Judge Orders Schindler-Schiavo's Feedings Stopped

By Liz Townsend

Despite evidence from seven prominent physicians who say that a disabled woman is not in a "persistent vegetative state" and may be able to improve with intensive therapy, a Florida judge ruled August 7 that Terri Schindler-Schiavo may be starved and dehydrated to death beginning August 28, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, quickly filed for a stay of the decision and asked Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court Judge George Greer to allow doctors to directly examine their daughter before her feedings are stopped, according to the Times. However, the judge has previously denied all such requests. The Schindlers also have the option of appealing the verdict within 30 days, the Associated Press reported.

Judge Greer, who originally approved the request of Schindler-Schiavo's husband to remove her feeding tube February 11, was ordered by the 2nd District Court of Appeal to decide whether new evidence presented by the Schindlers was sufficient to change his opinion, according to the Times.

Greer ruled August 7 that the new evidence was not enough. "Many of the allegations raised by Mr. and Mrs. Schindler...were thoroughly litigated at trial," he wrote. "The others generally deal with the facts which predate the trial and were available."

Greer's February decision was partly based on two doctors' opinions that Schindler-Schiavo "is unaware of what is happening around her and that her motions and sounds are based on reflex only and will never improve," the Times reported. Although the seven neurologists consulted by the Schindlers disagreed, Greer dismissed their opinions as merely a difference of medical opinion, not conclusive enough to overturn his original ruling to remove Schindler-Schiavo's feeding tube.

"Medicine is not a precise science, and doctors will, therefore, not always agree," Judge Greer wrote in his August 7 decision, according to the Tampa Tribune. "None of the affidavits claim a dramatic and unexpected improvement of Terri Schiavo post trial."

Her parents disagree strongly. "You have a tremendous disparity in medical opinion, and I would think the thing to do is get to the bottom of it," Bob Schindler told the Tribune. "I don't know how he can just turn his back on all this. It defies common sense and logic."

The seven doctors made their diagnoses based on a videotape of Schindler-Schiavo. One of the doctors, neurologist Dr. Jacob Green of Jacksonville, Florida, told NRL News, "At the point of time shown on the videotape, this patient was not in a neurovegetative state and should not be taken off life support."

Dr. Green, who has practiced medicine for 35 years, said it is "obvious to a layperson" that Schindler-Schiavo responds to her environment. "She looks around, smiles, and begins making verbalizations," he said. "If he can't see this, the judge is blind."

Another physician, Dr. Richard Neubauer, stated in an affidavit, "It is obvious to me that Ms. Schiavo is a viable human being who is at least semi-responsive to her environment," according to World magazine. Dr. Neubauer said that he believes treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy might help Schindler-Schiavo's condition to improve, World reported.

Her parents contend that Schindler-Schiavo has not received the intensive therapy that she needs. Lawyer Pat Anderson told World that a "painstaking review" of the medical records showed "no evidence of systematic, proper rehabilitation efforts. We do, however, find instances where Mrs. Schiavo's physicians recommended physical and occupational therapy, and her husband would not permit it."

Schindler-Schiavo, now 37, has been in a condition of diminished consciousness after a heart attack 11 years ago. She collapsed at her home on February 25, 1990, and her brain was deprived of oxygen for five minutes, according to the Times.

Her husband, Michael Schiavo, first asked that her feeding tube be removed in May 1998, the Times reported. Despite strong opposition from her parents, Judge Greer granted Schiavo's request and feeding was stopped on April 24, 2001.

Discovering new evidence that disputed Schiavo's contention that his wife told him she would want to die if incapacitated, the Schindlers brought their case to Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Frank Que-sada, who granted a temporary injunction of Greer's ruling April 26 and ordered that her feedings resume, according to the Times. Schindler-Schiavo had been without food and fluids for 60 hours.

The Schindlers have vowed to continue trying to keep their daughter alive. "This is just another step in the battle," Schindler attorney Larry Crow told the Times. "This is not the end. We are not giving up."