Governor Jeb Bush Pressured to Take Terri Schiavo Into Custody

Governor Jeb Bush Pressured to Take Terri Schiavo Into Custody

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 25, 2005

Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Florida Governor Jeb Bush is finding himself under increased pressure to take Terri Schiavo into protective custody as the number of legal options left for Terri's parents dwindle.

After a ruling by Circuit Court Judge George Greer on Thursday preventing the Florida Department of Children and Families from protecting Terri, Bush indicated he would not violate Judge Greer's order.

Attorneys for Bush appealed the decision to a Florida appeals court and the Florida Supreme Court and lost both times.

Those decisions prompted Bush to say he has no recourse to protect Terri.

"If we had that ability to do it, if there wasn't an injunction, we would do it right now," Bush said Thursday. "We would stabilize her by giving her hydration."

"It is frustrating for people to think that I have power that I don't," Governor Bush added in an AP interview. "I don't have embedded special powers. I wish I did in this particular case."

Now, supporters of Terri and Bob and Mary Schindler are calling on Bush to follow a Florida law which may allow the agency to take Terri into protective custody despite the court rulings.

Alan Keyes, a former presidential candidate, and Larry Klayman, a conservative attorney, held a meeting with Bush's chief of staff Thursday. They said Bush had a "constitutional obligation" to protect Terri and asked him to "act unilaterally and not wait for her to die."

"He must act and he must act immediately on her behalf," pro-life leader D. James Kennedy said Thursday.

DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi mentioned Wednesday that Florida law allows the agency to take into custody any vulnerable adult in an emergency situation, but Judge Greer issued three rulings ordering Bush not to do that. Greer also instructed local sheriffs to carry out the order.

George Felos, the euthanasia advocate who is Michael's lead attorney, said it would be a criminal act to take Terri into custody with the court decisions in place.

"The only way I can contemplate Gov. Bush or DCF taking Terri Schiavo from hospice is to kidnap her," he told the Palm Beach Post newspaper. "The entire action of DCF has been a political setup from the beginning.