CLEARWATER, Florida, January 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Friday, Chief Judge David Demers rejected Gov. Jeb Bush’s request that an independent guardian continue to work on brain-damaged Terri Schiavo’s behalf. In his ruling, Demers questioned the constitutionality of the law which granted the independent guardian in the first place.
A statement released by the governor’s office said that “Terri Schiavo yet again has been denied an independent voice in the proceedings that may very well determine the outcome of her life.” Dr. Jay Wolfson, formerly court-appointed Guardian for Terri Schiavo, the severely disabled Florida woman at the centre of a battle over the right to life versus the ‘right to die,’ was dismissed from his charge late last year after submitting a nearly 40-page report of his findings in the case to Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Wolfson summarized ten years of litigation in the case and recommended that Terri undergo swallowing tests and therapy.
Gov. Bush wanted an independent guardian to continue working on Terri Schiavo’s behalf, because her husband wants her feeding tube removed in order that she be given her “right to die.”
A Dutch pro-life expert in the matter told LifeSiteNews.com that a similar case was the primary factor that triggered the easing of euthanasia laws in that country. Schiavo’s parents argue that their daughter deserves an independent guardian, because of her husband Michael’s conflict of interest – he is engaged to be married to a woman he already has children with. In 1998, Michael revealed a claim that Terri asked for the “right to die” – eight years after she had already been hospitalized.
Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed in October for six days before Gov. Bush and the Florida Legislature stepped in to have the tube reinserted and a guardian appointed. After viewing the report from Dr. Wolfson, Bush concluded, “As I have said from the beginning, the state must protect every Floridian’s right to life, and in so doing, err on the side of life. As Governor, I will continue to do just that. 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.”
Meanwhile, Florida Senator Stephen Wise of Jacksonville has introduced Senate Bill 692, which would prohibit courts from ordering withdrawal of food and water from mentally incompetent patients in Florida who have not specified such orders in advance directives.
Read LifeSiteNews.com coverage of Wolfson’s report at:
Report by Terri Schiavo's Court Gaurdian Encourages Swallow Test