Alright, it's about time..... (Terry Schiavo)
Let me bring up some Q&A posed to Dr. Jay Wolfson, professor of Public Health and Medicine at the University of South Florida and professor of Health Law at Stetson University College of Law, and special legal guardian of Terry Schiavo:
This info comes from an online forum done today at 11 AM: Transcript from Washington Post:
Dr. Jay Wolfson: Hello -- my name is Jay Wolfson, I am professor of public health and medicine at the University of South Florida, College of Public Health in Tampa, and Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law. I served as the court appointed, special guardian ad litem for Theresa Marie Schiavo, subsequent to the special law passed by the Florida Legislature in October of 2003. I had one month to review all of the medical and legal documents (more than 30,000 pages) and prepare a report to the Governor and the Courts addressing the question as to whether or not Terri should have additional swallowing tests. In doing this, I spent close to 30 days visiting with Terri each day -- for as long as 4 hours each day, including visits with her parents and her husband.
My final report was presented to the Governor and to the 6th Judicial Florida Circuit Court.
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Raleigh, N.C.: It is stated that Terri is in a persistent vegetative state. Yet I regularly see pictures/video of her focusing on objects and people. Several nurses have also stated that she has the ability to swallow soft foods and has done so. What exactly is a "persistent vegetative state". It seems to me that she is just severely brain damaged.
Also, isn't starvation an incredibly cruel way to make someone die? We wouldn't allow this to happen to a convicted murderer? How can this be justified?
Dr. Jay Wolfson: the pictures you see are several years old, including those depicting terri when michael made certain that she had make up and new clothes every day. she cannot swallow anything but her own saliva, and would aspirate (suck into her lungs) any food or water that might be given to her. there are many unsubstantiated facts. please try to read the report that i wrote and it may provide some additional, factual guidance.
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washingtonpost.com: A REPORT TO GOVERNOR JEB BUSH AND THE 6TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN THE MATTER OF THERESA MARIE SCHIAVO
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washingtonpost.com: Dr. Wolfson, thank you for being with us today.
You served as the legal appointed guardian of Terri Schiavo for 30 days in 2003 and issued your report in December of 2004.
How did that come about? What did you observe? What did your report say?
Dr. Jay Wolfson: I was appointed by the judiciary, according to the requirement of the law for a special guardian to investigate Terri's swallowing capacity. This opened the door to issues relating to her neurological capacity. I was required to review and report on the previous 14 years of legal and medical evidence and activities. After spending hours with Terri, getting to know her parents and siblings and her husband, and reviewing all of the evidence, my conclusion was that the competent medical evidence provided in the the case, following the Florida rules of civil procedure and evidence, and according to the Guardianship law in Florida, which was carefully crafted over fifteen years of bipartisan political and religious efforts --- indicated by clear and convincing evidence that she was in a persistent vegetative state, according to the most credible science and medicine. I also concluded that based on the same Florida laws and rules, the trier of fact appropriately determined that Terri had expressed, while she was competent, the intention never to be kept artificially alive under such circumstances. The evidence supporting this included competent legal evidence demonstrating that she personally expressed those intentions at the funerals of two family members who had been on life support -- so it was contextual. Due to the conflict between the parties, I suggested that additional testing could and should be done but ONLY if the parties agreed in advance as to how the results would be used. We almost came to agreement on this option, but for legal reasons, one of the parties pulled out on the last minute.
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Cleveland, Ohio: Why didn't you insist on appropriate and complete neurological tests, including a swallow test, as part of your review?
Are you a neurologist?
Dr. Jay Wolfson: i did.
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Washington, D.C.: Any idea how many people are in Terri's condition, at any one time, nationwide?
Dr. Jay Wolfson: not well documented.
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Cleveland, Ohio: The parents of Terri Schiavo expressed hope that Terri can still recover from her condition. Is there any possibility of this?
Dr. Jay Wolfson: The competent medical evidence submitted in the case, interpreted according to the rules of civil procedure and evidence in florida indicated by the clear and convincing standard that she is in a persistent vegitative state with no reasonable medical likelihood of recovery. the extensive literature supports this finding.
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Groton, Conn.: I saw you describe the brain matter in Terri. How was that determined?
Dr. Jay Wolfson: MRI scans.
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Alexandria, Va.: I think Terri's wishes should be followed and am pro-right-to-die. However, removing a feeding tube when she's not on any life support seems rather disturbing. Is there a harm is in allowing her to continuing to be alive, whatever that may mean?
For some reason, to me, removing a feeding tube seems a lot different than removing her from, for example a breathing machine.
Dr. Jay Wolfson: This is part of the crux of the debate -- but in florida and elsewhere, including according to the guidelines published by the American College of Cardinals, feeding tubes are defined as 'artificial life support'.
