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Schindler Family Marks Schiavo's Death Anniversary
News Channel 8 File Photo
Michael Schiavo had this headstone made for his wife, Terri.
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Published: March 31, 2008
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TAMPA - Three years ago Terri Schiavo was removed from life support in Pinellas Park.
Terri Schiavo shortly after
her 1990 heart failure.
Today, on the anniversary of her death, The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation and Priests for Life are calling for a day of remembrance.
Schiavo died March 31, 2005, at age 41, almost two weeks from the time her feeding tube was removed after a seven-year court battle between Schiavo's husband, Michael, and her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.
"No one should ever have to witness what my family witnessed, watching a loved one slowly dehydrate to death," said Schiavo's sister, Suzanne Vitadamo, in a written statement.
"We want Terri's day to remind us that persons with disabilities are never burdens and should be treated with nothing but our unconditional love and compassion," Vitadamo said.
Priests for Life and the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation are nonprofit organizations that oppose euthanasia. The groups have declared March 31 "Terri's Day" to "foster education, prayer and activism regarding discrimination against the disabled" and "advocacy for people in situations similar to what Terri and her family faced," according to a written statement.
Schiavo had been fed through a tube since a heart attack in 1990 that deprived her brain of oxygen and left her in a persistent vegetative state.
Michael Schiavo won a legal battle against the Schindlers to carry out what he said was his wife's wish. He testified that she had said she would not want to be kept alive under such circumstances.
After a January 2000 nonjury trial, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer ruled that testimony from Schiavo and his relatives provided "clear and convincing evidence" that Terri Schiavo indicated she would not want to be kept alive without hope of improvement.
The Schindlers appealed. Greer's ruling was upheld again and again by state appellate courts and in federal court.
Twice, Schiavo's feeding tube was removed on Greer's orders, only to be reinserted.
In April 2001 another judge intervened and the feeding tube was replaced. The second time, in October 2003, former Gov. Jeb Bush ordered the tube reinserted, using a hastily crafted measure known as Terri's Law that later struck down as unconstitutional.
An autopsy found she was blind and her cognitive brain functions ended after her heart failure. She died of dehydration.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I wonder what the fat[word omitted] P.O.S. Michael Schiavo is doing today - Besides eating a sandwich, being a P.O.S., and breathing air he's not worthy to breath?
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Posted by ( patches ) on March 31, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Let her rest in peace - family included. Have to be in the limelight!
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Posted by ( ron ) on March 31, 2008 at 10:18 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I agree. She died 3 years ago. Since than millions of americans have died, yet they do not get the limelight. Hundreds of our military personnell have died, and they do not get the limelight. It is over! Move on! She got her wish. She made it clear TO HER HUSBAND, who made it clear to the courts. 15 minutes are up.
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Posted by ( DiedrichKyrian ) on March 31, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I have to disagree. IF that was her wishes, then Mr. Schiavo did a very brave thing. I know if I was in a constant vegetative state, I want to be ended mercifully and as painlessly as possible.
I have to wonder, if one of our pet's would be like this, we would euthanize the animal humanely and yet when it comes to others that are kept alive artificially we try to prolong their suffering.
Before anyone asks, yes I do understand the choice involved. My own mother and I have had long talks about this issue and when the court battle of Terri Schiavo came across, my mother changed her will to include about the vegetative state.
My own wife and I also understand each other's wishes in this. (We both feel it is cruel to keep one alive in that state and through those means).
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Posted by ( Garbanzo ) on March 31, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
The whole Schiavo ordeal just made it very clear to people to make sure that you have your wished clearly outlined in legal documentation. That way your nutbag family won't try to keep you alive and suffering in the event you ever become a useless vegetable. I love how these religious freakazoids believe that it was God's will to keep her "alive" in a vegetative state, but it was the work of the devil to let her die in peace as were her wishes. Too bad the poor Terry came from a brain dead family! Thank God Terry is in peace in spite of her family's desire to allow her to suffer.
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Posted by ( Phenom ) on March 31, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Darth: Care to explain why you feel the way you do? I am just curious why he is a POS and all that jazz.
Also (to the general posters out there) why is it that every article written on TBO must include and be about all persons from all areas who have or do not have hardship that may or may not have a single thing to do with the topic of the article? Just curious about that too. I mean seriously, when reading an article about Terri Schiavo, why would I also expect to read about the hundreds of our military personnel or the millions of Americans that have died also?
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Posted by ( thatguyfl82 ) on March 31, 2008 at 11:12 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
all Michael Schiavo had to do was give her parents custody...
nobody would've really faulted him for remarrying which seemed to be his motive.
and why starve her?
