4:00PM Schiavo Update

"Jeb!" Considers Taking Schiavo "By Force": From the Miami Herald:

Rebuffed by the courts and unsuccessful in the legislature, state officials may attempt to place Terri Schiavo under protective custody so her feeding tube can be reinserted, The Herald learned this afternoon. ...

Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings and the director of the state social services agency said they were considering an intervention in the controversial and increasingly tangled case -- based on calls alleging that Schiavo is being abused in her hospice.

The abuse allegations are based primarily on the removal of her feeding tube last Friday.

"We're looking at the response to the abuse calls," Jennings said. "You'll probably be hearing more."

She and other state officials said the governor's office is considering using a state law that allows the state to take a vulnerable adult into immediate custody if there is a demonstrated need for protection.

Lucy Hadi, secretary of the Department of Children and Families, said the state investigation into potential abuse is ongoing and the state is required by law to file a petition to bring Schiavo into state care if an emergency exists.

The state does not have to wait for a court to act, she said.

"State officials may place Schiavo under protective custody".

Another story: "DCF considers removing Schiavo from hospice by force".

Press Conference: "Jeb!" just had a press conference (wherein he asserted that the State could act unilaterally, but did not concede it would do so); more at dKos: "Breaking! Gov Bush to the rescue - kidnap Terri". Listen to the press conference here. In brief,

The flurry of 11th-hour action included a dramatic press conference by Bush, in which he revealed a new and more optimistic diagnosis of Schiavo by a doctor who did not fully examine her.

He said that Dr. William Cheshire, a neurologist with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, concluded that Schiavo may not be in a permanent vegetative state, as determined by many other doctors, but instead may be in a state of "minimal consciousness."

"This new information raises serious concerns warrants immediate attention . . .," the governor said. "It is imperative that she be stablized so that the adult protective services team can fulfill their statutory duty and review all the facts surrounding the case. If there is any uncertainty, we should err on the side of protecting her."

Other state officials said that Cheshire "made personal observations" of Schiavo at an undisclosed time in the past. He stood at her bedside observing her for less than an hour and, two days ago, watched two of the six videotapes in the court's possession, they said.

"State officials may place Schiavo under protective custody". And who is Dr. Cheshire? He is a member of the "Christian Medical Association", which, among other things,

- Opposes abortion; and
- Opposes embryonic stem cell research.

Most pertinently, in the lead story on its website today, "Schiavo Not Likely in Vegetative State, Would Die a Painful Death", the head of the Christian Medical Association, one Dr. Stevens, questioned whether there was any such thing as "Persistent Vegetative State" (PVS) in the first place:

In fact, I question the validity of the concept of Persistent Vegetative State diagnosis.

This organization, and presumably its members, have an agenda of sorts. Inasmuch as Cheshire's Christian Medical Association apparently doesn't believe PVS even exists, it is not surprising that he might have "concluded that Schiavo may not be in a permanent vegetative state".

Florida Legislative Action: In the meantime, the Florida Senate is debating a bill right now, as detailed in this Sun Sentinel story posted online at 3:04 PM EST: "Senator says this is last chance for Legislature to keep Schiavo alive". Access the debate here (link via CNN). Update: the bill failed.

Federal Litigation Continues: Earlier today the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied the en banc petition for rehearing; from the New York Times: "Full Appeals Court Denies Rehearing in Schiavo Case" ("The court did not immediately offer an explanation for its 10-2 decision, and the parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, had earlier said they would take the matter to the Supreme Court.")

House Hearing Cancelled:

The House Committee on Government Reform on Wednesday postponed a hearing at the Florida hospice that houses Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman at the center of a legal and political battle over her fate.

In a last-ditch effort to keep Terri Schiavo's feeding tube in place last week, the committee issued subpoenas for her, her husband and three hospice administrators to appear. The hearing was initially scheduled for Friday.

"House panel postpones Schiavo hearing".