Schiavo Starvation Delayed for a Day

A last minute court order delayed Terri Schiavo's starvation for yet another day:

An appeals court today paved the way for Michael Schiavo to remove the feeding tube keeping his severely brain-damaged wife alive, but a local judge followed with an emergency stay barring any action until tomorrow afternoon.

According to a commentary at WorldNetDaily Jeb Bush has the authority to intervene in the matter:

Florida's state constitution says:

'All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness ... No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability.'

The fact that a circuit judge continues to ignore Florida statutes does not change the state constitution. Jeb Bush took an oath to uphold that constitution and yet – despite receiving 120,000 e-mails begging him to save her – he let Terri Schiavo starve (and dehydrate) for six days back in October 2003 until the Florida Legislature passed a law that gave him political cover.

Now that the courts have struck down "Terri's Law," don't be surprised if Jeb behaves as if the constitution he swore to uphold is still not relevant to Terri Schiavo. Don't be surprised if he allows her husband to slowly starve and dehydrate her to death.

As you know by now if you've seen the videos, Terri tries to communicate and is fully aware of what is going on around her. There is also medical evidence to suggest that a criminal investigation should be launched to determine who and what may have caused her current disabled state back in 1990.

Consider Bush's track record. On the second day of Terri's starvation (Oct. 16, 2003), Jeb said his legal staff could find no statutory justification to intervene in the court decision that approved Terri's death. Richard Thompson (chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center) shot back:

'Nobody is asking the governor to intervene in the civil case. We are asking him to initiate an independent criminal investigation based on a list of facts that suggest criminal wrongdoing. We have outlined for the governor some of these facts, and confirmed his constitutional authority to act.'

The fact that he has chosen to confuse the public by referring to the civil case, completely ignoring the request that we presented, reveals a lack of moral courage and political will. We expect the governor to do the right thing, and so far, he has refused to do so.

In the ensuing 16 months, Jeb has steadfastly refused to order the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to do an investigation. Is he more concerned about how he is perceived by the editorial boards of Florida's big daily papers (most of whom want Terri dead) than with saving an innocent woman's life?

Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family recently renewed his call "for the preservation of the life of Terri Schiavo." If we really want that to happen, we need to put the heat on Jeb. E-mail him at jeb.bush@myflorida.com.

The on again off again nature of this landmark case may tend to cause people to throw their hands up in dispair, or worse, apathy. For Terri and her family's sake, please don't let down or give up on Terri, the courts, or Jeb Bush. Pray that life will triumph over death here. There is much more to this case than Terri's survival. It's a benchmark case in the euthanasia movement. Do everything in your power to help fight this battle.