Schindler-Schiavo Advocate Believes Judge's Actions Violate Terri's Rights
by Mary Rettig
March 2, 2005
(AgapePress) - A spokesperson with the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation says a Florida probate judge is refusing to hear motions filed by the disabled woman's family that could lead to a clarification of her true medical condition.Pamela Hennessy says on Monday the Schindler family filed numerous motions in their efforts to stop Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, from removing her feeding tube and causing his estranged wife's death by starvation and dehydration. However, Judge George Greer has flatly refused to hear the motions.
By denying the family's request for a hearing, the judge is "not allowing the family to pursue a new protocol of neurological testing for Terri to determine her true condition," Hennessy says. She feels a fair judge would allow physicians to verify and update the Florida nursing home patient's condition and testify as to whether she is truly in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), as has been alleged.
Hennessy says Terri Schindler-Schiavo's current condition remains under dispute and different doctors have assessed her level of consciousness and responsiveness differently. "Some have said she's PVS," the Foundation spokesperson asserts, while "others have said she's very aware and interactive with her environment."
However, Judge Greer has said he will only entertain motions from the Schindlers that pertain to Terri's death, such as regarding her burial arrangements, for instance. Hennessy feels the judge is not doing his job in the case. The fact that Greer has refused to hear numerous motions from the Schindler family suggests to her that he believes Terri's medical condition does not warrant him acting to prevent her husband from removing her feeding tube.
"My reaction to that is, it's illegal," Hennessy says. "It's absolutely illegal to remove food and fluids from this woman in order to effect her death, unless she can be determined to be in a persistent and vegetative state." The Foundation spokeswoman says the technology involved in assessing a person's condition after a brain-injury like Terri Schiavo's has changed, but "the judge is not allowing it to be applied to her, and I think this is an absolute, egregious trampling of her due process rights."
Hennessy contends that Judge Greer is not qualified to determine Terri's true medical status as doctors would be able to do. However, she says the judge apparently has already made up his mind about the disabled woman's condition.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
