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House Issues Subpoenas to Keep Brain-Damaged Woman Alive
Aired March 18, 2005 - 13:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Will her feeding tube be pulled? A Florida judge says no. Live pictures now from Clearwater, Florida. The parents of Terri Schiavo expected to hold a news conference. Schiavo is the 41-year-old woman at the center of this right to die case.
TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: The Schiavo case goes far beyond a family matter. Congress is now stepping in. This hour, we'll talk to a congressman who subpoenaed Terri Schiavo to testify in an effort to keep her feeding tube from being removed.
PHILLIPS: We're following the case of a missing 9-year-old girl. Is a convicted child molester now in custody related to her disappearance?
HARRIS: An alleged kidnapping plot foiled. Comedian David Letterman thanks the FBI and Montana lawmen for protecting his son.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
The hour has arrived. But it looks as if the feeding tube that has kept a brain-damaged Florida woman alive for 15 years will stay where it is, pending the outcome of a brand new gambit in a long and grueling battle.
The patient is Terri Schiavo. And the question that is yet to be conclusively answered is who should control her care or lack of it during her vegetative state. That term, too, evokes a thicket of issues. And we expect Schiavo's parents to weigh in on many of them in remarks to reporters just minutes from now.
While we wait, let's check in with CNN's Carol Lin at Schiavo's hospice in Clearwater and Joe Johns on Capitol Hill. First to Carol and a report of yet another court ruling handed down just moments ago -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. From what we understand by the Associated Press is that there has been a temporary stay in this case, until they can track down the judge in order to go over the order.
I just got off the phone with the hospice spokesperson, who has confirmed the hospice has been served the subpoena. When asked specifically, "What are you going to do within the next couple of minutes," she said, "I don't know. We want to comply with the court. We are waiting and monitoring." Their legal advisers are meeting right now.
So it is uncertain exactly what's going to happen, but I think it's everybody's understanding at this point that for at least for the next 15 minutes Terri Schiavo will remain connected to the feeding tube until we hear officially from the circuit court and the attorneys.
Behind me, you see a series of prayer vigils going on. And within that group we are expected to hear from Bob and Mary Schindler, the parents of Terri Schiavo. They are also waiting by their daughter's bedside for the definitive word from the circuit court -- this meeting of U.S. attorneys that took place, to go over the U.S. House subpoena that was supposed to call for the, basically, a delay in -- or at least an order to keep Terri Schiavo alive until she can possibly appear before the U.S. House of Representatives, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Carol, you know there's been all this talk about will we see Terri Schiavo, will we see her in court? Is that even a possibility? Or is this just something that's been tossed out there to sort of create a media frenzy?
The last videotape that we've been able to see was in 2001. Have you been able to talk with her parents or with hospice nurses about how she's doing, what she looks like, if -- you know, what her communication has been like, if any?
LIN: Right. Well, I've talked with the father. We talked with the parents. And they have said, and they are absolutely insistent upon this, that Terri Schiavo's family says that she can, in her own way, communicate. They are absolutely sure that, with rehabilitation therapy, that she can. They see signs of this, Kyra. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, does not.
PHILLIPS: All right. Carol Lin, just outside -- right there in Clearwater, actually, just outside from where the hospice is.
We want to take you now live to a news conference that we had been expecting. Tom DeLay, Republican from Virginia, with a number of other representatives, discussing the congressional intervention and the subpoena that will be issued next week.
REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: And our understanding is that an order has been issued to block the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. We hope that the judge modifies his ruling so that recipients of today's congressional subpoenas can comply with them, pending the Government Reform Committee's inquiry.
It's -- it's now 1 p.m. on the East Coast, the time preordained by a Florida state judge to allow for denial of food and water to Terri Schiavo. That act of barbarism can be and must be prevented.
The Senate has before it the Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005. This bill is the right bill, and it's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, they have chosen to adjourn rather than pass it. Those senators responsible for blocking our bill yesterday afternoon, senators Boxer, Senator Wyden and Senator Levin, have put Mrs. Schiavo's life at risk to prove a point, an unprecedented profile of cowardice.
The American people are not interested in squabbles between Republicans and Democrats and between the House and the Senate. They care, and we care about saving Terri Schiavo's life. The House bill will do that. And we will work over the weekend to see if we can't pass that House bill in the Senate.
Terri Schiavo is alive. She's not just barely alive. She's not being kept alive. She is alive, as you and I. And as such, we have a moral obligation to protect and defend her from the fate premeditated by the Florida courts.
This is not over. We are still working. So -- so are Mrs. Schiavo's lawyers and so is the Florida state legislature. And we urge the Florida state legislature to address this. That's where the real answer comes from.
