Theresa Marie Schindler-Schiavo Has Died

Terri Schiavo died this morning around 9:05 a.m., Schindler family attorney, David Gibbs reported.

Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to Terri's parents and family. Her father, mother, brother and sister are in our thoughts and prayers. News reports say that her family was denied access to her in her final moments. Nevertheless, it is our hope that perhaps in time, her loved ones can take some comfort in the thought that she is forever beyond the reach of harm now.

Civilization Calls will not update for several days as a token of the grief we feel for this tragedy. Comments will be disabled. I hope that my regular readers will join me in a moment of silence for Terri and for the Schindlers.

They who have gone ahead are not lost.

Thoughts on Terri

Terri is entering her 12^th day without food or water, and is still alive. This is a testment to an incredible will to live -- claims to the contrary aside.

It's also proof, to those who are thinking, that she was not on life support beyond the feeding tube.

She is breathing and functioning on her own, even twelve days into her execution by privation.

If she had still been on other life support -- as some continue to insist, she would already have expired.

I still maintain that brain function aside, the death she is being subjected to is cruel and wrong.

There is no consensus in terms of her brain function. Some say she has no higher function at all. Others insist that she does. I would have preferred error on the side of mercy.

I also believe that whereas the letter of the law has been observed in this case, the spirit of justice has been gravely wounded.

I am pleased to see that there will be an autopsy. Some questions may be answered. I hate the fact that it's even necessary.

DeLay and Schiavo = no parallel. Sen. DeLay's father was hooked to respirators. His body couldn't maintain metabolism without them. His kidneys had shut down. Terri, on the other hand, was in perfect health until the courts ordered her starvation unto death. All she needed was the g-tube for liquids and for nutrition. Arguments exist that with proper rehabilitation, she wouldn't even have needed that.

I am still enraged that anyone could be treated in this manner. It is wrong. It is abusive. It is inhumane. It is barbaric.

My protests are logged. Every legislator I can think of has received missives from me to that effect. This blog has served as a further outlet for my outrage.

I shall continue to fight even after poor Terri is gone. I shall fight to overhaul the legal system. I shall fight to make sure that laws are in place to protect the voiceless disabled. I shall fight to make sure that EXPLICIT directives rather than hearsay testimony are honored.

I'll fight to make sure that the inherent rights bestowed upon the living by Nature and Nature's God are upheld.

Mr. Schindler: Terri Down to Her Last Hours

The report is here.

This entry will stay on top, to be updated as events unfold.

A Facet of the Story Left Untouched by the Media.

Meditate on the beauty and power of this.

And whatever God you call to, whatever theology you subscribe to: pray.

It is Ostara, and Easter weekend. For the Christians, it's Good Friday. For people of my faith, it is the season of renewal.

Hot off the US Newswire

Coalition Reiterates Call for Bush Brothers to Put Terri Schiavo Under Protective Custody

Kevorkian Prosecutor Reaffirms Governor's Authority Under State Criminal Laws to Prevent Death of Terri Schiavo

DeLay, Sensenbrenner Statement on Supreme Court Ruling

Christian Medical Association Doctor: Terri Schiavo Can Swallow, Making It Murder to Withhold Nutrition

Supreme Court Summarily Refuses to Hear Terri's Case

I'm sure anyone who has been following events to date know that the US Supreme Court unanimously declined to hear Terri's case.

Governor Jeb Bush is now trying legal avenues to take custody of Terri. Unfortunately, this request goes before Judge Greer, who quite recently blocked the DCF from performing its chartered duty to investigate the allegations of abuse and neglect surrounding her.

I wrote another letter this morning. I'm pasting it below, for posterity. Click to expand this entry, if you're interested.

March 24, 2005

Dear Governor Bush,

Your family is known for its incredible leadership skills. Your
tenure as Governor of Florida is a long and celebrated one.

Thank you for standing up in favor of presumption for life, especially
in the Terri Schiavo case.

Yet, sir, strong words and conviction mean nothing if a man does not
have the strength to back up his stance with action. You have been
trying to fight an ethical legal battle, but you are faced by
opponents whose morals and ethics are questionable, to say the least.

How is it that a simple probate judge can get away with defying you
and the United States Congress? Judge George Greer consistently and publicly thumbs his nose at lawful due process attempts in the case of Terri Schiavo.

