BioEdge 201: Texas law relating to futile care under fire

I have been following the case of Andrea Clarke who is under a death sentence because the doctors at St. Luke's Hospital in Texas have decreed that further treatment is futile care.

Bio Edge has provided me with a new perspective on this case, including a bit more in the way of background on Andrea Clarke.

Andrea is a 54 year old woman who is being kept alive on life support equipment and a dialysis machine. She is a widow with a 23 year old son. She does not have an advanced directive with regard to her health care but her relatives insist that she wants to live. Jerry Ward, is the lawyer for the family.

What is interesting about Andrea is that she was a blue baby and she required heart surgery when she was very young. This means that she was always a person with delicate health. Andrea had health problems in November and in January she had open heart surgery. She is now in the hands of another doctor who is directing her treatment and there has been signs of improvement.

Andrea's case is one of many cases that are emerging in Texas since the introduction of legislation that was signed by George W. Bush in 1999. The way in which the hospital committees are deciding whether or not a case should be considered as futile care might in fact be open to a lot of criticism.

The original intent of the legislation was meant to apply to people who were in fact dying. Andrea is not dying and this is why it is difficult for her family to accept that her case is one where further care is futile.

I am reading about more and more cases from Texas where the doctors are telling families that they are going to cease treatment and they are giving the families 10 days to find another facility before they pull the plug on treatment that is being given to the sick person.

In Andrea Clark's case, she has insurance. Could it be that the insurance company is putting pressure on the hospital with regard to the cost of the care that Andrea requires? If this is not the situation then it might be a case of the doctors in St. Luke's hospital are too inexperienced to offer the best form of care for Andrea so that she begins to recover from her open heart surgery.

People who have been born with a hole in the heart should not have to face this kind of treatment as they grow older. Andrea's case seems to be one where the doctors are attempting to practice passive euthanasia on the patient. If the patient is responding due to the care of the new doctor, then one has to question the competence of the doctors at St. Lukes when it comes to how they have been caring for Andrea. In the months after her operation, was Andrea getting the kind of optimal care required so that she would survive and continue to progress, or has that care been substandard?

The Andrea Clarke case is yet another example of how the culture of death is gaining strength within the hospital system in the USA. The danger of this situation is that other countries are emulating the lead of those doctors who believe that they can give up on a patient and claim that further care is futile. This is an effort to clear the system of long term patients who have the potential to survive, but they have been slow to progress.

With so many cases like Andrea's case that are emerging in Texas, it might be time to have a closer look at the way in which the culture of death is gaining a foothold in that state thanks to legislation whose purpose is being distorted by the system.

Killing Babies, Compassionately

Killing Babies, Compassionately

Wesley Smith has written an article that examines the Groningen Protocol in light of the German experience. It seems that the Dutch are upset over the comparisons between the Groningen Protocol and the Nazi decree that brought about the termination of the lives of babies that were born with birth defects as well as the adult disabled population.

If one truly examines the history of euthanasia, it is not hard to see that the Dutch medical profession are continuing along the path that started in Germany. The path to the murder of the disabled began in the 1920s when two men wrote a book outlining when it would be appropriate to put the disabled to death. From that beginning, babies who were born with severe disability were taken to a clinic and they were "put to sleep". In other words they were put down as though they were a dog or a cat.

Hitler became involved when a father wrote to him about his son who had severe disability. Hitler sent his advisors to have a look at the boy. These murderers wanted protection from the state so that they could continue with their killing of the innocent. Hitler gave them that protection.

Now let us move forward to the present Dutch experience, that is being copied in other parts of the world. The measure that is being used is that they are taking the life of a severely disabled baby because it is considered to not have a quality life. It is the notion of a quality of life that ought to be challenged, and indeed Justice Holman in his decision on baby MB did in fact consider that case from the point of view that we cannot define the quality of life of the child from pain alone. It must be noted that baby MB's condition is such that he suffers from a lot of pain but he has a quality of life because of his interaction with his family.

The other thing that comes out of Smith's article is the way in which the Dutch, just like the Germans before them apply a notion of compassion. This compassion is a false compassion because it is solely based upon the premise that the person does not have a right to live because the life is different from that of other people.

There are grave implications as a result of the implementation of the Groningen Protocol. I do not think that we can ignore those implications either now or in the future because as more and more people embrace these ideas, people with disability are being placed at risk. For example, what has been happening in the USA is that there has been an insidious campaign against people who are ill, or have some form of disability. Ever since the 1960s there has been a revival of the push for what is termed voluntary euthanasia. The Living Will that is improperly drafted can end up as a death warrant for people who sign a form without reading and understanding the implications of what is being signed. It is now common practice for doctors to refuse to treat someone they deem to be unworthy of living. This same risk aslo exists in Great Britain as well as in Australia. What happens in the USA is being copied in Australia, even though our case law is supposed to follow the protocols that are set up in Westminster.

In the past 50-60 years what we have witnessed is a push by the medical profession to absolved themselves when they deliberately take a life. The push for both the legalisation of abortion on demand and the legalisation of euthanasia on demand, has its roots in the early philosophies that were preached in Germany. They also have their roots in the desire to keep out of jail. There is a very real fear that those who were participating in what had been illegal should be prosecuted. That is why these professionals set out to change public opinion into their way of thinking.

The Groningen Protocol is the same as the German Protocol. The only difference is the lack of the backing of a political party. There are implications here for everyone, especially the unborn who then become premature babies. Their prematurity is a determinant in whether they are given the right to survive or must die because some adult says that their tiny lives are not worth living. It is through something like the Groningen Protocol that Michael Schiavo has been allowed to murder his wife. The lawyer George Felos, kept on spreading the lie that Terri was not able to feel anything and that when everything that sustained her life was taken away that she would not feel a thing but that she would drift off into oblivion. Yet, that statement was a lie. The other statement that he used to soften up the community is that there are thousands around the USA who die as a result of this technique every day. What Felos failed to understand that the majority public opinion cannot make the action right.

When the world turns away from God - entering the slippery slope

How is it that a nation that was populated by people with the Judeo-Christian ethic could go astray so much that the majority no longer recognize those things that are morally right and morally wrong? It did not start with the Schiavo scandal because the rot itself began in an earlier period - when the justices of the Supreme Court made an erroneous decision relating to abortion on demand. The principles of Roe vs. Wade set the nation of the USA onto the first rung of the slippery slope into oblivion. Every time the Supreme court has failed to overturn Roe vs. Wade, another step was taken on the rungs of the slippery slope. Out of that decision the world itself has seen what can only be described as an obscene push to kill as many unborn babies as possible because the lives of these babies are no longer held to be sacred, either in the eyes of other human beings, or in spite of the existence of God. That one decision in the USA was echoed in other countries such as Australia, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland (yes even Catholic Ireland has fallen into Satan's snare), France (a once great Catholic nation) and the list goes on. The judiciary in Australia was used to decide a number of similar cases, and instead of following the precedent of case law the justices of the Courts decided that they had the right to make a decision that did not fit either the law of the land, or case law precedent. These decisions have become all hallowed and enshrined as though they can never be removed for the bad decisions that they happened to be, and the laws that were also enacted as a result of Roe vs. Wade have likewise become enshrined in the minds of feeble-minded men and women who desire to continue with the foetal bloodshed. It seems that there is a rush to reach the edge over which the slippery slope becomes extremely steep for those countries that have been willing to walk the plank into oblivion.