This is not over. We haven't stopped working on it. We will fight for Terri's life and spend all the time necessary to do that.
So to friends, family and millions of people praying around the world this Palm Sunday weekend, don't be afraid. Terri Schiavo will not be forsaken.
Now, I'll turn it over to the whip, Roy Brunt.
REP. ROY BLUNT (R-MO), MAJORITY WHIP: I'd like to say that we thought we sent a good bill over to the Senate, a bill that would solve this problem. They had all day yesterday to work on it. And I share the leader's disappointment with less than a handful of individuals who stood in the way of that bill being sent to the president yesterday and this being resolved at that time.
It's really hard to imagine a death a lot more hideous than simply deciding that you're no longer going to allow someone to have food and water. And as they -- as you watch them dehydrate and starve to death.
It's clear from watching the tapes of Terri Schiavo that she -- she interacts with people. She's aware of her surroundings. She attempts to communicate.
It's equally clear that her family members, while her husband is divided from other family members on this, the -- her parents and others who have cared about Terri her entire life don't believe that this would be -- this is what she wants to have happen.
They are more than willing to accept responsibility for the future of her life and just as those closest to Terri, her family members, have stood by her we're doing everything we can to stand by her as well and, certainly, our understanding is that the courts have given some extension to the -- to Terri's life. And what they've actually done is postpone the beginning of a very painful death, if this death is allowed to occur.
DELAY: Thank you.
HARRIS: And just a moment ago you heard House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, essentially applauding a decision by a state judge in Florida today that temporarily blocks the removal of a feeding tube that has been keeping Terri Schiavo alive.
Let's bring in our congressional correspondent now, Joe Johns.
And Joe, I first have to ask you, it is -- to explain the flurry of activity on Capitol Hill today that seems to have made a real difference in this case.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five subpoenas, Tony, have been issued by the House Government Reform Committee. These are those subpoenas.
Now, we do have to correct something that we've been reporting based on sources throughout the morning. We were told earlier that a committee hearing would be held on Capitol Hill with Terri Schiavo and others or, perhaps, on remote television.
Now, according to the subpoenas, what we're being told is that that committee hearing will be held at the hospice in Florida. We're also told three of those subpoenas have now been delivered, one to Terri Schiavo, another to Michael Schiavo. Also, to Annie Santa Maria, the director of the hospice.
So, apparently, that committee hearing to be held March 25 at the hospice.
Here on Capitol Hill, on the Senate side, meanwhile, an invitation for Terri Schiavo and her husband to appear before the health committee. Now, we talked to lawyers some time ago. And essentially, what they told us is they believe the extension of the invitation for her to appear gives her certain legal rights, including the right to keep the feeding tube in until that appearance occurs.
That's what's happening here on Capitol Hill right now. On the other side of the coin, there are some people who are saying that this is the wrong way to go, particularly with subpoenas.
Among them, the Democrat Henry Waxman of California, who just a little while ago put out a statement saying, in part, "These subpoenas are a flagrant abuse of power. Congress is turning the Schiavo family's personal tragedy into a national political farce. The committee has no business inserting itself in the middle of an excruciating private family matter."
So there are people here on Capitol Hill who disagree. As you heard, though, the Republican members of the House of Representatives feel very strongly about this. They've been talking about this in terms of the culture of life -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Congressional correspondent, Joe Johns, for us. Thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: The American Civil Liberties Union calls the congressional subpoenas a bid to circumvent a lawful court order. The group's Howard Simon says it's unclear to him, quote, "how a subpoena, which is ordinary done to produce records or somebody to testify can, essentially, have the effect of an injunction overriding the orders of a court."
John Mica doesn't see it that way. He's a Republican member of the House Government Reform Committee, for which this has been an especially busy week. And he's a Floridian, besides. The congressman joins us now from our Washington bureau.
Congressman, it's a pleasure.
REP. JOHN MICA (R), FLORIDA: Well, thank you. Good to be with you.
PHILLIPS: Well, let me get your immediate response to Congressman Henry Waxman, coming forward -- we just got this statement moments ago, that these subpoenas are a flagrant abuse of power.
MICA: Well, he calls it a private family matter. And actually, it's one of the most fundamental basic matters of public policy, and that's the preservation of life.
We have an individual who's caught in a family dispute, who's disabled or not able to speak or act for herself, who hasn't left the terms of what she'd like done.
Now, a government court can order the removing -- removing of the feeding tube, and they can die. And maybe one side of the family may win. But this is, again, about the most fundamental responsibility of government. And that's protecting the disabled, those who can't speak for themselves, those who have no other advocate.
So I think it's appropriate that we have acted. I'm glad that the court acted moments ago to rescind another court order, but we need to be engaged in this.