One might almost believe that by not only ordering the removal of her
g-tube, but also by ordering that per os nourishment is to be denied
her, he really does want to see this disabled American die. To use an
analogy, it is like placing someone in a vacuum after strapping a
pillow over their mouth and nose -- death is premeditatively assured.

Sir, the United States Congress has issued a subpoena, wherein Mrs.
Schiavo is ordered to appear before a House subcommittee. That
subpoena clearly stated that in no way was she to be prevented from
making her appearance -- this includes threats to her life, which is
most assuredly in danger as I write.

Additionally, the Department of Children and Families of the State of
Florida has been summarily barred from performing its chartered task
in the case of Terri Schiavo -- all by Judge George Greer. I have
read that he has issued a restraining order, no less!

Governor Bush, this man is an egregious example of runaway judiciary. It is an outrage, and it should not be allowed to perpetuate.

I urge you to exercise your powers and perform your constitutional
duty as Governor of the State of Florida, and order the extraction of
Terri Schiavo to protective custody. I also urge you to order the
arrest of Judge George Greer for his deplorable contempt for Congress.

I trust that a full and independent investigation may yet show that
Judge George Greer is guilty of abominable conflicts of interest and
prejudice in the Terri Schiavo case.

I look forward to observing your decisive actions in Florida today.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
Linda [Last Name Withheld from Blog Post]
US Citizen
Colorado

Florida Senate Votes down Bill Designed to Save Terri.

It was defeated 21-18. How can these people look in the mirror? Even Europeans in euthanasia-legal countries question this case.

The Schindlers are running out of options. The next stop is the Supreme Court of the United States.

Continued updates as events unfold.

To My Brother and Sister Pagans:

Before I get to my invitation to other Practitioners of the Craft, I just want to note that it occurs to me that we've gone about this all wrong. If Republicans and social libertarians merely said, "Terri who?" the Left would have been all over this, and the hue and cry over how heartless "Repugs" are would have reached an all-new decibel level of shrill.

But because it seems to be mainly conservative types who are championing Terri's right to live, there must be something political, something suspect, and wrong about it.

Never mind that life is sacred. Never mind that all we have is Michael Schiavo's hearsay testimony that Terri "once said" something to him, in passing, at the end of watching a movie that she wouldn't want to be a burden. Never mind that there is an incredible amount of information out there suggesting that ending Terri's life isn't what she really wants or deserves, and that Terri isn't as nonfunctional as the public has been led to believe.

I am outraged by the cozening suggestions that starvation is "painless and peaceful". I'm left nonplussed by the backseat manner of the Schiavo side of the coin, "No, really, it's OK. Just trust me. Relax."

Then I am deeply touched by the Schindler's ongoing fight to save their child. I look over at my child, and hope that if -- Gods forbid -- something so evil were to happen to her, that there would be people of good heart to stand up and join my fight to keep her alive. But then, my husband I would handle any injury to our daughter differently.

I'm a practicing Pagan writing this, so don't accuse me of overweening Christianity.

Now, on to my invitation to Brothers and Sisters of Good Heart: The moon is waxing full. Depending upon how you guage the advent, the season of Ostara is upon us. I ask other Pagans who may come upon these words to join in Rites inviting the visitation of appropriate justice, and for the Rule of Three to assert itself with alacrity. Invoke Wisdom. Invoke protection for the weak. Ask the Macha Ruadh to deliver justice to evildoers everywhere.

Do not direct your energies to individuals. Let the Universe sort out who is right and who is wrong. Harm none through deed or intent. Merely invite the Universe to restore balance. People will reap what they have sown. We'll just be inviting vested energies to return threefold, in accordance with what is in the heart.

Then we'll see who thrives and who...doesn't.

Talking Her to Death

Well, the 11^th Circuit of Appeals voted 2-1 to continue killing Terri. Her feeding tube is still withheld. Judge Greer ordered that she cannot receive any sustenance per os (by mouth), so yes; she's being starved to death while American judges worry less about integrity than they do questionable rules of law.

What needs to happen is the reinsertion of the feeding tube while a new investigation probes her abilities and the assertations of wrongdoing surrounding this case.

Congress needs to grow a pair and back up their subpoenas with arrests for Greer, Michael Schiavo, and George Felos for contempt and for impeding a Congressional investigation. (YES, children, they DO have the right to do that.) Terri Schiavo needs to be taken into Federal protective custody, and her life preserved while the three men listed above answer some very hard questions.