It is within this framework that we start to see the renewed push for euthanasia on demand. The first part has now been quite literally fulfilled, for in some places abortions are offered as though the taking of a lfe is just some meaningless action, to which the doctor is firmly obligated without the exception of being allowed to object. It is within this framework that what had been an almost secret society began to get very vocal. Just like abortion on demand, there are some who are so vocal that they wil not accept no for an answer. It is for this reason that we see the rise of such illustrious criminal minds as Jack Kevorkian in the USA and Philip Nietzche in Australia. Whilst Kevorkian is serving time because of his actions, Nietzche has remained a free man. He has even gone as far as setting up shop in NZ in an effort to retain what he sees as a money spinning business. His victim, Nancy, was given the impression that she was dying from cancer. However, this woman did not have cancer at the time of her autopsy. So yet another very dangerous situation had developed in the world.

This world of death that is promoted through Planned Parenthood and other illustrious organisations. The hospice movement in the USA should be about helping the sick and dying to be more comfortable as they are dying. However, not everyone who ends up in a hospice is sick and dying. The system itself has been abused by those who want to get away with murder, through court sanction. In states such as Florida the sanctioning of murder via the courts has been on the increase. This is the very nub of the Schiavo scandal. The court system failed to take into account that the estranged adulterous husband had vested interests and reasons to force Terri to die in a way that is not even sanctioned for domestic pets.

One of the lame excuses for wanting this cruel execution to take place given by George Felos and Michael Schiavo happened to be that the removal of a feeding tube is something that happens to thousands of people every day. It is but a lame excuse because in the majority of those cases the people were dying and the continued giving of hydration and nutrition would not have been appropriate for their rapidly deteriorating condition. In Terri's case, since she was neither a carrot, tomato, potato or cucumber, it was not appropriate because she was not dying but was very much alive. In fact she was cognizant.

If the principle established in baby MB's case by justice Holman had been used in the Schiavo case, then there is no way that Terri would have been allowed to die. According to the written judgement in this case, if the person is cognizant and interacts with family members then that person has a quality of life. In such a circumstance the request to end the life can be denied. The proviso in MB's case (a very sick baby with SMA type 1.1) if the condition should deteriorate to the point where treatment is invasive, painful and will not change the outcome then doctors do not have to give the treatment. The difference here is that in the baby's case, if he has a heart attack because of his condition, the doctors will not have to use life saving equipment to prolong his life.

However, when Michael Schiavo first applied to remove his wife's feeding tube, he only did so when the Florida law had been changed in order to include feeding tubes as medical equipment. The argument that has been consistently used by Schiavo, that Terri made a non-existant request that she not remain hooked to machines, becomes even more nonsensical when one suddenly realises that a feeding tube is not the same thing as life support. The feeding tube gives nutrition and hydration, but life support consists of those measures that keep the heart pumping, the lungs breathing and the brain ticking over. A PEG tube just does not cut it as life support. If a very sick baby like MB was taken off the ventilator then he would die very rapidly because without the ventilator, he cannot breathe. On the other hand, Terri was left for 13 days of total agony as she lay there dying of starvation and dehydration.

The Schiavo line continues to be that Terri did not feel anything. His buddy George Felos had strenuously argued on the TV interviews that when the tube was taken away Terri would slip into oblivion and feel nothing as she quietly slipped away. That kind of talk was nothing short of an illusion. It was a smokescreen for the truth of the situation. A person who was nearing the end of a battle with cancer might slip into oblivion in that way, but a woman who was alive and vibrant was being condemned to a death that was encountered by the brave people at Auschwitz and the other concentration camps as they steadily defied the SS. This was the kind of death that was endured by St. Maximilian Kolbe, who was probably the last of the saints in his bunker to die of dehydration and starvation forced upon them as punishment for some crime against the Nazi prison guards. That form of argument was false when it was first stated and it remains false even though Terri is death. Thirteen days without water is totally horrendous.

However, once Terri died the way was open for others to try and kill the one who had become a burden because of brain injury. The case of Scott Thomas illustrates this point, and because this is still the subject of the courts it is best not to make too many comments about the complicity of the wife in Scott's injuries. For the moment, Scott's mother has custody of her son and she has been able to prevent him being forced into hospice, where the wife wants to do away with him. There has also been the case of Haleigh Poutre where the step mother and father had severely beaten Haleigh, at at the urging of her biological mother, the department who is in charge of her well being applied to the court to have Haleigh put down as though she were a dog.

On other fronts we heard about Mae Magourick from Georgia, where the grand-daughter used the rather glib statement: "It is time for granny to go home to Jesus". Sorry dear, but the only one who can choose the time for granny to go is God the Father. Only God the Father will decide who is in and who is out of favour and destined for the hottest place outside of the earth. ;-). It is not up to us to make this kind of unilateral decision-making. It is God's choice alone. The lady in question was wrong, and all Christian preachers who state that it is ok to think in this way are also wrong. They are not teaching according to what Christ taught all of us. Allowing a person to be starved and dehydrated to death on the grounds that the person should be allowed to go home to Jesus is just not a part of Judeo-Christian teaching.

When the world turns away from God - there will be more like Terri

As a Catholic who practices her faith, it is very difficult for me to accept what happened to Terri Schindler-Schiavo. As we move towards the anniversary of her court ordered death, we stop and pause to remember that if Terri really wanted to die as her adulterous husband claimed, then she would have given in against him a long time prior to her death. Michael Schiavo did everything possible in an attempt to make Terri die. He took away every single pleasure and stimulation in an attempt to force her to lose the will to live. He even prevented her family from coming to visit for what must have been to Terri an interminable amount of time. Yet Terri did not give in to this form of tyranny and she lived until the point where she was forced to die in what can only be described as torturous death that would not be all that different from the torture and persecution faced by the early Christians.

My Catholic faith, as well as my study of the Scripture has taught me to recognize that when people turn away from God, there is always a break-down in human relationships. The sin of Adam and Eve caused a rupture in the relationship between humanity and God. That sin of disobedience took humanity onto a path where it has been hard to resist temptation to do evil. The effect of the world’s first recorded murder – that is the murder of Abel at the hands of Cain – is at the very heart of every murder that has been contemplated and carried out in the history of humanity, including the court ordered murder of Therese Marie Schindler-Schiavo. What was stopping Michael Schiavo from handing over the care of Terri to her parents and siblings? Nothing, except for his over-inflated ego, and perhaps that guilty secret that he did not want a recovered Terri to reveal, should have prevented Michael Schiavo from doing what her parents wanted.