Death Row inmates die alot more humane than Terri did. They couldn't have "Put her to sleep" alot less painful then starving? and don't give me the "She couldn't feel anything" cause nobody really can tell.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 11:19 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Phenom - The fact that she survived for 2 WEEKS without food or water..... We don't treat animals or criminals that badly - but it's ok to starve a human. She wasn't on a breathing machine AND it took two weeks to starve her to death. THAT makes him a P.O.S. in my mind. If you truly love someone (which he didn't at the time, ask his girlfriend - now wife) you don't starve them to death..................
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Posted by ( buurt ) on March 31, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Darth right on!!
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Posted by ( Greekopoulos319 ) on March 31, 2008 at 12:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
It all comes down to...No one should play God but, God himself. In this case there should have been a more humane way to do what was ordered to be done besides starving the woman to death!
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Posted by ( dobefan ) on March 31, 2008 at 12:04 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
For those who believe Mr Schiavo is a POS...how would you handle this? There are no other legal means to end someone's suffering. You cannot euthanize a human being according to the law. Again, people find fault on here with others; but, offer no solutions. Put yourself in Mr Schiavo's shoes. Terri Schiavo's parents appear to be control freaks who are upset that they couldn't have things their way. If they really loved their daughter as they said they did, they would not have hesitated in pulling the plug. It was all about power, not love. Let Terri rest in peace.
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Posted by ( Phenom ) on March 31, 2008 at 12:16 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
But Darth: He didn't starve her...?? That is what naturally happens when you stop eating (pulling the tube). He acted with in all laws as he carried out his wife's decision. While I certainly agree that the way she had to deal with the last few weeks of her life was more than terrible, that is not the POS's fault and he shouldn't carry blame. He acted the wishes she requested. He dealt with a lot in a situation that no one would ever want to be in. His decision is shared by many across the nation each day in our medical facilities because law allows it to happen. Are these others that choose to carry out the wishes of their loved ones also equally as guilty of being a POS?
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 12:40 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
"He didn't starve her...?? That is what naturally happens when you stop eating (pulling the tube)." Ok, he stop feeding her - it's still starving someone. When you stop giving someone nutrition, they starve to death.
According to Merriam-Webster the definiton of "starve" is:
1 a: to kill with hunger b: to deprive of nourishment c: to cause to capitulate by or as if by depriving of nourishment.............
Ok, most of you know me as a guy who doesn't give a rats [word omitted] about anyone or anything, but this is cruel and unusual. This girl could not feed herself. If Schiavo didn't want anything to do with her, he should have turned her over to her parents. But he couldn't do that because he had life insurance on her....
No, I don't think she would have ever gotten better, but to starve someone to death who can't feed themself? That's an awful, awful thing. I really could see it if she were on a ventilator and when they pulled the plug she died in minutes, but this took 2 weeks.......
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Posted by ( thirdeye ) on March 31, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
My friend's daughter had liver cancer a few years back and the last week or so of her life she stopped EATING! Basically, she died of starvation rather than from cancer. It is nature's way when someone is critically ill. My only regret with Terri is that her family didn't allow her to go years ago so she would not have been in limbo for so long to suit her parents' needs.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 12:57 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
thirdeye - Did she starve herself or did someone have pull her feeding tube because she couldn't feed herself? If someone wants to stop eating/drinking/breathing I'm all for that. But when someone else has to do it - that's wrong. It cruel and inhumane and people go to jail for doing it to animals............
I don't know that Terri Shaivo suffered or that she didn't suffer, I just know it's wrong.
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Posted by ( Phenom ) on March 31, 2008 at 12:58 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Agreed, a very very terrible way to spend your last weeks. I do own a dictionary and I am well aware of the definition of the word. But if you want to get THAT literal, it was the medically trained person at the medical site that pulled the feeding tube, so they should be the one called a POS...should they not? He "stopped feeding her" because that is what SHE wanted.
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Posted by ( thirdeye ) on March 31, 2008 at 1:10 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Agreed Phenom. What so many people are saying in this case is I would NEVER want to live like that, but Terri should have to because that's what her parents want. If the tube had been pulled years ago there probably would be no media attention, but since Michael couldn't do her wishes a long, long ago it has become a media circus. Something I don't believe he ever wanted, but believe her parents did!