I call for probing of their finances, their relationship, and the interleaving thereof through sundry peripheral individuals. I want Terri reassessed, and I want to see more than one inconclusive slice of CT scan. I know just enough -- and Code Blue Blog seems to agree (with an excellent analysis, IMO) -- to recognize that Terri's brain is anything BUT liquified. Following my father-in-law's stroke, I learned that CT scans are imprecise and scarcely considered conclusive by responsible medical professionals. I want this woman to receive an MRI. I want NEW doctors -- previously uninvolved doctors -- brought in who will assess her condition free of the politics of her case, and free from pressure from Right-to-Death and Right-to-Life groups.

I call for the American people to rise up with one voice, declaring this outrage for the premeditated homicide it is. I call upon the Representatives of the We the People of these United States to do the bidding of the majority and save the life of Teresa Schindler-Schiavo in order to answer these questions.

Family matters are not private when we see abuse occurring in broad daylight. I would get involved at the sight of a man abusing his girlfriend in public. I get involved when someone is trying to commit rape or murder. My deepest heart and sense of justice tells me that I am right to be involved in writing about and supporting Terri and her parents -- every instinct I possess screams that homicide is occurring before my very eyes.

Terri Schiavo has been supported by the Medicare/Medicaid system. Those are my dollars, and yours. The moment that her care began to be funded in this manner, We the People gained the right to ask hard questions about the care -- or lack thereof -- that she has received.

Let there be an accounting. Let it begin immediately.

And if lawyers and judges allow her to die without her day in Federal court, then let us act to make sure that the defenseless are never again murdered -- yes, MURDERED -- by runaway judicial processes. Let us continue to fight to enact laws that will protect the lives of people who HAVE NOT prepared EXPLICIT and WRITTEN directives for their medical care. Let us fight for the Rights given us all by Nature's God: LIFE, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Terri's Law is Constitutional

Article 3 of the Constitution of the United States of America:

Section 1.

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section 2.

The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another State;--between Citizens of different States;--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section 3.

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

From Findlaw.

Terri Reportedly Fading

Heard over the FoxNews feed on satellite radio a short while ago: Terri is reportedly fading.* I am trying to find collaboration to this report.

Don't give up the fight!
And pray. That most of all.

Civilization Calls will continue to post updates as details become known and verified.
_________________________________________________________
2:00, MST:
The indication that Terri is fading comes from Attorney David Gibbs' communication with the Appeals Court in Atlanta.

Outrage doesn't begin to express my feeling toward the continued abuse of this woman. All I can say is that this is an act to be proud of.

This woman, Lana Jacobs, knows the difference between right and wrong.
_________________________________________________________

*Hat tip: The Nerdy Conservative

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.

________________________________
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.
__________________________
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.

Couey Admits to Taking Jessica Lunsford's Life

On FoxNews:
"Couey Confesses to Killing Jessica Lunsford".

Gods rest her soul. Please join me in a prayer for her, for her family, and for justice. I haven't words to express my sorrow and rage.

I'm so sorry, Mr. Lunsford and Ms. Bryant.

BREAKING NEWS: House Government Reform Committee Issues Subpoenas in Schiavo Case

Per Fox News:

FOX News has learned that the counsel for the House Government Reform Committee issued subpoenas to Schiavo herself, her husband, Michael, the hospice administrator and two of the patient's attending physician. FOX News has obtained copies of the subpoenas, which direct the recipients to appear at the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast in Pinellas Park, on Friday, March 25 at 10 a.m. EST.

In addition to the testimony, the subpoenas require that Schiavo's feeding tube remain, stating, "No things including those things reflecting data, information, or records called for by this request shall be destroyed, modified, transferred, disconnected, discontinued, or otherwise made inaccessible to the Committee."

Further, it reads: "This request is continuing in nature and applies to any newly deployed things required for the continued hydration and nutrition of Theresa Schiavo."

"This inquiry should give hope to Terri, her parents and friends and the millions of people throughout the world who are praying for her safety," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis said in a joint statement. "This fight is not over."

I'll post more details as I learn of them. The bottom line is that, as a federal witness, Terri is protected until the hearing can convene, and investigation and review is complete.

If you're a praying person, give thanks. I am.