As I have continued to study the Scriptures, I have learned about the difference between darkness and light. I have learned that the sinner is the one who walks in darkness, because it is the sinner who has separated from God, and who no longer bathes in the light of His Grace. My own fascination for history has taught me that all of the great civilizations of this world have gone through a steady rise and then decline. It is during the time of decline that we see history repeating itself, over and over again – murder, abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia of the disabled, euthanasia of girl infants, injustice, pagan practices, and the list of all of the signs of the decline in civilization continues.

My list is not by any stretch of the imagination, an exhaustive list of the evil practices of mankind at the moment when a civilization goes into decline, yet it serves to pin-point that one thing that every age has in common with another age. Whenever man turns away from God, thinking that he/she knows better than God, or even denying the existence of the One True God, as idol worship is encouraged, there is a common thread – with the stoking of the ego, man is more inclined to commit murder, as well as other sins that are offensive to God. This is at the very heart of the fight to kill or to save Therese Marie Schindler-Schiavo.

Whilst we do not know for certain what happened on the morning that Terri collapsed and ended up in a coma that caused her brain damage, there are some things that have emerged from the previous day that point the finger at an ego driven adulterous husband, as having something to do with her condition. Even his desire to totally do away with her, by obtaining court sanctioning of her death, has an element of ego attached – it is an element that cannot be ignored when all of the facts behind this case are researched. One thing is very certain, Michael Schiavo had a problem that needed to be treated by a psychiatrist, because the way in which he was dominating Terri prior to her death was in reality a “flag” or signal that this was a very troubled relationship. Perhaps it is a sign that Michael, who was probably already entering into adulterous relationships behind his wife’s back, was feeling guilty about his sin of betrayal. One cannot deny that Michael Schiavo had committed adultery because he was openly living with his concubine, Jodi Centonze, plus he had sexual relations with at least two other women prior to the time when he began to live with his concubine. It is merely speculation that perhaps there were other women in the life of Michael Schiavo. If this speculation is true, then that would partially explain why he began flying into rages at Terri, since he would have been projecting his guilt for wrong doing onto Terri. Regardless of when the adultery began, it is probable that Michael Schiavo had a very guilty conscience and he would not want Terri to remain alive in order to convict him of his guilt over his betrayal of her trust in him as a husband, or to convict of his guilt over the event that led to her collapse.

The guilt that I speak about at the base or human level is magnified when God comes into the picture. Not only is there a sin against the wife but there is also a sin against God. The ten commands that were given to Moses state:

“Thou shalt not commit adultery”.

This is an offence against both God and neighbour. It is a breaking of the marriage covenant, and that means that this adultery has also served to break the relationship between Michael Schiavo and God. So here we have the first step that comes from satisfying the call of the ego. The relationship with God is broken and as a result of the breaking of this relationship, Michael Schiavo’s conscience became clouded as he moved from one wrong doing into another, until ultimately he committed the most grievous offence of all – he pushed for the legally sanctioned murder of Terri because he could no longer stand to see her lying in bed in her brain-injured state, serving as a reminder that he had caused this situation.

However, the buck does not stop with Michael Schiavo because there are others who were complicit in the court sanctioned murder of Marie Therese Schindler-Schiavo. These are the people who have been pushing to bring about euthanasia on demand in the same way that abortion on demand has been forced upon the nations of the world. Unfortunately not all of the forces behind the court-sanctioned murder of Therese Marie Schindler-Schiavo have been revealed. We still do not know who helped to bank roll the legal fees of George Felos. Then there is the complicity of the bio-ethicists as well as the journalists within the mainstream media. Each is complicit in what they either taught in the schools, or what they wrote in the media.

When God called upon Isaiah to be a prophet, He warned of the injustices that were being perpetrated against the most defenceless in society, and in our modern age, Therese Marie Schindler-Schiavo is the face of the most vulnerable and defenceless within society today – those who cannot speak up for themselves because of a physical impairment caused by injury, or birth defect. Our modern society has made the plunge into oblivion, not only through the murder of the unborn, but by the sanctioning of the killing of those who cannot tell us what he or she really wants. This is the crux of the issue of the case of Schindler vs. Schiavo. Terri could not speak up for herself, and her guardian because of his guilt over his adultery should not have been allowed to kill her with the sanction of the court.

One year ago...Carla Sauer Iyer speaks up for Terri

Carla Sauer Iyer was prepared to speak out about what happened when she was a nurse at Palm Gardens nursing home where she had a role in caring for Terri Schindler-Schiavo, prior to Felos acting illegally and getting Terri admitted to Woodside Hospice where eventually Terri was murdered by her feckless, adulterous and wife abusing husband. One year on it is worth reading again the testimony of Carla, because it remains as an indictment against all of the people who turned their backs on Terri and the Schindlers in the pursuit of this woman's death in order to bring about euthanasia on demand.

There are many who claim that it is not true that Michael Schiavo is a wife abuser, well I beg to differ from such an opinion. There are several ways to abuse a person: physical, mental and sexual. Sometimes all three forms of abuse go hand in hand, but they are truly separate and distinct and I believe that at the very least Michael Schiavo is guilty of the mental or psychological abuse of Terri Schindler-Schiavo. Most people think that one must see signs of bruising or scratches, or welts from a strap or other implement to have proof of physical abuse, and again this is not true. It has been established that a large portion of the cases relating to women who have been physically abused by their spouses, or lovers, do not make it to court because the police who dealt with the cases did not know how to detect signs of attempted strangulation. Not all cases of attempted strangulation are obvious to the naked eye, for there are ways of attempting to strangle a person that leaves almost no markings. This is probably what happened in the Schiavo case.

However, there are other signs that indicate that the relationship between Michael Schiavo and his late wife Theresa Marie Schindler was one that was abusive. First, there is the evidence of one of Terri's friends and workmate, that Michael used to check the number of kilometres on the car. This kind of thing is a sure sign of an abusive husband, that is one who attempts to exert power over his wife in extraordinary ways. Second, this same person had remarked upon the fact that there were times when Terri came to work and her arms were covered in bruises. This is a point that was glossed over by the MSM who have flat out refused to look at this case as one that involved spousal abuse. Third, there is Michael's determination that his late wife must suffer from a tortuous death that he wished upon her, and something that was not her choice. This is the height of an abusive relationship, when one sees the projection of one's own thoughts and attitudes upon others.

