Judge Delays Ruling on Pulling Terri Schiavo’s Feeding Tube
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 11, 2003
Clearwater, FL (LifeNews.com) — The judge who has Terri Schiavo’s fate in his hands on Thursday postponed a decision whether or not to remove a feeding tube that is keeping her alive.
Circuit Court Judge George Greer has put off making the final decision until next week in response to arguments by Terri’s parents that she should be taught how to eat and talk first.
Two speech therapists, who filed affidavits on behalf of Bob and Mary Schindler, say Terri ought to be given the chance to eat on her own before any decision is made to end her life.
The decision is a victory of sorts for the parents who have faced an uphill battle in the courts.
"We dodged the bullet again — for another week," said Bob Schindler.
Greer has consistently sided with Michael Schiavo, who wants Terri’s life to be ended. Greer ignored a plea from Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) to appoint an independent guardian to assess Terri’s situation and investigate abuses and the Florida Supreme Court said the ultimate decision about Terri’s fate is Greer’s to make.
Tom Marzen, a pro-life attorney who monitors end of life issues, told LifeNews.com that the pro-life community needs to become more aware of cases like Terri Schiavo’s and Jason Childress’ because these are not rare occurrences.
"This sort of thing has been going on for twenty years every day, but only gets attention if a family is in public conflict," Marzen explained.
Removing Terri from the feeding tube would cause her death a painful death via starvation over the course of a week or two. Michael says Terri would want to die, but doctors for the parents say that Terri, with proper rehabilitative care, could recover. She is on no form of artificial life support.
Michael Schiavo has been providing only maintenance care for his wife since receiving an insurance award that provided $300,000 to him for lost companionship and $700,000 to provide for his wife’s medical care and rehabilitation. Michael is currently living with another woman with whom he has had a child, though he is still legally married to Terri.
Related web sites:
Terri Schiavo’s Parent’s Site – https://www.terrisfight.org
