Guardian Urges Therapy, Tests For Schiavo

CLEARWATER - Swallowing tests and therapy that might wean Terri Schiavo from a feeding tube could help resolve the dispute about whether the brain-damaged woman should be kept alive, an independent investigator has reported to Gov. Jeb Bush.

But the bitter court battle over Schiavo's fate will rage on for months or years unless both sides agree to settle the issue based on the outcome of any tests or therapy, concluded Jay Wolfson, an independent guardian ad litem appointed to advise Bush on whether to lift a gubernatorial stay keeping the woman alive. Wolfson was appointed as a result of "Terri's Law," which permitted the surgical reinsertion of the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube.

Both sides in the case said they believed Wolfson's sometimes ambiguously worded report supported their cause. Wolfson said the best medical evidence shows Schiavo has no hope of improvement and will never be able to eat on her own. But he also said that the "evidence is compromised by the circumstances and the enmity between the parties" and that Schiavo "has a distinct presence about her."

Bush said he read the report as a clear recommendation that Schiavo be kept alive and be given swallowing tests and therapy.

"Based on this third party analysis, I am hopeful that Mr. [Michael] Schiavo and his attorney will no longer prevent this vital testing from taking place," the governor said in a written statement.

Terri Schiavo, who turns 40 today, has been in what most doctors term a persistent vegetative state since suffering heart failure in 1990 at age 26. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, has been fighting for 5 1/2 years for court permission to remove her feeding tube so she will die.

Bob and Mary Schindler say their daughter reacts to them and could improve if her husband would allow therapy.

Bush intervened in October, ordering that Schiavo's feeding tube be reinserted six days after it was removed on court orders.

"Nothing in Dr. Wolfson's report leads me to believe the stay should be lifted at this time, or that Mrs. Schiavo should be deprived of her right to live," Bush said.

Wolfson, who made daily visits to Schiavo's bedside during the past month, also reported nearly resolving the case through mediation. An agreement among Bush, the Schindlers and Michael Schiavo collapsed Sunday night on the eve of the due date for his report, Wolfson wrote.

Under the proposed settlement, Wolfson would have selected "neutral clinical specialists to make a formal determination about the feasibility and value of swallowing tests and therapy," he reported. The specialists' identities would remain confidential, as would the identities of a similar team that would "make a formal determination about neurological capacity and prognosis," the report states.

Michael Schiavo's attorney said his client never agreed to anything suggested by Wolfson. The governor's intervention and Wolfson's appointment were based on hastily drafted legislation known as "Terri's Law" that is unconstitutional and a violation of Terri Schiavo's right to refuse medical treatment, attorney George Felos said.

"We don't want to participate in settlement negotiations suggested by the guardian ad litem because we don't agree that his appointment was proper," Felos said.

However, Felos praised Wolfson's conclusion that the court decision allowing Michael Schiavo to remove his wife's feeding tube was, in Wolfson's words, "firmly grounded within Florida statutory and case law."

Pat Anderson, the Schindlers' attorney, said portions of Wolfson's report were confusing. But the Schindlers are gratified Wolfson concluded swallowing tests are in order 10 years after the last such test was performed, she said.

"I'm glad he recognized that eating by mouth should be a considered alternative to death for Terri," Anderson said.