Carla's testimony, even a year after I first read what she had to say about Michael Schiavo and the manner in which he dominated the care of this wife, remains an indictment against Michael Schiavo. Her testimony outlines yet another way in which Michael Schiavo continued to abuse his wife even though she was lying helplessly on a bed. His refusal to allow her to have therapy of any nature is an indictment against Schiavo. It is abusive because Terri was denied the opportunity to progress to the best of her potential after serious brain injury. Carla testifies that Michael Schiavo was menacing towards staff, including in his body language. He apparently did a lot of yelling at the staff in the nursing home, and a number of staff members were afraid of him. Even here, one can see this translated to the domestic front, where no doubt endured these slanging matches from a husband who definitely had some form of mental problem.

The worst form of abuse that Terri endured was the isolation from society that was forced upon her by the adulterous husband. The manner in which he controlled the visitors' list at the nursing homes, as wel as the hospice, including the refusal to allow Terri's own family to visit further enforces the proof that Michael Schiavo was a wife abuser, and as such he should have been prosecuted for the abuse of his wife.

Unfortunately, not one person who had the authority to act in this case was prepared to cooperate with the Schindlers in order to have Terri released from her daily terror that lasted 15 years. In the end, not only is Michael Schiavo liable for the court sanctioned murder of his wife, but all of those people who were complicit in the plot to make sure that Terri died so that they could push euthanasia on demand, are also liable for this woman's unnecessary death. Terri did not want to die, but her feelings were covered up because of the snow job and the mystique that surrounded her condition - a mystique that was created by a low life lawyer who should also be put in prison because of his role in pursuing Terri's death.

BBC NEWS | Health | Sick baby's family thanks judge

BBC NEWS | Health | Sick baby's family thanks judge

At last there is some positive news for families with severely disabled children. Baby MB has been given a reprieve in a ruling by Justice Holman in the UK. The judge has ruled that since the little boy can interact with his environment the medical team cannot switch off the ventilator due to "quality of life arguments.

This is a ruling that has acknowledge something that was denied to Terri Schiavo - that he can respond to outside stimulus and that he does have a quality of life albeit not the same as a normal toddler when it comes to taking first steps.

Quality of life arguments are designed to deny a person the right to go on living. In this case we can see what happens when a just judge reviews all of the facts that are placed before him.

Charlotte continues to improve

BBC NEWS England Hampshire Charlotte 'continuing to improve'


Each time that Justice Hedley has agreed with the doctors and has made a DNR order relating to Charlotte Wyatt, this brave little girl has shown that the judge and the doctors are not going to have the last say about whether she will live or die. Last week I reported that Charlotte's condition had deteriorated because of an infection. In yet another attempt to write off this little girl, the doctors at the hospital asked for an emegency decision from Justice Hedley that they be allowed to resurrect the DNR on this baby. The judge readily complied with the request. I can imagine that Charlotte's parents were heartbroken that once again they faced this same situation with their very brave little daughter.

Well, Charlotte has been showing these doctors that she is not finished with her life and that she is not going to die. Once again Charlotte has defied the doctors and she has begun improving. What will they try next to kill Charlotte?

Baby Life support case goes public :: :: Hyscience

Baby Life support goes public :: :: Hyscience

The case of baby MB is one of those heart wrenching cases where a 17 month old baby is being placed under a death sentence against the parents' wishes. This is another UK case where the doctors have to the courts asking that they be allowed to withdraw life support.

The case is only slightly different from Charlotte Wyatt's case. Both sets of parents want their babies to live but the doctors do not want to continue treatment. Baby MB is worse off than Charlotte because this poor little mite has a condition known as muscle atrophy that is leading to eventual paralysis. He need oxygen to survive and the doctors are making the request to stop the oxygen. The parents want their son to be given a tracheotomy so that they can take him home.

At issue in this case is once again who has the right to determine whether a severely disabled baby should live or die, based upon a very subjective view of life being: "quality of life". Who are these doctors that they think that they have the right to decide whether or not either Charlotte or Baby MB should live or die? They are not God, but they are attempting to play God, by going to the courts to ask permission to literally kill these babies because they do not measure up to their predetermined idea of a quality of life.

Life and Death: Judge Rules Doctors Must Let Baby Charlotte Die :: Life Issues :: Hyscience#more

Life and Death: Judge Rules Doctors Must Let Baby Charlotte Die :: Life Issues :: Hyscience#more

Baby Charlotte Wyatt has been condemned to death again by justice Hedley. This is a shocking situation, because the justice is playing God by allowing the refusal of life saving techniques to help Charlotte whilst she has an infection.

Haleigh is moved to rehabilitation

Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe that God answers our prayers in unexpected ways? Well, I definitely believe in God, even though I sometimes wonder why he does not seem to answer my requests. The positive changes in Haleigh Poutre's health serve as a reminder that miracles do happen.

It has only been a short time since the courts declared that Jason Strickland had no right to seek to have a say over Haleigh's welfare, a decision that left her fate in the hands of the Department of Social Services in Boston, and already Haleigh has been moved to a children's rehabilitation facility. The spokeswoman for Haleigh is Denise Monteiro, and I suspect that this woman really does give a damn about giving Haleigh a fighting chance to live a normal life.

On the day after the court decided that the Department had the ultimate say over Haleigh, the little girl started to stir. The good news happens to be that further opinions from other neurologists were sort (at least they did not use the quack Cranford) and as a result of the second opinion Haleigh was moved to the rehabilitation facility.

The department spokeswoman has also indicated that the DNR has been lifted and if anything should happen that Haleigh needs life saving treatment, she will receive that treatment. This is very good news. The child's life is no longer in the balance from the point of view that the department is no longer seeking to prematurely end Haleigh's life. Ms Monteiro has been adamant in stating that nutrition and hydration would not be withdrawn.

It seems that Haleigh has given positive responses to questions that have been put to her. She has been observed moving her eyes towards people's voices. Funny thing is Terri Schiavo was doing those things too, but in the cover up over Terri's condition, this positive evidence that she was progressing was ignored by those who were seeking to murder her.

I have to applaud Jason Strickland for making the legal attempt to prevent the authorities causing harm to Haleigh at a point in her life when she was so very vulnerable as far as living or dying is concerned. I do not applaud this man's other actions, but his legal move has saved Haleigh's young life for the time being.

I am feeling upbeat over this case because of the positive indications regarding Haleigh's progress towards coming out of her coma. My gut feel over the issue happens to be that I think that the medical profession has started to become too hasty in attempting to end the lives of people who present to the hospital in a coma condition. They need to slow down in making those life and death decisions. They need to learn to err on the side of life so that more people are given the opportunity to fully recover from their injuries.

Just for the record, in 1959 my family was involved in a near fatal car accident. My sister was in a coma and lay near death for 2 weeks. During that time a member of the family actually informed my mother that she was praying that my sister would die. Well, God answered the prayer in the negative. My sister came out of her coma. She has slight brain injury. In 1959 we did not have access to all of the fancy equipment that is available now. At that time no one attempted to end my sister's life just because she was in that state. She was given the opportunity to live and she continues to live today, as a mother of 4 daughters and a grandmother to many grandchildren.

