but it would be best if we leave Terri's name out of our letters and calls to the legislators. Tell your reps things like: I want you to support HB 107 to protect incapacitated people.

This issue is way larger than Terri.

Florida folks need to PHONE, E-MAIL and FAX members of the Florida House and Florida Senate in support of this bill, 701. And do it repeatedly.

As a final note, the law defining PVS in this state and ethics committees have been in place for years. This bill will not change these issues, nor can we expect it to. That must come from the professions involved. The goal is to protect the incapacitated, such as Terri.

Anybody who thinks they can make demands for major changes of this bill at this juncture, or tweak it for Terri, is not looking realistically at the problems we currently have, how we arrived here, and who and what can be done for change.

Ron Panzer, president of Hospice Patients Alliance wrote the following article in 2002. Panzer wrote that Hospice regularly admits patients who are not terminally ill into their facilities to get Medicade funding. Terri is not terminally ill. She's disabled. Hospice requires that a patient be certified as terminally ill and have a life expectancy of 6 months or less. Terri has been living in Woodside Hospice for 4 years.

http://www.hospicepatients.org/terri-schiavo-10-12-02-press-rel.html

Hospice Patients Alliance Blasts Hospice Agencies
That Terrorize the Chronically Disabled

by Ron Panzer, President HPA

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - October 15, 2002 - Terri Schiavo currently is being held in a Pinellas County Florida hospice that is not licensed to provide care for the chronically ill.

Terri Schiavo is a non-terminal disabled patient with brain damage. Terri's own treating physician, Dr. Vincent Gambone, testified before the court,saying "her condition is one that there is no recovery. The damage that is done to the brain is not repairable."1 However, the chronically disabled are by definition not going to recover completely. These are not terminal patients, and the disabled can live many years so long as they are not intentionally killed.

Terrorizing the Disabled in America

The practice of enrolling chronically disabled patients into hospice endangers all disabled citizens of the United States and directly violates their Constitutional rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The disabled are not so much afraid of getting anthrax or being shot; they are afraid that society will toss them away like a used tissue and kill them. The disabled are terrorized by those holier-than-thou self-proclaimed bioethicists who have no morality and no sense of humanity and proclaim, like Adolf Hitler, that the disabled are "better off dead."

Adolf Hitler summarily executed the mentally ill and developmentally disabled "for the greater good of society." The utilitarian philosophy which promotes the killing of patients in order to save health care resources for others has plunged the US health care system to a depth which calls for shame and disgust. If hospice is to become a killing center for the disabled, then hospice agencies that do so are no different from the gas chambers in Nazi Germany.

Hospice that enrolls Non-Terminal Patients Commits Fraud

The United States Office of Inspector General has issued its warning to the public about questionable hospice agency practices and stated that some hospices have been found to engage in, "practices which ... have inappropriately maximized their Medicare reimbursements at beneficiary expense. These practices include: Making incorrect determinations of a person's life expectancy for purposes of meeting hospice eligibility criteria." A hospice that bills Medicare, Medicaid or a private insurer for a non-terminal patient is violating the contracts which allow hospices to provide services for the terminally ill.

Hospices are not licensed to care for the chronically ill. In order for a patient to be admitted to hospice, the physician must "certify" that the patient is likely to die within six months due to a terminal illness. Terri Schiavo has no terminal illness; the only cause of death in her case would be her intentional murder by those intent on ending her life.

Original Hospice Mission Violated

The original hospice mission is to care for, support and manage the symptoms of the terminally ill until a death occurs in its own natural timing. Every hospice nurse and physician knows that hospice is supposed to neither hasten death nor seek to cure the terminal illness. Hastening the death of a patient goes against everything hospice stands for.

Although Terri Schiavo's case will be decided in a Pinellas County courthouse, any hospice that accepts a chronically ill patient has violated not only the spirit of hospice and the mission of hospice, but the federal regulations governing hospice4

Hospice Organization Remains Silent on Euthanasia Case

It is mind-boggling that the national organizations promoting hospice in this country have remained silent about Terri Schiavo's case, the stream of intentional killings in hospices across our nation and the killings going on in Oregon. Anyone who is informed about the killings in Oregon know that the state of Oregon is NOT reporting the full truth about the cases and that there are cases which are not even recorded by the state.

Hospice lobbying groups like the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the state hospice associations need to act immediately to preserve the hospice mission before hospice practice descends into the gutter and hospice becomes synonymous with "house-of-murder." It is common knowledge among the public that some hospices routinely kill their patients with overdosages of morphine and sedatives before the patient dies a natural death from the terminal illness.

These national groups need to take a stand for morality, ethics and compassion. They loudly proclaim that hospice is "compassion and caring for the dying," but killing the disabled is the furthest thing from "compassionate" or "caring." They do nothing when non-terminal patients are threatened by those who wish to kill them in a hospice. Hospice staff throughout the nation eagerly learn how to terminally sedate patients and then end patient's lives (through dehydration and circulatory collapse) when they have no medical need for sedation.5 Many physicians are more than willing to end the lives of their patients. (See 6, and 7. And approximately 50 per cent of physicians in our nation approve of physician-assisted suicide8!)

In many so-called physician-assisted suicide cases, the patient cannot take the medication themselves, so the patient is actually euthanized, i.e., killed outright by the physician or nurse. That is the reality! Let's get real here! If you or your loved one are disabled, you will need to beware of your physician's attitudes about euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Terri Schiavo's case has gained national attention, but it is far from unique!

The hospice industry as a whole, each hospice agency, the physicians, nurses and the courts need to remember that the United States is a nation founded with the belief that all are created equal. "Equal" in this sense means that each citizen deserves equal rights under the law. Executing the disabled, such as Terri Schiavo, is the violation of all the rights guaranteed to the disabled Terri Schiavo, as an American citizen; it is a violation of everything America stands for. Hospice is about allowing a natural death in its own time, not hastening the death of a patient who is not terminal and responds to family. If euthanasia is allowed into hospice, then the wonderful service we know as hospice will cease to exist. If the courts allow the killing of Terri Schiavo, we will have already slid down the slippery slope. God help our nation if we do!

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