UPDATE: At this point, most of you are aware that Greer has decided to disregard the call of the House Government Reform Committee, and less than an hour after a stay was ordered, reinstated his orders to have Terri's feeding tube removed.

This post at BlogsforTerri reports that Attorney Barbara Weller told Terri what was going on, and that Terri began to cry. She was inconsolable.

This is interesting, Judge Greer. People in a PVS do not respond to external stimuli. Terri just responded to the news of impending starvation by your order. Do you, Attorney George Felos, and Michael Schiavo have a blithe response to that, or are you still determined to see her dead?

UPDATE #2: Fox has a "Breaking News" headline up: Terri's tube has been removed. A murder is occurring before our very eyes. Think about that. If she cried becaue she was told that her tube was going to be removed, what makes you think that she cannot feel the agony of starvation?

Burn up those phones, now.

Action Items this Morning

I know I'm not the only person beating their head against the monitor this morning.

The US Senate did the right thing, yesterday, but they passed a different bill. That means that their version has to go back to the US House of Representatives, and that the House has to make the wording of their bill match that of the Senate.

Additionally, in a preliminary vote, the Florida Senate failed to pass the bill that the Florida House voted favorably on.

As I type this, it is 11:05 a.m., Eastern Time. There are less than two hours to act before Judge Greer's orders are carried out.

Here's what we need to do:

1. Contact the three key leaders of the US House of Representatives and urge them to pass the Senate's version of the bill immediately. Here is their contact info:

Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI)
Office: 202-225-5101
Fax: 202-225-3190

Representative J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
Office: 202-225-2976
Fax: 202-225-0697

Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX)
Office: 202-225-5951
Fax: 202-225-5241

2. The main vote for the bill to save Terri will happen in the Florida Senate today. Contact the following and urge them to support the legislation:

Larcenia J. Bullard
850-487-5127 (Tallahassee)
305-668-7344 (District Office)

Lisa Carlton
850-487-5081 (Tallahassee)
941-486-2032 (District Office)

Evelyn J. Lynn
850-487-5033 (Tallahassee)
386-676-4000 (District Office)

Burt L. Saunders
850-487-5124 (Tallahassee)
239-417-6220 (District Office)

Les Miller, Jr.
850-487-5059 (Tallahassee)
813-272-2831 (District Office)

Anthony C. Hill, Sr.
850-487-5024 (Tallahassee)
904-924-1646 (District Office)

Phone calls have the most effect: remember to be clear, courteous, and to-the-point. If you prefer to write, RightMarch.com has a form you can fill out, here.

Hope is not lost. Burn up the phones, and flood the inboxes. Florida and the US Congress need to know that the starvation of American's incapacitated will not be tolerated.

Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act May Stall in Senate

After all the admirable work put forth by the US House in favor of the "Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act", it may stall in Senate. HR1151 was unanimously voted in by the House of Representatives last night. As of now, the bill, now designated as S. 539 hass merely been read for the second time, and is "on the calendar" in Senate.

Get in contact with your state Senators and urge them to get this on the fast track. Go here, and use the dropdown button to locate your state's Senators. Call them today.

(I've been calling and emailing for weeks. Come on -- the people answering the phones are usually really nice. Be kind and courteous when you call, state your case, and wish them a nice day -- you'll hear the startled smile in their voice.)

Now move.

The Case for Fairness

Andrew C. McCarthy writes:

"A few months back, I wrote an article for Commentary arguing that we ought to reconsider our anti-torture laws. The argument wasn’t novel. It echoed contentions that had been made with great persuasive force by Harvard’s Professor Alan Dershowitz: that under circumstances of imminent harm to thousands of moral innocents (the so-called “ticking bomb” scenario), it would be appropriate to inflict, under court-supervision, intense but non-lethal pain in an effort to wring information from a morally culpable person — a terrorist known to be complicit in the plot.

As one might predict with such a third rail, my mail was copious and indignant. Opening the door by even a sliver for torture, I was admonished, was the most reprehensible of slippery slopes. No matter how well-intentioned was the idea, no matter the lives that might be saved, no matter how certain we might be about the guilt of the detainee, the very thought that such a thing might be legal would render us no better than the savages we were fighting.

Well, lo and behold, a court-ordered torture is set to begin in Florida on Friday at 1 P.M.