It is wrong to attempt to end the life of someone just because he or she is in a coma. That person should have the chance to wake up and be rehabiliated. This is what is meant by the "Culture of Life".

Should left wing judges be allowed to decide?

In my last blog I mentioned the story of Maria Korp. Sadly, that case ended in Maria's death, and then her husband, who was the co-accused with regard to the injuries she received (the mistress did the bashing and left Maria for dead and then blamed Joe Korp) committed suicide.

In that case, Joe Korp was accused of having a vested interest in his wife remaining alive. I have no doubt that the accusation had weighed very heavily upon his fragile mind, and that somehow this had something to do with the finality of his decision-making. I am not excusing Joe Korp. I am not saying that he was totally innocent. He had a sexual and immaturity problem and he needed psychiatric help for that problem. However, I do think that the mistress was not necessarily telling the truth about what really happened. It was a very strange case.

The original reason for starting the blog had to do with Theresa Schindler-Schiavo who was a severely disabled woman who was being abused by her husband, and was forced to die via dehydration and starvation. Dehydration is an extremely unpleasant way to die, and what Terri endured at the end of her life should have been enough to have this man hurled before the criminal court on a count of murder. However, that has not happened to date. Terri's life was placed in jeopardy because of an activist judge - a man who has a vested interest in doing what the lawyers want him to do. Oh yes, Greer was given awards for his handling of this case, by the Clearwater Bar Association and other lawyers involved in yes, that is right, the Guardianship Association. That group went as far as giving an award to the spouse murderer claiming him as guardian of the year for 2005. Like pigs will fly if that man was a good guardian!!!!!!!

Now, there is a similar case in Boston, but this time, it is a child who is in danger of being put to death. Haleigh's case is a mixture of Maria Korp and Terri Schiavo and there is no easy way of knowing the full truth about the situation. In Maria's case we were told that her health was deteriorating but we were not given precise detail about exactly why this was the prognosis. Anyway, I doubt that Maria was left to feel the pain of having sustenance removed, but that is not something I want to discuss here. My subject is Haleigh Poutre, an 11 year old who ended up in hospital, and in a coma because someone bashed her to the point of senselessness. This is a peculiar case, because the birth mother had allowed a boyfriend to abuse and rape Haleigh when she was only 3 years old, and then she abandoned the child, leaving her with her sister (who is now dead), who adopted Haleigh, and then allowed her husband to bash Haleigh.(or at least that is what the media are stating). Jason Strickland is the alleged perpetrator of Haleigh's injuries, yet he is the only one who spoke up on her behalf.

Unfortunately, Jason Strickland, as the alleged perpetrator of the injuries, is seen as one who has a vested interest in keeping Haleigh alive. If she dies, then just like Joe Korp, he faces the possibility of having charges against him revised to that of murder. It is because of the perceived vested interest that the judge who heard the case refused to give Jason Strickland the right to determine what will happen to Haleigh. Her mother, who has come out of the woodwork had gone on record as stating that Haleigh should be allowed to die. So what does the female judge decide? That Jason Strickland, who wants the child to be given a chance, has such a vested interest in Haleigh remaining alive that his opinion does not count at all.

Why on earth are these people being appointed to the bench when they are only interested in killing people?

Maria Korp

Maria Korp is known as the woman who was strangled and placed in the boot of her car at the Shrine of Remembrance where she was left to die.

Tania Herman admitted to having attempted to strangle Maria and is serving a term in jail for her crime. However, she has implicated her former lover, the husband of Maria, Joseph Korp as the one who told her to get rid of Maria. To be honest I do not believe Tania Hermann, since the information that has come out about this case has indicated that Joseph Korp had spurned his mistress and informed her that he was returning to his wife. He had no intentions of divorcing Maria in order to marry Tania. I suspect that Tania acted out of jealousy when she ruined Maria's life forever.

Yesterday, July 26 2005, it was announced that the artificial feeding of Maria would cease because her condition had deteriorated. Maria has been sentenced to die through starvation and dehydration. This is a horrible death sentence that has been imposed upon her. It has been made by the public guardian in Victoria. To be honest this is a shameful moment in the history of my own home state of Victoria.

There has already been some who have evoked the image of Terri Schiavo and the manner in which she was forced to die when the tube was actually removed from her stomach. At least the doctors are not causing more trauma by removing the tube from Maria. Despite the obvious parallels between the two women, there are some very obvious differences.

In this particular case it is the husband and family together who were battling the doctors over this decision regarding Maria's well-being. Some will argue that Joseph Korp is being self-motivated because he faces murder charges when she dies. However, I am not convinced that he is motivated in this way. The is a total contrast to the behaviour of Michael Schiavo who feigned distress (but there were only crocodile tears to be found coming from the Schiavo family). Joseph's brother, Gusto, has been another advocate to keep Maria alive and to not allow her to die through starvation and dehydration. Again this is a total contrast to the behaviour of the Schiavo brothers who have covered up for Michael and his crime.

Maria's situation stands as a testimony to the fact that it is more than likely that Terri's injuries were caused by attempted strangulation. I certainly continue to believe that attempted strangulation via a choke hold cannot be ruled out as the cause of Terri's brain injury.

Now that the feeding has been withdrawn there is very little that can be done to save Maria from an agonizing death. To me it is obvious that Mr. Gardner did not consult the Schiavo autopsy report because he has failed to understand the effects that a slow dehydration has upon the body. The palliative care advisors have lied about the effects of this action.

Terr's autopsy report

At last we have the autopsy results for Terri. There is good and bad news as a result of this report. At first glance the report seems to be biased in favour of Michael Schiavo, but when the report is reviewed in detail there are points where one needs to read between the lines. Some points that have come out of the report are the following:

1. The official cause of death is listed as: complications of Anoxic Encephalopathy;

The manner of death is listed as: Undetermined.

There has been a lot of debate about this analysis on the death of Theresa Schindler. What are the complications of "Anoxic Encephalopathy", considering that the actual cause of death is in reality the judicially enforced starvation and dehydration of Theresa Schindler? Those complications are her enforced starvation and dehydration to death.

2. The M.E. determined that the potassium imbalance was not caused by an eating disorder, that Terri did not have bulimia.

3. The M.E. stated that the bone scan could not be used to determine whether or not Terri had signs of injury from abuse.

On this point (I will be returning to the comments that were made) I believe that the Me.E. came to a flawed conclusion. I intend to look at this particular portion of the report in greater depth.

4. That Terri's condition when she arrived at the M.E.'s office showed signs of dehydration. The description of Terri's appearance at death is a direct contrast to the Felos claims that Terri looked beautiful (proving that George Felos has a sickness called necrophilia - a fascination for death that is not normal).

