Update: Terri

March 22^nd Update:
Well, I was willing to give U.S. District Judge James Whittemore the benefit of the doubt, even knowing that he was a Clinton appointee. Yet, this morning's news leads me to believe that the out-of-control judicial system in this country will drag its feet until she expires.

The Schindlers are appealing.

In other news, yet again displaying what a class act he is, Michael Schiavo resorted to ad hominem attacks and grandstanding.

I hope the President does go to meet Terri.

And that's exactly what you're afraid of, aren't you, Michael? The subpoenas from Congress scared the hell out of you, didn't they?

A Higher Power knows what is really happening here. Justice does come, one way or another. Yours will be ethernal.

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Update: (6:03 p.m., EST) The hearing concluded without a ruling to insert Terri's feeding tube. Don't lose hope just yet. Although we want comfort, hydration and nutrition for Terri, a cursory search on the web indicates that U.S. District Judge James Whittemore may be the sort of justice who considers matters carefully. Keep up the prayers and phone calls. According to BlogsforTerri, she isn't doing very well.
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Even though I wasn't blogging this weekend, I was still keeping an eye on the progress of legislation that may yet serve to save Terri Schiavo. The weekend was spent monitoring various events that alternately had me clenching my fists and clasping my hands in fervent prayer to the Goddess: Please, please let this case be reviewed by independent parties. Please let them reinsert the tube until someone who has not been involved in the cast to date can SEE that Terri isn't in a PVS. C'mon Mighty Mother. I don't ask for much. PLEASE!

Let's -- as someone from Texas remarked -- err on the side of life.

The bill passed 203 to 58. The President signed it around 1:00 a.m., EST. The petition for intervention is in the hands of the federal judge. The hearing has been called for 3:00 p.m., EST.

There have been so many ups and downs in this case that I hesitate to guess what will happen next. The best-case scenario is that intervention will be ordered, and that Terri's feeding tube will be reinserted until the federal court's investigations can conclude.

Let me aska question: if Michael Schiavo is right, and she is in an irreversible PVS, what is the harm in taking a little more time and letting another court go over the evidence, order new tests, and reach that conclusion? If she is really unresponsive to external stimuli, and this is proved incontrovertibly through investigations ordered by a third party who is not suspected of conflict-of-interest, then what's the harm of wating for that validation?

There are too many unanswered questions in the case of Terri Schiavo -- too much suspicion of -- dare I say it -- a cover-up. President Bush gets it. He said, "In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life."

That's my $0.02 for now. Updates will pend upon developments.

Terri's going on 96 hours without water or nourishment. Let's pray that the federal judge works fast and in favor of life.

posted by Linda on March 21, 2005 05:40 PM