It will not produce a scintilla of socially useful information. It will not save a single innocent life. It is not narrowly targeted on a morally culpable person — the torture-victim is herself as innocent as she is defenseless. It is not, moreover, meant to be brief and non-lethal: The torture will take about two excruciating weeks, and its sole and only purpose is to kill the victim.

On Friday afternoon, unless humanity intervenes, the state of Florida is scheduled to begin its court-ordered torture-murder of Terri Schiavo, whose only crime is that she is an inconvenience. A nuisance to a faithless husband grown tired of the toll on his new love interest and depleting bank account — an account that was inflated only because a jury, in 1992, awarded him over a million dollars, mostly as a trust to pay for Terri’s continued care, in a medical malpractice verdict.

In this instance, though, deafening is the only word for the silence of my former interlocutors — -civil-liberties activists characteristically set on hysteria auto-pilot the moment an al Qaeda terrorist is rumored to have been sent to bed without supper by Don Rumsfeld or Al Gonzales (something that would, of course, be rank rumor since, if you kill or try to kill enough Americans, you can be certain our government will get you three halal squares a day).

Not so Terri Schiavo. She will be starved and dehydrated. Until she is dead. By court order...

...On another Friday, seven years ago, Mohammed Daoud al-`Owhali and Khalfan Khamis Mohammed blew up the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing over 240 people. They were brought to the United States for trial. They were given, at public expense, multiple, highly experienced capital lawyers, and permitted extensive audiences to plead with the Justice Department not to seek the death penalty. When a capital indictment nevertheless was filed, they were given weeks of voir dire to ensure a jury of twelve people open to the notion that even the lives of mass-murderers have value. They were then given seven months of trial and sentencing proceedings, suffuse with every legal and factual presumption that their lives had worth and should be spared. And so they were.

That’s what the law says we must do for terrorists seeking to destroy our country and to slaughter us indiscriminately.

What is the law doing for Terri Schiavo?"

Excellent question. There is hope. For one thing, The US House unanimously passed the "Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005". This will give the Schindlers the right to federally pursue the case to save their daughter's life.

On the other hand, we have an Action Item today. The House in Florida teeters. Click the link to find the names and contact information of representatives who may yet vote either way on SB2128, which is the companion to House Bill 701. Please keep your verbiage terse and courteous to the effect of, (and I quote) "Pass a law that is constitutional, good public policy and that will protect the interests of Florida's elderly and disabled."

To save some click-through for the terminally, "Oh gawd, Linda, don't make us vist another site!" here's the email list to cut and paste. (For telephone contacts -- click the link.)

argenziano.nancy.web@flsenate.gov, bennett.mike.web@flsenate.gov, bullard.larcenia.web@flsenate.gov, carlton.lisa.web@flsenate.gov, portilla.alex.web@flsenate.gov, dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov, jones.dennis.web@flsenate.gov, king.james.web@flsenate.gov, lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov, aunders.burt.web@flsenate.gov, villalobos.alex.web@flsenate.gov

While Legislators Hem and Haw, an American Man Takes Action

Bo Gritz issues a Citizen's Arrest Warrant in an effort to save Terri Schiavo.

You may not remember, but James "Bo" Gritz was instrumental in helping end the seige in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and got what remained of the Weaver family off the hill without further bloodshed. His methods have been criticized as being unorthodox, but I see a man who has principles and stands for them.

Here's the text of the warrant:

CITIZEN’S ARREST NOTICE

I, James G. “Bo” Gritz, a private citizen, being an American by birth in Enid, Oklahoma, on 18 January 1939, and possessing personal knowledge (reasonable cause) that certain individuals and agencies in and around Pinellas Park, Florida have committed, or will soon commit, specific felony violation of U.S. and Florida State laws, do hereby issue and publish this Citizen’s Arrest Notice requesting government agencies responsible for enforcement, including the Pinellas County Sheriff, Florida Attorney General, State Police, FBI, district attorneys and local police departments arrest the identified person(s) for crimes already committed and restrain them from committing further violations identified in this document.

