Bush Seeks Probe Of 10 Hang-Ups In Schiavo Case

CLEARWATER - Gov. Jeb Bush wants an independent investigator to take a closer look at how Terri Schiavo became ill and the suitability of her husband to serve as her guardian.

In letters to the chief judge of the Pinellas-Pasco circuit and to University of South Florida Professor Jay Wolfson, Bush said he wants Wolfson to answer a series of questions not directly addressed in Wolfson's earlier investigation of whether Schiavo is so severely brain damaged that she would not want to be kept alive by a feeding tube inserted into her stomach.

Wolfson, who served as Schiavo's court-appointed guardian ad litem for about two months before being discharged last week, said late Monday that he was not sure he wanted to wade back into the controversial case.

Bush's three-page letter listing the questions he wants answered had not yet reached him, Wolfson said.

"Your call comes as a surprise to me," the professor said. "The questions the governor is asking are those that ... some interested parties have begun to raise. I have not addressed those questions straight on."

Bush listed 10 areas he wants investigated, including what happened the night Schiavo's heart stopped in February 1990, cutting off oxygen to her brain and leaving her in what has been diagnosed as a persistent vegetative state.

The governor also asked about "statements of law enforcement, emergency medical professionals and staff members of medical facilities where Schiavo was treated." He asks what husband Michael Schiavo, his wife's legal guardian, said "at the time regarding her condition and how she was found."

Bush Asks About Conflicts

Terri Schiavo was facedown when emergency crews arrived, and they immediately called law enforcement, said attorney Pat Anderson, who represents Bob and Mary Schindler in their quest to keep their daughter alive. The Schindlers contend the cause of their daughter's heart failure was never properly investigated, and point to a later medical report in which a radiologist concluded Schiavo had suffered physical trauma.

Bush also wants Wolfson to report on any conflicts of interest Michael Schiavo may have in acting as his wife's guardian. If there are conflicts, Bush wants to know whether Schiavo acknowledges them.

Michael Schiavo contends his wife made statements before her illness indicating she would not want to be kept alive in a condition with no hope of improvement. The Schindlers contend their daughter reacts to them and could improve if given therapy.

Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, said Wolfson has already looked at all the medical and legal evidence and concluded that Michael Schiavo is a loving husband who wants to do what is best for his wife.

"I think the governor's correspondence is not only disgusting, it's immoral," Felos said. "Does anyone anywhere believe that Jeb Bush under any circumstances is going to lift the stay?"

Felos was referring to Bush's last-minute intervention in a 5 1/2-year court battle over Terri Schiavo's fate. In October, Bush used hastily drafted legislation dubbed "Terri's Law" to order the feeding tube reinserted six days after Michael Schiavo had it removed with court permission.

Schiavo won that permission after a nonjury trial in January 2000 at which a judge concluded his testimony and that of two relatives showed his wife would not want to be kept alive.

Settlement Mentioned

The Schindlers have accused their son-in-law of wanting to inherit more than $700,000 awarded for his wife's perpetual care after a medical malpractice lawsuit in the early 1990s. That money has since been spent, most of it to pay for Schiavo's attorneys in his battle with the Schindlers.

Bush alluded to that in his letter to Wolfson when he asked the professor to interview an earlier guardian ad litem who concluded Michael Schiavo did have a conflict of interest because of the inheritance issue. That guardian ad litem recommended that the feeding tube not be removed.

The governor also asked Wolfson what Terri Schiavo would experience "in the process of dying by starvation," and to address medical opinions that the process would be painless for a person in her condition.

It will be up to Chief Circuit Judge David Demers to decide whether Wolfson should be reappointed to answer the governor's questions.

In other action Monday, Bush's attorneys filed a new notice of appeal in the related court battle over the constitutionality of Terri's Law and announced an automatic stay of a hearing at which Circuit Judge Douglas Baird could decide the issue this afternoon.

Felos said Bush's attorneys were misinterpreting the law to assume he was entitled to an automatic appeal.