Over time I will address the various issues that have arisen as a result of the autopsy report. It is a report that I believe to be somewhat flawed in some of its conclusions due to the fact that the M.E. relied solely upon information supplied by the Schiavo lawyers. The M.E. was at pains to mention that there were missing documents that could have thrown light upon the manner in which Terri ended up in a collapsed heap on the floor.

Awaking the Sleeping Giant

http://www.davidlimbaugh.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/587

This is a good article from David Limbaugh. Even though I am an Australian citizen, my reading of the situation is quite close to his timely comments.

My own interest in Terri Schiavo's case stems from the realization that her case would open the door to widespread slaughter of the disabled, elderly, and mentally incapacitated. This case was not about "euthanasia", especially for someone who was dying. Terri was not dying at all. She was not in a comatose condition either. It was about granting the husband and guardian the legal right to murder his wife by judicial decree.

When the USA had the Roe vs. Wade decision, the Australian judicial activists followed down the same path. That means with the Schiavo decision, unless it is undermined by legislation to prevent that kind of decision from happening again, there might be an opportunity for someone in Australia to attempt to pull the same kind of stunt. The fact is Greer's Law, which was the only rule of the law followed in Pinellas County, has set an extremely dangerous precedent.

However, this time I think that the players in the game have gone too far. The more people find out about the Schiavo case the more the discover that they have been duped about the circumstances. As they make that discovery, the backlash will become like a tidal wave against the Judiciary, Legislature and Executive. One of the dangers of using judges who are elected to office is that it is easy to end up with a corrupt judge who is willing to turn his back on the law, for the sake of power and in pursuit of fame.

What was to be gained for George Greer in making a decision to murder Terri Schindler? Good question. If it was fame that he wanted, well he is now famous. One could say that he is now infamous because of what he has done.

Around 2000 years ago, some Jews put to death an innocent man. That innocent man was tortured prior to his horrible death. However, his death was a triumph over sin and Satan. Now with the death of an innocent woman, Theresa Schindler, will there be yet another triumph over the culture of death?

How to get judicial approval to murder your spouse

The following is an excerpt from an interview between Larry King, Michael Schiavo and George Felos:

SCHIAVO: Terri is in a chronic, persistent vegetative state.
KING: Meaning she has...
SCHIAVO: She has no awareness, no consciousness. She's in a contracted state. Her hands, her arms, her legs are contracted.
KING: We see now there, we see the eyes open. A smile. It looks like a smile.
SCHIAVO: Now, you've got to remember here, too, when the Schindlers show their little snippets of Terri, there's four and a half hours of tape. OK?
KING: This is edited?
SCHIAVO: This is edited. This is a tape where they snuck in against a court order after the judge said, do not photograph her.
KING: But she looks like -- right, she's not in a coma


Sadly, there was nothing that we could do to save this woman from her faithless husband's attempt to arrange a state approved murder. Today, 31st March, Terri Schindler gave up her fight to remain alive. She was brave and plucky. She proved to the world that her brain was not mush and that she should be forced to die. Yet in the end, the out of control Florida judiciary has won its victory of death to the disabled over life for all who need loving care.

This story is very complex. On the surface the issue seemed to be one of a choice between living and dying. According to the spouse of this disabled woman, she was supposed to have told him that she would not want to live as one who is dependent upon others for the rest of her life. It is worth noting that in reality this is hearsay evidence, and this evidence should have been excluded as something that was coming from a very self interested party. Unfortunately for Terri, the judge hearing the case happened to think that what her husband stated was clear and convincing. Yet nothing could be further than the truth.

As hard as the Schindlers fought through the courts to save their daughter from being murdered with the blessing of the judiciary of Florida, a death that was horrible because of the torture that it inflicted upon Terri, no judge was totally prepared to take on the responsibility of overturning such an unjust decision. They refused because they saw the appeal only in terms of following procedure. They did not care enough that a woman's life was in the balance.

The Schindlers had very little chance of winning their case because Michael Schiavo had the power to control every aspect of the remainder of his wife's life because he had been appointed by the court as her guardian at law. Michael Schiavo abused his wife before her collapse and he continued to abuse his wife after the collapse, even as she lay in a hospital bed, he continued the cruel torture at every opportunity. The issue of being appointed guardian is just one of many complex controversies to be found in this case.

I have begun studying the transcripts of interviews that Schiavo has had with the press. When I first started to read the transcripts of these interviews I was stunned by the fact that I had noticed that there were inconsistencies between what was stated in evidence and what was stated in these interviews. Michael had clearly contradicted himself, and at the same time he has implicated himself for his role in developing a plan to murder his wife with judicial approval.

Today, I studied the 2003 transcript of the Larry King show. There it was in black and white, further incriminating evidence with regard to Michael's intentions towards his disabled wife. The clue is there for all to see:

"She is in a contracted state. Her hands, her arms and her legs are contracted."

Well one does not have to be a doctor to recognize that the denial of therapy and rehabiliation would lead to precisely that condition in life. It was his denial of rehabilitation that led to that state, rather than the result of brain injury. This is evidence that he intended to kill Terri as soon as he received the settlement money.

However, what is disturbing about the comment is the fact that Michael Schiavo appears to have deliberately set out to create the impression that his wife was in fact in a contracted state. This plan started not long after Michael had received the compensation money from a medical malpractice suit. So what was the plan that Michael put into place? Here is a quick list of some of the things that Michael Schiavo did in an attempt to make his wife die:

1. He stopped all rehabilitation and therapy for Theresa and placed a DNR on her chart.

2. He refused to allow her to be treated for a UTI in the hope that she would develop a blood sepsis and die ( I will have something interesting to say about this in another post).

3. He removed all forms of stimulation from her environment.

When these first moves failed to get the result that he desired - "is the bitch dead yet" - he decided to employ an attorney who is a euthanasia advocate and who had been responsible for the death of Estelle Browning - a death that he described in some detail in his own book.

The employment of George Felos started off a new chain of events in the short life struggle of Theresa Schindler. If there was not already enough murky circumstances surrounding this case, Felos added to the stench with his actions:

1. He arranged for legislation to be changed so that a feeding tube would be considered as life support.

2. He advised and coached Michael Schiavo on what he had to say in the Probate Court in order to achieve his objective. It is odd how Michael Schiavo did not remember that Theresa had expressed a death wish until after George Felos had been hired in an effort to bring about her death.

3. He manipulated and used the mainstream media, playing up to the elements on both right and left who believe that disabled people should not be allowed to continue their existence.

4. He twisted medical evidence, and he arranged for a neurologist, Dr. Cranford, well known for his pro-euthanasia activism to examine Theresa and to give only one outcome, that she was beyond recovery.

The mantra of Felos happened to be: "she has no conciousness, no thought" and the mantra of Schiavo is: "she died 15 years ago". Both of these mantras were used to convince a gullible population that Theresa was in a comatose condition, who was being kept on life support. The gullible of society could be heard with their own mantra: "she died 15 years ago". or "she is nothing but a shell" and that led to the statement "let her die in peace". These gullible people refused to accept that Theresa was not attached to a machine that was keeping her artificially alive. She had a feeding tube to ensure that she received nourishment because of the effects of her spinal cord injury.

