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[Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

But not before the scumbags kept this poor vegetable alive for FOURTEEN 
YEARS.  They should be dragged through the steets behind a pickup truck 
to experience similar misery---fourteen years of dragging would be nice.



        
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Last update:  September 23, 2004 at 11:34 AM
* Florida Supreme Court strikes down law keeping woman on life support *
**
Associated Press
Published  September 23, 2004

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a 
law that was rushed through the Legislature last fall to keep a severely 
brain-damaged woman hooked up to a feeding tube against her husband's 
wishes.

The unanimous court said the law that kept Terri Schiavo alive violated 
the separation of powers between the judicial branch and the legislative 
and executive branches.

Lower courts had ruled that Michael Schiavo could have the tube removed, 
but the Legislature passed the law to overrule the courts. Gov. Jeb Bush 
then used the law to order the tube reinserted. The court's decision 
came just weeks after oral arguments.

It was not immediately known if the ruling would clear the way for the 
tube's final removal. An attorney for Terri Schiavo's parents, who want 
her kept alive, would not speculate. Michael Schiavo's attorneys did not 
immediately return calls seeking comment.

``It is without question an invasion of the authority of the judicial 
branch for the Legislature to pass a law that allows the executive 
branch to interfere with the final judicial determination in a case,'' 
Chief Justice Barbara Pariente wrote for the court. ``That is precisely 
what occurred here.''

The court said the law improperly delegated legislative powers to the 
governor, who had complete authority to issue or lift a stay.

Terri Schiavo, who lives in a Clearwater nursing home, can breathe on 
her own but relies on a feeding and hydration tube to live. Courts have 
concluded she is in a ``persistent vegetative state,'' but maneuvering 
over her fate has produced a closely watched right-to-die fight.

The 40-year-old woman left no written instructions before suffering 
brain damage when her heart stopped beating 14 years ago. But in Florida 
a person's wishes must be honored even if they are expressed orally.

Schiavo's parents disagree with their son-in-law about her wishes, 
insisting their daughter wanted to live and could be helped with 
therapy. Courts have generally sided with Michael Schiavo, but parents 
Bob and Mary Schindler have won stays that have kept their daughter alive.

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