The focus of this action is to secure the personal safety of Theresa “Terri” Marie Schindler-Schiavo, a natural-born U.S. Citizen currently being held in the Woodside Hospice (727-541-4199) at 6774 102 nd Avenue N in Pinellas Park, FL 33782-2909 (Scott Kistler, Vice President of Operations, 727-586-4432). Terri is paralyzed and in need of care by the Woodside staff – specifically the provision of nourishment and hydration at meal times through a feeding tube.
The specific threat is the wrongful withholding of nourishment from Terri Schiavo beginning at 1:00 p.m. local-time on 18 March 2005 with the specific purpose of her death through starvation and dehydration, as ordered by Circuit Judge George W. Greer (727-464-3933) in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court for Pinellas County, Florida at 2:50 p.m. on 25 February 2005; to be executed by Michael Schiavo (Marrie Ct, Clearwater, FL). This is a felony conspiracy to cause the wrongful death of an innocent person. The conspiracy will become a homicide if carried through to completion.

With the exception of the feeding tube at meal time, Terri Schiavo is on no other form of life support-system. She is not in a comma – she opens and moves her eyes; she is aware, recognizes and reacts to people and other stimuli. She is paralyzed, but more than 17 physicians and medical specialists have signed affidavits believing her condition will improve with proper therapy. Nobel Prize nominee Dr. William Hammesfahr has examined Terri and states her injury is a type of stroke that he treats everyday with success. Terri’s parents, Robert and Mary Schindler are prepared to assume responsibility for continued care of their daughter. The American people, the U.S. Congress, Florida Legislature, Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Department of Children and Families, the Vatican, numerous public interest groups, and luminary Americans are making public their adamant interest sustaining Terri’s life.

As an American, Terri Schindler-Schiavo is protected under both U.S. Constitutional Laws and Florida Statutes which have been over-ridden by Judge George Greer. The 8th Amendment forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Not even the most heinous criminals are starved to death! The 14th Amendment protects her human rights as an American.

Florida Statute 744.3215 (Rights of Persons Determined Incapacitated) forbids depriving Terri of food and water, a felony.

Florida Statute 765.404 requires the diagnosis of “persistent vegetative state” be determined as “permanent” prior to withdrawal of life prolonging means. Judge Greer has refused any further definitive tests (MRI) to ascertain Terri’s current status.

Florida Statute 765.309 prevents mercy killing and assisted suicide.

Florida Statute 765.404 calls for clear and convincing evidence of a ward’s intent concerning life and death medical decisions. Terri is a Catholic (suicide and assisted termination not an option); Judge Greer ruled-out pro-life testimony and accepted instead Michael Schivo’s self-serving hearsay that he had heard Terri refer to ceasing life-support on one occasion (violation of FL Statute 90.602).

This Citizen’s Arrest Warrant becomes null and void upon transfer of guardianship for Terri Schindler-Schiavo to her mother and father, or the Florida Department of Children & Families, prior to 1:00 p.m. on 18 March 2005.

As the plaintiff, I will physically be present in Pinellas Park at the Woodside Hospice. I am causing this complaint to be widely distributed so appropriate officials are made aware and may act to prevent this cruel death. As previously stated: The sole purpose of this document and resulting action(s) is to safeguard a helpless Terri Schindler-Schiavo. Any action that accomplishes this objective satisfies this Citizen’s Arrest Notice.

Sworn to and Certified before a Notary Public on this date

I am James G. “Bo” Gritz, a Private Person and U.S. Citizen,
resident address: HC-37, Box 472, Sandy Valley, NV 89019.

I hope and pray this is effective. In other news, Republican leaders are working to move the federal legislation to extend habeus corpus protection to Terri and others like her. (Note the reporter's mis-report of PVS. Isn't the MSM listening? Wait. Strike that. I already know the answer.)

Michael Schiavo was on Nightline last night. Here's the transcript.

Michael asserts: "Terry will not be starved to death. Her nutrition and hydration will be taken away."

Just how, precisely, is that not starvation?

Michael went on to say, "Death through removing somebody's nutrition is very painless. That has been brought to the courts many of times. Doctors have come in and testified. It is a very painless procedure."

Bull. For those who aren't aware of it, here is a graphic description of what happens to people when they are starved and dehydrated:

"...According to medical experts, after her feeding tube is removed, Mrs. Schiavo will experience extreme pain and significant psychological distress during the two weeks that her starvation-execution is expected to take.

Her skin, tongue and lips will crack due to dehydration. Schiavo will likely suffer chronic nosebleeds as mucous membranes dry out, followed by heaving and vomiting as the stomach lining dries out.

Her mouth is expected to develop painful ulcers. As Schiavo's brain is deprived of fluid, she is expected to suffer grand mal seizures."

