Terri Schiavo’s Husband Won’t Participate in Part of Legal Battle Email this article
Printer friendly page
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 28, 2004
Clearwater, FL (LifeNews.com) — Terri Schiavo’s estranged husband appears to have ended his involvement in one of the two ongoing legal battles in the fight to save her life. In an interview this week, Michael Schiavo’s lead attorney said he would cease responding to Terri’s parents efforts to prevent her from being starved to death.
In that aspect of the case, Bob and Mary Schindler are asking the courts to declare that removing Terri’s feeding tube and causing her death would be a violation of her First Amendment religiuous liberties.
The Schindlers say such an action would contravene Terri’s Catholic faith and that recent statements by Pope John Paull II confirm the church’s strong opposition to euthanasia.
George Felos, the euthanasia advocate who is Michael’s lead attorney, confirmed speculation that has existed for two months that Michael will drop out of that case.
"There is no prospect of finality,” Felos told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
"They (the appeals court) allow the Schindlers to attack the judgment no matter how frivolous," Felos told AP. "The only way the case can end is if the Schindlers stop attacking the final judgment or the court says no more stays. Until then we are just going to be on this revolving door.”
Felos has informed the 2nd District Court of Appeal that he is not responding to the motion the Schindlers filed appealing a judge’s decision throwing out their religious liberties argument.
Despite dropping out of that case, Felos and Michael Schiavo are sticking with their lawsuit seeking to overturn Terri’s Law. It is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court on appeal.
That was the measure approved by the state legislature allowing Governor Jeb Bush to ask doctors to reinsert Terri’s feeding tube six days after Michael won a court order to starve her.
Felos claims the law is a violation of the separation of powers clause in the state constitution. Bush’s attorney’s respond that Florida courts never gave him a chance to make the case that Terri would not want to be killed.
The nation’s high court will decide early next year whether to take the case.