THIS JUST IN! I added a short comment at the end of this. We must remain vigilant to the controlled-media mis-reporting and mind control. - Jackie
Battle over brain-damaged woman shifts to invitation from U.S. Senate Republicans
Terri Schiavo gets a kiss from her mother, Mary Schindler.
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, March 17 - As a deadline loomed, U.S. Senate Republicans sought to keep severely brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive Friday with an invitation to bring her to Washington, and an attorney for her parents said they hoped the move would buy them more time.
The Senate Health Committee has requested that Terri Schiavo and her husband, Michael, appear at an official committee hearing on March 28.
Earlier Friday, a House committee was issuing congressional subpoenas to stop doctors from disconnecting the tube.
Michael Schiavo has waged a years-long court battle with his parents-in-law, contending his wife, who has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, would not want to live that way.
Courts have cleared the way for him to remove her feeding tube as early as 1 p.m. Friday. The tube has been removed twice in the past and then reinserted as the battle continued.
''It is a contempt of Congress to prevent or discourage someone from following the subpoena that's been issued,'' David Gibbs, the attorney for her parents, said. ''What the U.S. Congress is saying is, 'We want to see Terri Schiavo.'''
''The family is prayerfully excited about their daughter going before the United States Congress for the whole world to see how alive she is.''
He said that despite her brain damage, she would be able to travel. A statement from the office of House Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., on Friday said the purpose of the hearing was to review health care policies and practices relevant to the care of non-ambulatory people.
Frist's statement noted that it is a federal crime to harm or obstruct a person called to testify before Congress.
Terri Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, went into the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park at about 9:30 a.m. to visit his daughter. Outside, about three dozen people prayed and wept.
''What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus,'' they sang. Messages on protest signs included ''Impeach Greer.com,'' a reference to a judge in the case, and ''Execution - It's Not Just for the Guilty Anymore.''
In Tallahassee, the Florida House on Thursday passed a bill 78-37 to block the withholding of food and water from patients in a persistent vegetative state who did not leave specific instructions regarding their care. But hours later, the Senate defeated a different measure 21-16. The sponsor of another state Senate didn't bring it for a vote because it didn't have enough support.
Gibbs also has said he would ask a federal judge in Tampa to block the removal and review the actions of state courts. Such habeas corpus appeals seek to require the government to justify its actions.
Terri Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, went into the hospice at about 9:30 a.m. to visit his daughter. Outside, some 40 people stood praying aloud and weeping in a designated area marked off by a plastic fence. One sign read, ''Execution - It's Not Just for the Guilty Anymore.''
As part of the last-minute flurry of activity, the Florida judge who approved the withdrawal of the feeding tube denied a request from the state to keep her alive. The state appealed that decision to the Florida Supreme Court, which promptly dismissed it. The U.S. Supreme Court also denied another appeal.
At the White House, President Bush left little doubt where he stands, saying, ''those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern.'' His brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, long has supported the parents' efforts and urged lawmakers to act before it was too late.
Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance, and court-appointed doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband says she told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents dispute that, and say she could get better. [end]
NOTE from JP: Terri's heart did not stop because of a chemical imbalance. Read the bone scan and Dr. Hemmesfahr's full report and you'll see that the most probable cause was strangulation. By whom? Michael Schiavo was the only other person present. If/when Terri can talk maybe Florida will bring Old Sparky out of mothballs to service Schiavo.
Take a look at the paragraph in bold (third from bottom). Notice how the "courts" are made to appear all-powerful. And remember that NONE of these hurried pieces of legislation were actually necessary. The Florida law already protects Terri. And Jeb Bush KNOWS that. See Bush's Amicus brief filed in October 2003, quoting the law and stating that withholding water and food is the "intentional killing" of a human being. We'll take anything they have to offer right now, and give thanks for the Divine Intervention on Terri's behalf.