Let's also check out the firsthand testimony of Kate Adamson, who is a mother who suffered a double brain stem stroke and was in a coma for 70 days. She was diagnosed with PVS, and had her feeding tube pulled for eight days. She miraculously survived, and healed. In 2003, she provided the following testomony on the O'Reilly factor (partial transcript here):

O'REILLY: When they took the feeding tube out, what went through your mind?

ADAMSON: When the feeding tube was turned off for eight days, I thought I was going insane. I was screaming out in my mind, "Don't you know I need to eat?" And even up until that point, I had been having a bagful of Ensure as my nourishment that was going through the feeding tube. At that point, it sounded pretty good. I just wanted something. The fact that I had nothing, the hunger pains overrode every thought I had.

Horrifying. Criminal. Wrong. It is morally wrong to starve the disabled to death. Let men like George Felos and Michael Schiavo try to prettify and rationalize the hard reality away. Greer, Felos, and Schiavo want to STARVE an innocent woman to death. Michael can claim that Terri "said" she "wouldn't want to live like that" all he wants. I say rehabilitate her, and let her speak for herself.

Without a Living Will to the contrary, we as civilized people must believe that she wants to live.

I hope that other good men like Bo Gritz will saddle up to help protect people like Terri Schiavo, and I am hoping and praying with every fiber of my being that our legislators will do the right thing and make absolutely certain that Terri and people like her have their best interests and basic rights served.

Former Nurse Discusses Terri Schindler-Schiavo's Capabilities

From BlogsforTerri, "Former Nurse Reveals Terri Schiavo's Capabilities".

"Carla Sauer Iyer, a nurse who cared for Terri Schiavo from April 1995 to July 1996 at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center was recently interviewed by David Allen. Although we’ve posted several articles in the past based on her affidavits [e.g., here], she revealed a few additional details in the interview that have not been widely reported.

During the period in which she daily cared for Terri there was no publicity. “Just Michael [Terri's husband] trying to accelerate her death,” she said. Iyer explained that she would often sneak Terri’s parents, the Schindlers, into see her and that Michael refused to allow therapy of any kind. In fact, he was physically intimidating and would very loudly command the nurses “this is my order and you're going to follow it.”

“We were very intimidated … the whole place,” Iyer revealed, adding that some nurses had a restraining order against Michael Schiavo because his “behavior was so bad.”

When Terri had a urinary or upper respiratory tract infection Michael was visibly excited and would visit more often, asking “is she dead yet?” According to Iyer, at one point Michael exclaimed, “When is that b**** going to die?”

After Michael’s visits, Iyer stated that Terri, at times, became symptomatic for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Iyer said she found an unexplainable bottle of fast acting insulin concealed in Terri’s wastebasket that she speculates could have been used to induce the condition. She filed a police report but heard nothing further regarding the incident. Subsequently she received death threats she believes were related to notifying the authorities and was later released from her position as a caregiver because of her actions in support of Terri.

The nurses, including Iyer, interacted with Terri and daily witnessed her respond, laugh, and make requests. “We had her at the front of the nurse’s station… everyone loved Terri,” Iyer said.

When asked about the accuracy of the videos available on the internet Iyer said they were realistic but failed to capture Terri’s personality and, if anything, did not represent the extent of Terri’s ability to respond and communicate.

Iyer witnessed Terri consuming pudding and milkshakes every night and has previously testified that she fed Terri Jello. She witnessed Terri responding to her name, following others with her eyes and head and even moving her body with purpose..."

Go read the whole thing. Get the word out: bloggers are encouraged to trackback the original post at BlogsforTerri.

Fighting for Terri Part 6

One of the most pervasive myths about Terri Schindler-Schiavo's condition is that she is in a "persistent vegetative state," which is, according to the definition assigned when the term was coined in 1972, "wakefulness without awareness". It is most commonly mis-associated with the concept of brain death, wherein the victim has no higher brain function whatsoever, and must be maintained by life support equipment.

Terri is not in a persistent vegetative state, as videos available at the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation website attest. She responds to her mother, smiling brightly whenever she enters the room. She is able to track a balloon held up by a physician. She responded to a swab test, her face evincing dislike of the intrusion. She opens her eyes upon request, and makes gutteral responses to questions posed to her.