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
The medicallly trained person pulled the feeding tube because Michael Shiavo went to court to force that medically trained person to pull the feeding tube. All Michael Shiavo had to do was turn her guardianship over to her parents who love and care for Terri more than he ever could have. I don't have a problem with "pulling the plug" on someone terminal, but when it takes two weeks it's wrong. What if she was on a ventilator? What if they pulled the plug and she gasped for 2 days before she died? Is it any different or any more horrific to watch someone die that way?
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Posted by ( dobefan ) on March 31, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I assume that those who think Mr Schiavo was wrong in his decision wouldn't mind being in a vegetative state. Aware or unaware of your surroundings...would you want to remain that way?
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Posted by ( ocean ) on March 31, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Terri died in 1990 after her heart attach. There was nothing left of her to keep alive. Technology kept her body alive all these years and test done after her death proved that. She didn't suffer when you feeding tube was removed. She was and still is being used by right to life groups who never cared about her. We will never know if her eternal soul suffered for all these years because her body was still alive. Thanks to her husband who got nothing out of keeping her alive made sure she is able to rest in peace.
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Posted by ( Phenom ) on March 31, 2008 at 1:51 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Darth: Round and round we go here. He advised the medically trained person to pull out the tube because SHE wanted it that way. Who's decision was it to live or not live in that condition, Terri Schiavo's decision. She decided she did not want to live in those conditions. Had she not made it clear that those were her wishes, I am sure he would have made a different decision. He made the decision that he was required to make based on what she asked to be done. HER LIFE = HER SAY SO. Period.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
dobefan / ocean - I agree with you that no one wants to live that way - but when it takes 2 weeks to die, there's something wrong with that. Someone should have come up with a way to put her to sleep, to let her pass peacefully. Even a family pet gets that. And really "technology kept her body alive.."? A feeding tube is not technology. How about we take your food and water away for 2 weeks and see if you survive......
By the way. I have never been any part of any "right to life" group. Actually, I prefer to belong to a "right to death for idiots" group.........
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Posted by ( ms_stpete ) on March 31, 2008 at 1:58 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Everyone that thinks that Michael Schiavo had been given his wife's instructions on how she wanted to live or die is mistaken. All we have is his word, plus the testimony(thrown out)of a former girlfriend who said that Mr. Schiavo told her that Terri did not say whether she wanted to be kept alive under those circumstances. We do know however, that Mr. Schiavo did not allow medical personel to brush her teeth or give her physical therapy. She was not on life support. She might have been taught to feed herself at the begining. It was his actions that caused her family to unite in their suspicions that he was not telling the truth and that he did not have her best intentions in mind. That is why Jeb Bush got involved although he did not have the authority to do so.
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Posted by ( ocean ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
ms_stpete, He spent seven years trying to bring her back to life before he gave up. Seven years of test and experimental procedures before he lost all hope. Check the history of her case and you will see it wasn't until the late 1990's when he tried to have her feeding tube removed.
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Posted by ( tara4444 ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Guess what people,
None of us have any right to judge any of the parties involved.
This case is sickening. It was back then and it is now....because it is a PRIVATE matter. Not something to be gawked at or debated in public forums.
Period.
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Posted by ( tara4444 ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:19 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Darth-
Go easy on Ocean.
She/he is right- the "right to lifers" have made this into a nasty public spectacle and have turned the whole thing into a media circus.
This poor woman "died" at the time of her crash.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:19 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Phenom - It's her husband's say so. There was never anything in writing that those were her wishes. I'm all for pulling the plug, but if it's not in writing.........
I think I would be more at peace with this if this POS didn't have a girlfriend that he wanted to marry but couldn't because he was still married to Terri, whom he had a life insurance policy on, that he could have collected on with her death, that he would have lost all claim to it if he passed her guardianship to her parents. It just sounded (and it still does sound) a little fishy to me.
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Posted by ( tara4444 ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:24 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Darth,
If you were together with someone and they had a horrible accident, and then you waited more than seven years.....what was he supposed to do?
Like I said before, none of us should be talking about this. Who are we to judge anyone invloved?
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Posted by ( lolafalala ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Should we go around ripping out feeding tubes from all disabled persons who are breathing on their own. I don't believe that anyone knew what Terri's wishes were. Her heart attack occurred at such a young age when most people aren't thinking of dying or being in a vegetative state. And, if she didn't have a will, then her wishes were unknown. I had read that there was money involved and I never heard how much Michael Schiavo gained in her death from malpractice suits. If it wasn't about the money, he could have turned guardianship to her parents who loved and would have given her the best care.