The play continued through the court system. The major player here was George Greer, the legally blind judge. He made several errors of judgment in this case and they were errors that cost an innocent woman her life. He refused to hear the evidence that pointed to the fact that Theresa had injuries that were consistent with spouse abuse - a spinal cord injury that could have been the result of an attempted strangulation, plus bone fractures. He dismissed as lacking credibility all affidavits that cast doubt upon the suitability of Michael Schiavo to remain the guardian of his estranged wife. He took no notice of legislation and he rode roughshod over the duties of the DCF as well as other investigators. On top of that he snubbed the Congress with his death order on Terri Schindler, plus he slapped an injunction on the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, preventing him from taking any action that would have removed Theresa from Woodside Hospice.

To ensure that Theresa Schindler would die, this judge ordered that she was not allowed to receive either hydration or nutrition by mouth. Attempts to spoon feed were forbidden on the grounds of being experimental. The judge also allowed Pinellas County law officers to be used as guards who were to make sure that Theresa was given neither food or drink. Children were arrested because they attempted to take water to Theresa.

So if you want to legally murder your spouse why not head to Pinellas County Florida, attempt to strangle her, bring a fraudulent malpractice suit, and then suddenly remember that she did not want to live as a person dependent upon others, so go find yourself a lawyer who takes euthanasia cases and then say everything as directed, even if it is not true. George Greer will rubber stamp your actions and not one other judge will get in your way to stop your wife from dying by starvation and dehydration.

Info Theory

Info Theory

Attempted Murder: The Terri Schiavo Coverup

Attempted Murder: The Terri Schiavo Coverup

A lack of justice is nothing new - say no to the culture of death

Is it by accident that Judge George Greer of Pinellas county chose March 18 as the day on which Michael Schiavo is allowed to begin the slow tortured death of his wife? That day is exactly one week prior to Good Friday 2005, the day on which we remember the Passion of Christ, especially the torture that He accepted for our sake. If ever there was an attempt to thumb the nose at Christian values, the choice of date by George Greer tells us exactly what he thinks of an innocent Catholic woman who is fighting to stay alive through the efforts of her family, whilst her husband wills her to die.

There are parallels between the lack of justice in the trial of Jesus, and the lack of justice in the Schindler vs. Schiavo case. I see parallels such as the false witnesses who have testified to something that is not true, because the Sanhedrin found men who were willing to come forward and give false testimony against Jesus. Michael Schiavo has used his own brother and sister-in-law to give what can only be considered as false testimony that has had the effect of condemning a severely disabled woman to death.

To give an idea of the kind of inconsistent evidence that Michael Schiavo has given, here is a portion from the transcript of his latest interview:



BURY: Michael, did Terri, your wife, leave any kind of written instructions about her wishes?

SCHIAVO: She didn't leave any written instructions. She has verbally expressed her wishes to me and other people.

BURY: She had verbally expressed them in what context exactly?


SCHIAVO: Through watching some TV program, a conversation that happened regarding her uncle that was very ill.

BURY: And how long ago was that?

SCHIAVO: Oh, we're talking — it's now been 15 years. We're talking a couple of year, three years before this happened to Terri.

BURY: So there's no kind of written record at all. It's basically your recollection and those of other family members.

SCHIAVO: Yes, it is.

How interesting!! Here is a prime example of the inconsistencies of Michael Schiavo. He has been giving this same piece of evidence, not only in a court of law, but in public interview, and he has changed the context in which the statement was made. If the judge in this case had been a truly just judge, when would he allow this hearsay oral evidence? The length of time between when the accident happened, when Michael first applied to end her life in this way, and the alleged statement is a huge gap. The alleged conversation was supposed to have happened when Terri was just 22 years of age. The evidence from Schiavo's brother and sister in law is equally suspicious, since they cannot be accepted as a disinterested party to the proceedings.

This is why the evidence given in this case is on a par with the evidence given by the false witnesses when Jesus was placed on trial. The false witnesses who came before the Sanhedrin and spoke against Jesus gave hearsay evidence. Their charges were groundless and if it was not for the fact that the real plotters were those who judged Jesus then it should have been obvious that the witnesses were unreliable. Yet, what was ordained by God had to come about as it was written. The false witnesses had their place in God's plan of salvation.

When the Israelites turned against the Lord and followed false gods, they were warned and then they were punished by God allowing Israel, and then Judea being invaded by their enemy, and the people dispersed and taken into exile. In the area that was known as Samaria, the people turned to Baal as their god, and they offered up their children as a sacrifice to Astarte. Despite our Christian upbringing our world has a tendency to forget everything that has happened in past centuries, and turns again to embrace the evil powers of Satan. How quickly have we forgotten the horrors of Nazi Germany. It is an amnesia that is encouraged by those who want to rewrite that history and pretend that the Holocaust did not happen. Yet the truth is, that in Nazi Germany, the elderly and disabled were put to death in gas ovens in hospitals ahead of the Final Solution.

George Felos, George Greer, Michael Schiavo and their cronies have been using Terri as a test case that will bring about state approved euthanasia of someone who is not near death. Michael Schiavo wants his wife dead and this is obvious when we realise that he has been too keen to remove the artificial means of hydration and feeding. George Felos is working with Schiavo because he sees himself as some kind of saviour for those who want to embrace death through euthanasia. He wants to open the way to allowing decisions to be made to end the lives of those who are considered to be useless. In this case he sees this disabled woman as being a useless being who has "already departed this world". George Greer seems to want to be the judge who brings about yet another court sponsored change in the law. Greer's application and knowledge of the laws of Florida seems to be very scant, and his application of the Divine Law is non-existent. Terri is not the first woman to be endangered by the rulings of George Greer.

Jesus, an innocent man was condemned to death, and Terri Schindler Schiavo, an innocent woman has also been condemned to death. Jesus is our Messiah. Terri is an ordinary severely disabled woman, who ended up that way in suspicious circumstances.

JUSTICE MUST PREVAIL

The modern T4 program - following the example of the Nazi Party

Have you ever wondered where the term euthanasia came from? The term euthanasia was used as an euphamism for "mercy killing" in Nazi Germany. However, the concept dates back to the philosophy of Jermemy Bentham

You can find futher information here:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/t4.html

In Hitler's Germany, the Nazi Party was preoccupied with ensuring racial purity, racial hygiene and national health and they were fairly consistent in their attempts to remove the people that they thought were unfit to remain and produce inferior offspring. In 1935 the Nuremburg Laws provided for enforced sterilization of those who were considered to be unfit to produce offspring, including the forced sterilization of the physically disabled, the mentally handicapped, as well as children who were half-breeds.