This woman is not a "vegetable". She is severely limited due to the fact that she has received next to no rehabillitation in the wake of brain injury, but we must nevertheless remember that multiple doctors have signed affidavits attesting that Terri may well increase functionality with rehabilitation.

Time is running out to save Terri. Nutrition and hydration are to be denied her starting this Friday. Judge Greer has even ruled that she may not be given anything by mouth (horrific irony: it is partially the contention that Terri cannot feed herself which fuels Michael Schiavo's fight to see her dead; apparently, Greer is so eager to see her pass on that he would deny her even the chance at a last-minute miracle of self-sufficiency).

There are several things to do if we are to rally together to save Terri, and others like her. The website linked above has a list of Action Items for us to do.

Fortunately, House Bill 701 has passed through committee at this time, and is scheduled to be heard on the floor by Thursday. Floridians: get in contact with your representatives to get them to push this through favorably -- not just for Terri, but for anyone who is disabled without a Living Will in writing.

Not so good, but still defeatable, Florida House Bill 523 seeks to repeal prohibitions from allowing hearsay from interested parties to be heard in disabled-persons guardianship proceedings. In other words, it would allow self-serving hearsay testimony to be considered by the judicial system in cases like Terri's, where guardians or would-be guardians can get away with claiming that the incapacitated "once commented" that they would or would not like life support measures.

If you live in Florida, and oppose this bill, this post at BlogsforTerri has contact details so that you may express your displeasure.

At the national level, the Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act needs to get pushed through as quickly as possible. Citizens outside Florida, who want to make sure that Terri's case has its chance in Federal Court need to get in touch with their local representatives to rally their support for the bill. Go here to locate your elected Representatives and Senators. Get on the horn with them today.

If Terri Schindler-Schiavo is starved to death, it will be a serious miscarriage of justice, a stain upon our national soul, and a dangerous precedent, as future cases regarding the fate of the incapacitated among us may well hinge off Judge Greer's misguided rulings.

A civilized culture DOES NOT starve the disabled to death. This is a cruel end which the public would loudly damn if it were applied to a death row inmate, or even a dog. Why is it "all right" to do it to Terri and others in her condition who cannot speak up for themselves, and who have left no written Living Will in their wake? A civilized society must assume that all citizens desire life, unless someone has left written instructions to the contrary.

Status: House Bill 701

Per this post at BlogsforTerri, House Bill 701 has passed through the House Judiciary Committee and goes before the Health and Families Counsel tomorrow morning.

If put on an expedited path, the bill could be put up to final vote as early as Thursday.

Time is running out, but we still have time. Get in touch with your representatives and urge them to support House Bill 701. This bill will keep innocents lacking other standing (written!) orders -- like Terri Schiavo -- from being starved to death.

Gamer Goddess!

Thanks to Ethne, who has been luring me into online tests ever since we had journals on DX. Thanks, sisterfriend! :)
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Great Gamer GM says drop 2d10, aanndd... you roll 68% !

Not too bad- not too bad at all. You're not exactly a first generation gamer, and you probably have other hobbies besides rolling dice and slaughtering orcs, but you've managed to collect enough knowledge to impress even the most experienced gamer. Pull out a few more nights for gaming and spend some more time with the obscure books, soon you're well on your way to becomming the Ultimate Gamer.

BlogsforTerri

BlogsforTerri contains a list of sites dedicated to furthering the fight for Terri Schindler-Schiavo's life. Remember that time is running out for her: Judge George Greer ruled that the feeding tube that provides her with nourishment and hydration is to be withheld starting on March 18th.

There is still action we can take in the fight to keep her from being starved to death -- a painful end that would have activists screaming if we were to try to apply it to someone on death row, say, but which is somehow acceptable for an innocent woman unable to defend herself.

First, if you are in Florida, contact your state legislature and tell them that you support HB 701. This bill will be introduced today, and asserts that incapacitated persons without other standing directives in writing, are to be presumed to desire necessary nutrition and hydration from caregivers. It could save Terri.

Next, get hold of your representatives at the Federal level and tell them to get behind Bill 1151, "Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act". This post at BlogsforTerri has the details.

Remember that Terri is NOT brain dead, and she is NOT in a vegetative state: she laughs, cries, and tries to speak with her parents. It is very well documented that she has a good chance for rehabilitation.

Finally, the petition calling for Judge George W. Greer's impeachment has a point-by-point outline of his misbehavior from the bench. Sign it.