Jeb Bush Asks for "Unbiased View" of Schindler-Schiavo Case

By Dave Andrusko

Largely unnoticed outside of Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush has taken a hand in the case of Terri Schindler-Schiavo.

The Florida Coalition for Disability Rights had written Gov. Bush asking him to appoint a guardian ad litem "to protect the best interests of Terri Schiavo as an individual" and determine her potential for recovery, according to the Associated Press (AP). Gov. Bush responded that "he is limited by the decisions of the court and the fact that she already has a legal guardian. He said he is 'looking at another option' but declined to elaborate," the AP reported.

On August 26 Gov. Bush exercised that option. He "asked Greer to preserve Schiavo's life until a court-appointed guardian can 'independently investigate the circumstances of this case and provide the court with an unbiased view that considers the best interests of Mrs. Schiavo,'" the AP reported.

"This case represents a disturbing result of a severe family disagreement in extremely trying circumstances,'' Bush wrote to the judge. "Emotions are high, accusations abound, and at the heart of this public and private maelstrom is a young woman incapable of speaking for herself.''

Greer appeared unmoved, telling the AP, "Frankly, I think I'm operating under a mandate from the 2nd District Court of Appeals [to set a date to remove the tube through which Terri is fed], and frankly I don't think I can stray from that mandate."

Bush's letter also raised a key question: what Terri would want done. Her husband insists she would not want to be "kept alive" in her present condition, the Tampa Tribune reported. But Bush urged Greer to determine whether "'clear and convincing evidence' exists" to support her husband's contention, the AP reported.

Alluding to Schindler family attorney Pat Anderson's contention that Terri's husband is "trying to make sure his wife dies before any more legal steps can be taken to save her life," according to the Orlando Sentinel, Bush wrote, (the Sentinel reported, "If true, this indicates a decision by her caregivers to initiate an 'exit protocol' that may include withholding treatment from Mrs. Schiavo until her death, which would render this court's ultimate decision moot.''