Lawyer Invokes Easter in Call for Terri Schiavo's Death -- GOPUSA

Lawyer Invokes Easter in Call for Terri Schiavo's Death
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
March 25, 2005

(Update: Judge James Whittemore, a federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has once again refused a request by Terri's parents to keep Terri alive while her parents pursue an appeal based on new claims in the case. The ruling came shortly before 8 a.m. EST on Good Friday.)

(CNSNews.com) -- Prior to a new hearing by the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, the attorney for Michael Schiavo invoked the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ while calling on Terri Schiavo's parents to end their efforts to save their daughter's life.

"We believe it's time for that to stop as we approach this Easter weekend," noted "right-to-die" attorney, author and activist George Felos told a throng of gathered television cameras, "and that Mrs. Schiavo be able to die in peace."

Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler, disputed Felos' claim that what Terri has experienced since her feeding tube was removed one week ago is peaceful.

"It's like looking at somebody who's been in a concentration camp, if you've seen (photographs of) people who've been in the concentration camps," Bobby Schindler told reporters. "It's absolutely horrible.

"I can't believe," he continued, "that I'm watching her being killed in this way."

Terri's brother described her condition further, saying that Terri's lips are dry and cracked, her tongue is swollen and her eyes appear to be "sinking" into their sockets. Other family friends have said that Terri's complexion has become ashen and that she is no longer responding in any way to her parents or siblings.

Thursday night, U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore told the attorneys for Robert and Mary Schindler and Michael Schiavo that he would remain in his chambers until he reached a decision on the Schindler's new motions in the case.

Felos attacked the new complaint, in which Terri's parents asked Whittemore to grant an injunction that would allow Terri's feeding tube to be reinserted while the family pursues an appeal.

"The new claims raised are even less substantial than the old claims that were found legally insufficient to justify a restraining order," Felos charged. "So, we are confident that the Schindlers will not have any success in federal district court."

But Robert Destro, one of the attorneys aiding the Schindler family, said that the new claims are significant.

"The thing that has made this case so acrimonious is that the parents - the Schindlers - and Mr. Schiavo have been involved in a big fight over whether or not he had a conflict of interest," Destro told Fox News Channel. "There are allegations in the case that he abused her. There are allegations in the case, certainly by all the nurses who said that he neglected her."

Schiavo has denied that he ever abused or neglected his wife.

Destro said proving the conflict of interest would undermine the basis for the state court's determination that Terri would not want to be kept alive by the feeding tube.

As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Michael Schiavo, his brother and sister-in-law claim that Terri told them she would not want to be sustained by life-prolonging medical intervention such as a feeding tube. As late as Thursday afternoon, Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George Greer maintained that there was no question that testimony was valid.

"By clear and convincing evidence, it was determined she (Terri) did not want to live under such burdensome conditions and that she would refuse such medical treatment-assistance," Greer wrote in his decision barring the Florida Department of Children and Families from placing Terri in adult protective custody.

But the Schiavos' claims are disputed by the testimony of Terri's friends and family members, and by the tenets of the Catholic Church, of which Terri was a devout follower. Additionally, nurses who cared for Terri when she was receiving therapy and rehabilitation in the immediate aftermath of her brain injury have testified that Michael Schiavo repeatedly told them he had no idea how his wife would want him to proceed.

Those nurses say Michael Schiavo's attitude and "memory" of Terri's wishes changed, however, once he began dating and received $1 million from the award and settlement in the medical malpractice lawsuit he filed on Terri's behalf.

Schiavo never mentioned Terri's alleged wishes during his testimony in that lawsuit. He did testify in those proceedings that, if he prevailed, he would spend the rest of his life - and any money awarded to him - caring for Terri.

Destro believes proving the conflict of interest would establish that the Florida court violated Terri's constitutional right to due process by reaching its decision based on testimony that should have been considered suspect.

"What we're saying is that the centerpiece of (Michael Schiavo's) case in Florida was the testimony that he, his brother and sister-in-law brought into the case," Destro said. "If you undermine the testimony, the whole basis of Mr. Felos' argument collapses."

As of 1:45 a.m. (Eastern) Friday, Whittemore had not publicly released a decision on the Schindler's newest complaint.