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Life-or-Death Battle in Legal Limbo
Aired October 27, 2003 - 12:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The fate of a brain-damaged Florida woman remains in legal limbo. Terri Schiavo's husband has threatened to file a court challenge this week to overturn a law thats allowed Governor Jeb Bush to intervene.
We get the latest from CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By Wednesday, attorneys for Terri Schiavo's husband are expected to file a written challenge to what's known as Terri's law.
Most legal scholars agree that law is unconstitutional, because, in effect, it circumvents what the courts have already ruled -- that is that a feeding tube that was taken out of Terri Schiavo about two weeks ago was, in fact, done so legally.
After Governor Jeb Bush got involved at Terri Schiavo's parents' urging, that feeding tube was reinserted last week.
You'll recall the 39-year-old woman is permanently brain-damaged and living in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of improvement, according to her doctors. Her husband insists that is not the way she wanted to live, and told him so, although not in writing. The courts have found in his favor.
Attorneys for Terri's husband insist he is determined to continue to his efforts to allow his wife to die.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has no intention whatsoever of stopping these proceedings and stopping this fight, as he has said many times. His sole motivation has been to carry out Terri's wishes, and he is going to continue in his efforts to do that.
CANDIOTTI: The parents of Terri Schiavo insist there is hope for their daughter and vow to continue their fight to allow her to live.
The matter is expected to wind up before the Florida Supreme Court.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Terri's Law is now at the center of an intense legal battle. At issue is whether the Florida legislature overstepped its bounds by allowing Governor Bush to intervene.
Joining us with some legal insight on the matter is William Colby. He is an attorney and author of the book, "The Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan." Her battle could set a legal precedent in this Schiavo case.
Thanks so much for being with us, Mr. Colby. Appreciate your time today.
Tell us, if you would, what are the legal options for Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos?
WILLIAM COLBY, ATTORNEY: My understanding is they're going to court to challenge the constitutionality of the Florida law, both as a denial of the separation of powers -- the legislature and the judiciary having separate powers -- and as a denial of Terri Schiavo's constitutional rights.
COLLINS: Well, how much of these decisions, though, in this case have actually been based on legal versus medical precedence? Can you break that down for us just a little bit?
COLBY: It's a good question, because some of the dispute is about the law, but much bigger and certainly the public debate is not only about medicine, but about how we want to live our lives, what's the purpose of medical technology, when do we make decisions to stop medical technology and who gets to decide? And I think, unfortunately for the Schiavo family -- her husband, her parents -- their fate may have been sealed the night that the unthinkable happened; that a 26 year-old woman has a heart attack and lapses into a coma. But for the rest of us, perhaps we can learn from this tragic story.
COLLINS: It's obvious, then, not only a legal and medical precedence, but obviously emotional ones, too, in all of these decisions. In fact, a lot of people have been talking about that it's really spurred debate and thought amongst our viewers, of course.
And we want to bring up an e-mail from now, coming to us from Marian, which says: "The Florida legislature has done it again. They've put themselves against the law. The feeding tube should never have been reinstated. How long would any of these legislatures want to be kept alive artificially? When the function of the brain is gone, what is left?"
Your thoughts on that?
COLBY: I understand the argument. And if you think about it in the broader context, the legislature has the bully pulpit to talk with the public. In Florida last year, 167,702 people died. That's roughly 450 people a day. According to the American Medical Association, a large percentage of those deaths are as a result of a decision to either not start or to stop medical treatment.
So, hundreds of times a day, families are making these decisions. In a case like the Cruzan family for example, whose dispute went to the U.S. Supreme Court, after Nancy lapsed into a vegetative state, the parents consented to insertion of a feeding tube. At times when hope for recovery remained, they did everything they could to try and aid that recovery. And then, when the medical treatment did not serve its purpose, they were faced with a very hard choice to stop treatment they put in place.
But Joe Cruzan would say that every decision they made along the way, including the decision to stop treatment that had not worked, was a life-affirming decision made out of love for their family. But it's still very hard.
And if we can learn anything from listening to the Schiavo's tragic story, it is that we should take a minute and talk with people we care about, about our views and values, about Terri Schiavo. And then, take the next step and fill out a document. It's not hard to do. A simple health care proxy can accomplish the goal of making sure you know who it is who speaks for you. But then, you've got to go beyond that and talk to that person and other family members about your views and values.
COLLINS: If anything, of course, that case has certainly brought that to people's attention. And it's worth pointing out that Terri Schiavo, very young, Karen Ann Quinlan, very young, the woman in your book was 20 years old when this happened, it's never too early to have that document thought about, written up and signed.
COLBY: Well, for people at that age, when you have the talk with your parents, one way to start that talk is by talking about your own views and values. And hopefully, presumably, statistically, it doesn't become an issue for many years to come. But in the tragic times that it does, if you've had that talk with people you care about, you've really given them a gift.
COLLINS: All right, thanks so very much, Mr. William Colby. He is an attorney and the author of the book, "The Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan." Thanks so very much for being with us. Appreciate your insights today.