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Posted by ( commentcava ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
apparently those who are freaked out by people dying by not eating or drinking have never dealt with a loved one dying of any major illness...they stop eating and drinking, and their bodies shut down, painlessly. it is how the hospice had us deal with my dad, and how any sane, safe and rational group allows those who are terminally ill to die. If you are religious, then ponder how the family was cheating god by keeping her alive, as god had stopped her breathing and yet they tried to keep her alive!
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Posted by ( Bonsai ) on March 31, 2008 at 2:43 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
You would think that after all these years the Schindler family could find a photo of Terri that reflects her life and not her death. This photo was shoved down our throats for years and I doubt she would be happy to know this is how the world remembers her.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 3:23 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
tara4444 - There had to be another way. If you truly love someone you can't possibly let them starve to death. This isn't someone deciding that they want to die and stop eating. This was someone who was BREATHING ON HER OWN when her feeding tube was removed. Terri had no voice, had no say in what happened to her. It's truly tragic. There had to be a better way to allow someone to die.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on March 31, 2008 at 3:38 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Also tara4444 - I'm not sure what I would do if this happened to my wife. She's there, but not as she was, she might be brain dead, but she's breathing. I know one thing - I wouldn't have a girlfriend while my wife was holding on in a hospital. I don't care how long he waited, Micheal Shaivo should have kept waiting.
If a doctor came to me and told me that they would remove her feeding tube and it would take weeks for her to die - I don't think, no - I know I would not do it. Now, if the doctor came to me and said they would remove her from the ventilator and she would pass in a matter of minutes, then yeah - I'd have to do that. There's a difference between keeping someone alive by artificial means (ventilator) and feeding them with a feeding tube to keep them alive.
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Posted by ( Gen2Native ) on March 31, 2008 at 3:44 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
"She was and still is being used by right to life groups who never cared about her." I agree. I saw a number of protesters interviewed in front of the nursing home and they all spoke about the "unborn" dying (one particularly strident man was quite unerving) with little or no mention of the woman whom they were using as an excuse to gain media attention. If nothing else, Ms. Schiavo's dilemma prompted many people I know to create a will, select a health care surrogate and take measures to ensure their wishes were known by a number of people. I don't know of anyone who would want to be maintained in such a state.
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Posted by ( PhoenixJen ) on March 31, 2008 at 3:45 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
They stopped feeding her because of wishes she had made know to her husband. He was a strong man to keep the fight going and do the right thing.
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Posted by ( thirdeye ) on March 31, 2008 at 3:52 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Ocean...very profound about her internal soul suffering all those years because she was kept here due to some very selfish people. Not my idea of a loving family! She was NOT alive, but existing, big difference. Yes, I agree it stinks that it took 2 weeks, but think of all those years she just existed against her will.
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Posted by ( ms_stpete ) on March 31, 2008 at 4:26 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Ocean,
Unless you were her doctor, how do you have the authority to say Terri died when she had her heart attack in 1990? I have checked the history and then some. She was responsive and at times semi-conscious. Check out statements from her nurses and family members. All I'm saying is this is not a case of letting ones loved one pass away peacefully. Her family has serious questions going back to what actually caused her heart attack why 911 was not called for 5 minutes and her lack of after care and the strange requests that Michael Schiavo made concerning her 7 years of care.
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Posted by ( ocean ) on March 31, 2008 at 5:16 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Don't forget they did an autopsy after her death. They found that most of her brain had decayed. All that was left was the part that regulated her bodily functions. In other words the lights were on but no one was home. She didn’t feel anything when her feeding tube was removed. There was nothing left to suffer. What has to be done to prove that she was brain dead?
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Posted by ( tomx ) on March 31, 2008 at 10:31 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Terri Wishes - Clear and Convincing - NOT!!!
If people really want to read up on the veracity of Terri's wishes, I suggest the following source:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=886373
It's a hell of document to read. It looks like this Law Professor actually did the legal homework that Judge Greer and the Appeals court failed to do.
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Posted by ( mitzipars ) on April 1, 2008 at 6:25 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I happen to work with Healthcare Professionals that were with Terri. They stated her "husband" was not only rude but made comments that were supportive of "his" wish and feelings for her. Trust me, if this woman made that comment of not wanting to live like that, she was referring to her marriage to HIM, not life. You best think twice people about the law allowing a person "regardless" of whom it is, having the right to do what is against the law to do to an animal.
From the NASTY things he stated and I am sure he backed up with treating her the same, just might have caused her condition, stress can kill. Isn't there any REAL family out there that loves someone so much that you would fight with all your heart for them to have the right to speak for themself (and be willing to care and pay for the time) until they can? God help America, She has lost her love, compassion and concern for another.
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