If one were to examine the demand for euthanasia in our society today, one can see the obvious parallels in thinking between that of the Nazi Party and the proponents of the involuntary death of the mentally and physically disabled. It is probable that the number of physically and mentally disabled patients who perished at the hands of the Nazis could be as high as 300, 000. It is not possible to estimate the exact number who were exterminated prior to the Final Solution.

The first parallel between euthanasia in Nazi Germany and euthanasia today is the targetting of the sick, mentally and physically disabled and the elderly. This becomes obvious when one begins to compare and contrast the language that was used then, and the language that is used in the 21st Century when discussing what is becoming the world's Final Solution against those who are considered to be inferior in some way. There is a bridge that crosses between the two eras, and that bridge is the language and terminology employed by the followers of L. Ron Hubbard. Bioethecists such as Peter Singer have been using terminology that strips away the meaning of human, such that being alive or human does not apply to the unborn, the mentally and physically handicapped, as well as anyone who is incapacitated as a result of an accident involving brain injury. There is an universal trend towards the notion that if one is not able to reason then that person is not alive. This kind of thinking is also at the heart of L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology movement.

The second parallel is that of the language that is employed to describe the people who are considered by the Nazi Party, as well as by Scientologists to be non people who should be eliminated from society. It was Hitler who had introduced the notion of the alleged superiority of the Aryan race, and anyone who did not measure up was considered as "trash" . This has been perfected in Florida where a disabled woman is being put on death row because of a court order for her execution. Her crime? There is no crime because it is her husband who wants her dead. The difficulty in the Schindler vs Schiavo case is that Michael Schiavo and his lawyers are claiming that Terri is "dead", yet how they define "death" is not the usage of the ordinary man. The culture of death people who are behind this action are attempting to change the meaning of "death" in the English language. The methodology being applied is that of a media campaign that is designed to confuse the ordinary person about what is meant by death. The campaign that is being pursued is one that encourages what they term "mercy killing" for all citizens, not just in the USA but throughout the world who are considered to be useless. The list of those who are affected by this deceitful campaign includes: children with spina bifida, cerebal palsy, blind, deaf, Downs Syndrome, any rare disease that affects the quality of life. plus children and adults who are suffering from cancer, crippling forms of arthritis, as well as those who are suffering from Alzheimer's disease, dementia due to old age, brain damage as a result of a stroke or injury, as well as those who are paraplegic and quadraplegic.

The third parallel between then and now is the contempt towards the physically and mentally disabled, as well as the elderly and those who are terminally ill. The term that is used is "euthanasia". It is meant to be "doctor assisted suicide" but it is a lot more than that today. There is also a parallel between the desire of the Nazis to rid the population of the people that are referred to as trash by Hitler, and the desire of the Scientologists to ensure the death of people that they consider to not have the right to continue to live. Anyone who requires life support is at risk of being classified as not being worth the effort to revive them. In fact there is a trend for doctors in the major hospitals to pressure relatives of the grave ill, especially those brain damaged as a result of a stroke, to accept the idea of posting a "do not resucitate" order. In such circumstances it requires a lot of strength to fight on with the loved one such that he or she dies peacefully but not as the result of neglect, or even passive euthanasia.

When one begins to contrast the kind of language employed within Scientology, there is an overwhelming revulsion towards the policies that have been implemented in the name of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. In fact there are some rather chilling parallels between L. Ron Hubbard and Adolf Hitler. Yet it is not just the adherents of Scientology that are using this language. It is very widespread within the medical community, and it is being taught within courses on bioethics by Peter Singer and his cohorts. There is a very dangerous trend towards the idea that one must save animals but any vulnerable human is not worth the effort because they are non-persons, and they no longer exist or function as humans, thus making them the target of the merchants of death.

Living Will vs. Hearsay Evidence

One of the many contradictory aspects of the Terri Schiavo case is that of Judge Greer accepting hearsay evidence from Michael Schiavo, his brother and sister-in-law that Terri was supposed to have said that she did not want to be left alive through the use of artificial support, whilst rejecting evidence from Terri's family and friends that she never expressed such thoughts.

It has always been accepted that hearsay evidence is not acceptable in a court of law, yet in the courtroom of Judge George Greer, this hearsay evidence, that did not emerge until at least 5 years after Terri was left brain damaged that Michael Schiavo suddenly remembers that Terri did not want to remain alive in that state. On the other hand, Michael Schiavo's girlfriend at the time stated that Michael had stated to her that Terri had not made such a request. This evidence was also ignored by Judge George Greer.

If Terri Schiavo had made a Living Will, in which she had set out her wishes in the event of being incapacitated, then the court would have been able to make a determination based upon the contents of such a will. The Catholic Church has guidelines about what is acceptable for a Living Will format, and if Terri had thought that such a will was necessary then no doubt she would have followed the accepted format. However, this is not the case. Terri did not leave explicit instructions for her well-being in the event of being incapacitated.

What is the implications of the lack of a Living Will in this case? First of all it has left a severely brain damaged woman open to physical and psychological abuse by her husband as he continues to try and have her killed by the state. The attempt to have Terri starved and dehydrated to death is an abuse of the due process of the law.

Second, it has left the way open for Terri to be abused by people who are unknown to her, to use her as a pawn in their attempt to impose state approved general euthanasia as a result of any court decision to pull out the feeding tube from Terri. Yes, Terri is being used by the pro-euthanasia lobby in Florida that includes the lawyers for Michael Schiavo, George Felos and Deborah Bushnell. This lobby has one goal in mind where this case is concerned and that is to oversee the death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo so that they can claim a victory for their "right to die" agenda, that is the culture of death.

Third, there is a more general implication for severely disabled people who do not have the capacity to make an informed decision to have a Living Will. If Terri Schiavo loses her life as a result of a decision in a court of law, then all those who have a physical or mental disability are at risk of someone applying to the courts to have them killed too. The way is also open for situations where people who have been in a long term coma are considered to be a drain upon society and their lives could be terminated.

The lack of a Living Will means that Terri should be protected by the courts so that her husband cannot do what he has proposed doing to her. Since she is not on life support equipment, and she is not comatose in her bed, then Justice Greer had no right to accept the hearsay evidence of Michael Schiavo and grant the request to put this young woman to death by a slow and painful process. It is a slap in the face to all who have some form of incapacity and disability that their rights can be overridden in this manner.

Who is the beneficiary of pushing for the acceptance of hearsay evidence? The true beneficiary is the pro-euthanasia lobby. It is not Terri Schiavo because she has been sentenced to die slowly and painfully. It is not those who have incapacitating disability, especially the vulnerable babies that are born with defects, including an incapacity such as cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, heart defects and Downs Syndrome. It is a decision that threatens the life of the elderly and especially those who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, ALS, and Parkinson's Disease. It will be a victory for the followers of the writings of Ron L. Hubbard.