COLBY: Thanks for having me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 27, 2003 - 12:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The fate of a brain-damaged Florida woman remains in legal limbo. Terri Schiavo's husband has threatened to file a court challenge this week to overturn a law thats allowed Governor Jeb Bush to intervene.
We get the latest from CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By Wednesday, attorneys for Terri Schiavo's husband are expected to file a written challenge to what's known as Terri's law.
Most legal scholars agree that law is unconstitutional, because, in effect, it circumvents what the courts have already ruled -- that is that a feeding tube that was taken out of Terri Schiavo about two weeks ago was, in fact, done so legally.
After Governor Jeb Bush got involved at Terri Schiavo's parents' urging, that feeding tube was reinserted last week.
You'll recall the 39-year-old woman is permanently brain-damaged and living in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of improvement, according to her doctors. Her husband insists that is not the way she wanted to live, and told him so, although not in writing. The courts have found in his favor.
Attorneys for Terri's husband insist he is determined to continue to his efforts to allow his wife to die.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has no intention whatsoever of stopping these proceedings and stopping this fight, as he has said many times. His sole motivation has been to carry out Terri's wishes, and he is going to continue in his efforts to do that.
CANDIOTTI: The parents of Terri Schiavo insist there is hope for their daughter and vow to continue their fight to allow her to live.
The matter is expected to wind up before the Florida Supreme Court.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Terri's Law is now at the center of an intense legal battle. At issue is whether the Florida legislature overstepped its bounds by allowing Governor Bush to intervene.
Joining us with some legal insight on the matter is William Colby. He is an attorney and author of the book, "The Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan." Her battle could set a legal precedent in this Schiavo case.
Thanks so much for being with us, Mr. Colby. Appreciate your time today.
Tell us, if you would, what are the legal options for Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos?
WILLIAM COLBY, ATTORNEY: My understanding is they're going to court to challenge the constitutionality of the Florida law, both as a denial of the separation of powers -- the legislature and the judiciary having separate powers -- and as a denial of Terri Schiavo's constitutional rights.
COLLINS: Well, how much of these decisions, though, in this case have actually been based on legal versus medical precedence? Can you break that down for us just a little bit?
COLBY: It's a good question, because some of the dispute is about the law, but much bigger and certainly the public debate is not only about medicine, but about how we want to live our lives, what's the purpose of medical technology, when do we make decisions to stop medical technology and who gets to decide? And I think, unfortunately for the Schiavo family -- her husband, her parents -- their fate may have been sealed the night that the unthinkable happened; that a 26 year-old woman has a heart attack and lapses into a coma. But for the rest of us, perhaps we can learn from this tragic story.
COLLINS: It's obvious, then, not only a legal and medical precedence, but obviously emotional ones, too, in all of these decisions. In fact, a lot of people have been talking about that it's really spurred debate and thought amongst our viewers, of course.
And we want to bring up an e-mail from now, coming to us from Marian, which says: "The Florida legislature has done it again. They've put themselves against the law. The feeding tube should never have been reinstated. How long would any of these legislatures want to be kept alive artificially? When the function of the brain is gone, what is left?"
Your thoughts on that?
COLBY: I understand the argument. And if you think about it in the broader context, the legislature has the bully pulpit to talk with the public. In Florida last year, 167,702 people died. That's roughly 450 people a day. According to the American Medical Association, a large percentage of those deaths are as a result of a decision to either not start or to stop medical treatment.
So, hundreds of times a day, families are making these decisions. In a case like the Cruzan family for example, whose dispute went to the U.S. Supreme Court, after Nancy lapsed into a vegetative state, the parents consented to insertion of a feeding tube. At times when hope for recovery remained, they did everything they could to try and aid that recovery. And then, when the medical treatment did not serve its purpose, they were faced with a very hard choice to stop treatment they put in place.
But Joe Cruzan would say that every decision they made along the way, including the decision to stop treatment that had not worked, was a life-affirming decision made out of love for their family. But it's still very hard.
And if we can learn anything from listening to the Schiavo's tragic story, it is that we should take a minute and talk with people we care about, about our views and values, about Terri Schiavo. And then, take the next step and fill out a document. It's not hard to do. A simple health care proxy can accomplish the goal of making sure you know who it is who speaks for you. But then, you've got to go beyond that and talk to that person and other family members about your views and values.
COLLINS: If anything, of course, that case has certainly brought that to people's attention. And it's worth pointing out that Terri Schiavo, very young, Karen Ann Quinlan, very young, the woman in your book was 20 years old when this happened, it's never too early to have that document thought about, written up and signed.
COLBY: Well, for people at that age, when you have the talk with your parents, one way to start that talk is by talking about your own views and values. And hopefully, presumably, statistically, it doesn't become an issue for many years to come. But in the tragic times that it does, if you've had that talk with people you care about, you've really given them a gift.
COLLINS: All right, thanks so very much, Mr. William Colby. He is an attorney and the author of the book, "The Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan." Thanks so very much for being with us. Appreciate your insights today.
COLBY: Thanks for having me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
