The Terri Schiavo case continues to take dramatic
twists and turns. Even as Michael Schiavo attempts
to have Terri's Law declared unconstitutional,
pursuant to the law's requirements, a judge has
appointed a guardian ad litem -- Professor
Jay Wolfson, of the College of Public Health at the
University of South Florida in Tampa -- to represent
Terri's interests.
There has been some confusion as to whether
Wolfson replaces Terri's quasi-estranged husband
Michael Schiavo as guardian of Terri's person. (I
use the term "quasi-estranged" because
Schiavo effectively shattered the sanctity their
marriage years ago by entering a committed
relationship with another woman and starting a
family with her.) He does not. Wolfson's sole
responsibilities are to determine whether Terri
should be allowed a swallow test, whether she should
be provided rehabilitation, and to write a report
with his recommendations about these matters -- all
within 30 days. In the meantime, Schiavo remains
fully in control over Terri' life and care (or the
lack thereof) -- with the exception that he cannot,
for now, remove her tube-supplied food and water.
A little known but interesting facet of this case
is that Wolfson is not the first guardian ad
litem appointed to represent Terri's interests.
When Schiavo first petitioned the court for
permission to dehydrate his wife in 1998, he
properly admitted that he had two significant
conflicts of interest: He was likely to want to
remarry and if Terri died, he would inherit the more
than $700,000 then on deposit in her trust account.
(For those who have not followed this case,
Terri received
the money in a medical malpractice lawsuit.)
Because of these conflicts of interest, the
Probate Court appointed Richard L. Pearse Jr. of
Clearwater, Florida, as Terri's guardian ad litem
and instructed him to investigate the matter and
report back with a recommendation. Pearse filed his
report with the court on December 28, 1998 urging
that the court deny the petition to remove Terri's
food and water.
Considering that the Pearse's report was written
long before the Schiavo case became an international
cause celebre, it makes interesting reading.
The guardian ad litem supported Schiavo's
position on some points and the Schindlers on
others. The following are its pertinent portions:
*Pearse unambiguously accepted the diagnosis that
Terri is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS)
based on the opinions of two doctors, one who
treated her and one who consulted on the case. This
diagnoses was -- and remains -- disputed by Terri's
parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. Indeed, subsequent
to Pearse's report, the Schindlers energetically
attempted to garner evidence that she is conscious.
To some degree, they have succeeded: Four board
certified neurologists, two board certified
internists, one neuro-psychologist, and two speech
pathologists have testified in person or by
affidavit that Terri is not PVS. These opinions were
reinforced by the affidavits of three nurses who
cared for Terri in the mid-1990s and who claim to
have observed her being interactive. Moreover,
millions have viewed videos
of Terri and been shocked by the extent to which
she appears to aware and awake. (The courts have
ruled consistently that Terri is PVS.)
*Pearse claimed that Terri has muscle contractures
despite receiving "regular physical
therapy." He may have assumed that she received
such care -- it is routine for bedridden patients,
after all. Yet, according to Patricia Anderson, the
Schindler's attorney, there are no entries
indicating that PT was ever performed in Terri's
chart after 1992. Indeed, in 1998, when a new doctor
urged Schiavo to approve an evaluation of Terri so
that a plan of physical therapy could be developed,
he refused to permit it.
*Pearse confirmed the charge by the Schindlers that
once the medical malpractice money was in the bank,
Schiavo began to refuse medical treatment for Terri,
writing:
After February 1993, Mr. Schiavo's attitude
concerning treatment for the ward apparently
changed. Early in 1994, for example, he refused to
consent to treat an infection from which the ward
was then suffering and ordered that she not be
resuscitated in the event of cardiac arrest. The
nursing home where she resided at that time sought
to intervene, which ultimately led the ward's
husband to reverse his decision and authorize
antibiotic treatment.
Perhaps because of the intervention by the home,
Schiavo soon moved Terri to a different nursing
facility.
*Schiavo admitted to the guardian ad litem
that he had at least "two romantic
involvements" after Terri's collapse. "It is
apparent to me," Pearse wrote the court,
"that he has reached a point that he has no hope
of the ward's recovery and wants to get on with his
own life." (To say the least. At the time
of Pearse's investigation, Schiavo was already living
with the woman who would become the mother of his
children.)
*Contrary to Schiavo's allegation on Larry King
last week that the Schindlers "really basically
didn't have any care with Terri," Pearse painted
a vivid picture of parents worried deeply about the
quality of care their daughter was receiving and
profoundly committed to remaining involved in her
life:
From the time of the ward's accident, the ward's
parents have been vitally interested in her welfare
... After the falling out between the ward's parents
and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Schindler pursued
removal litigation in an effort to have Mr. Schiavo
removed as their daughter's guardian and to have
themselves appointed guardians of her person ...
They have also pursued litigation against him to
gain access to medical and financial information
concerning the ward which was withheld by the ward's
husband, with only partial success. They express
extreme frustration with the current situation in
which they have virtually no input into the decision
making process concerning their own daughter. The
ward's parents visit her regularly but at times when
they won't have to confront Mr. Schiavo.
Moreover, rather than the Schindlers not being
interested in seeing Terri, as was asserted on Larry
King, Pearse noted that it was Schiavo who
"has isolated the ward from her parents."
*As of April 4, 1998, Terri's trust fund held
$713,828.85. "Thus," wrote Pearse, "Mr.
Schiavo will realize a substantial and fairly
immediate financial gain if his application for
withdrawal of life support [tube-supplied food and
water] is granted." (Schiavo now claims that
there is only $50,000 left in the account, the bulk of
the money having gone to pay his attorneys.)
*At the time of the report, only Schiavo claimed
that Terri would not wish to be kept alive if severely
incapacitated. "However," Pearse opined,
"his credibility is necessarily adversely
affected by the obvious financial benefit to him of
being the ward's sole heir at law in the event of her
death while still married to him. Her death also
permits him to get on with his own life."
(Subsequent to the filing of the report, and perhaps
in response to it, Schiavo's brother and sister-in-law
came forward to claim Terri made similar statements in
their presence. In this regard it is worth noting that
no member of Terri's family, or any of her friends,
recall her ever making any such statements to them.)
*Pearse concluded, "Given the inherent
problems already mentioned, together with the fact
that the ward has been maintained the life support
measures sought to be withdrawn for the past 8 years,
it is the recommendation of the guardian ad litem
that the petition for removal be denied."
UNFORTUNATELY, Pearse's opinion held scant sway
with the court. After filing his report, he requested
further court instructions to authorize him to
continue to represent Terri as guardian ad litem.
Schiavo's attorney, George Felos objected, and
attempted to have Pearse removed for bias. This
attempt failed but after his report was received,
Pearse was discharged from participating any further
in the case. And despite Schiavo's continuing
conflicts of interest -- which only deepened on the
personal level as he sired children -- no other
guardian ad litem was ever appointed to
represent Terri during the years of litigation,
proceedings that culminated in an October 15, 2003
court order requiring Terri Schiavo to be deprived of
all water and food toward the end that she dehydrate
to death.
Wesley J. Smith is a senior fellow at the
Discovery Institute and an attorney for the
International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted
Suicide. His current book is the updated and revised
"Forced Exit: The Slippery Slope from Assisted
Suicide to Legalized Murder."
|