PHILLIPS: Well, when you look at this case and how -- how you are engaged and Congress engaged. And now we're hearing about these subpoenas. Is this really about long-term care of incapacitated adults, or is this about a story that has grabbed the headlines; everybody has been talking about it. They've been talking about it for more than a decade. And unless politicians step in and do something, this could be a catastrophe, politically?
MICA: Well, it's a fundamental question about government and government's role in protecting, again, the most innocent, those that are disabled. In our society today we do have the ability to determine life or death.
And here, when you have, again, a very difficult call, two sides of the family disputing this, and the innocent person unable to speak or act for themselves and made no prior written plans, no legal direction. The government has to side on the side of, again, the innocence in this case.
PHILLIPS: But Congressman...
MICA: Otherwise, what kind of government do you have that says we can just dispose of life?
PHILLIPS: But is it the government's position to do this? Is it the government's position?
MICA: Absolutely. Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: But isn't it -- isn't it up to the spouse? I mean, if this were to happen to me, legally, it's up to my husband to decide what happens to me.
MICA: Well, again, you have a strained relationship here between -- and a division among the family members. And that's why it's become a public matter. I mean, it should be something that people should pay attention to.
PHILLIPS: But by law, isn't it up to the spouse? By law?
MICA: Again, there are questions there. And this has gone back and forth, both between the family and also in the courts as we've seen even by even the most recent decision a few minutes ago. So it is rightful that we do step in, the government, whether it's the governor, the president, or the Congress, that we take the side of those that are the most innocent in this process.
And, certainly, Terri is the most innocent. Maybe she's not as beautiful as she used to be, but that doesn't mean that someone should do away with her -- her life. We should -- we should give life every chance and every opportunity, and that's our role. Otherwise, what kind -- what kind of government do we have in the United States?
PHILLIPS: You've come forward, a number of other congressmen, members of Congress. Tom DeLay, just moments ago saying she is alive. She's not being kept alive. It's our moral obligation to protect her.
How do we really know, though, that she is alive like you and me when we can't see her or talk to her? The last videotape that we've seen of her that we even have in our archives is 2001. Why not hold a news conference? If this is the government's position.
MICA: That's again -- well, again, I think we've sort of come to that. And government's responsibility is to sort out the facts, whether it's in the court or in the Congress. And we'll sort out the facts here. And we're giving life a chance.
Now, I'm told that she is capable of sustaining life. The question is here is whether she'll be starved to death in a painful manner. And again, I don't think that that's the government's role, to be the advocate of starving people to death by inaction of government.
PHILLIPS: Congressman John Mica, appreciate your time today, sir.
MICA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Kyra, we've gotten plenty of e-mails on the Schiavo issue even without asking. But now we're asking. Who should determine Terri Schiavo's fate? Send your thoughts to LiveFrom@CNN.com, and we'll read as many as we can later this hour.
And later, CNN's Judy Woodruff looks at whether those congressional subpoenas violate the separation of powers. That's on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 in the West.
And tonight, tune in for Larry King's exclusive interview with Terri Schiavo's parents. That's at 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific, right here on CNN.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the complex Schiavo case brings up the need for a simple piece of paper. We're going to talk about living wills with the Dolans, just ahead.
Also, the son of comedian David Letterman apparently the target of a kidnapping plot. We'll have the details for you.
And a hotel worker saves a choking woman and may end up saving his own life in the process. A rescue with a twist later on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The Terri Schiavo case raises plenty of questions and plenty of strong emotions, no matter what side you're on. But one piece of paper, one piece of paper could have prevented a lot of people, at least, some of the pain.
Financial experts Ken and Daria Dolan may not always agree on dollars. But they both say living wills make a lot of sense. They join us from New York.
I've got to ask you both -- first of all, good to see you. Good to see you as always on Fridays.
DARIA DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": You, too, Tony. We missed you last week.
HARRIS: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Likewise here. Living wills, we're going to hear a lot...
KEN DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": Wait a minute. Tony, wait just a second. Can I say something before you go on?
HARRIS: Sure. Absolutely, Ken.
K. DOLAN: Let me speak for America for 30 seconds.
HARRIS: OK.
K. DOLAN: Blunt, Mica, DeLay, House, Senate, get out of this picture. Get out of this Terri Schiavo thing. Let the family, let the husband figure it out. Don't politicize it.
And oh my God, for the first time in my life, I'm in the ring with Henry Waxman and the ACLU.
HARRIS: But Ken, for all of those folks you just named, this is a right to life issue. This is not something that -- the government has a perfect right to be involved in this.
K. DOLAN: No.
D. DOLAN: Not from a group of people that would vote on late- term abortions and almost pass the situation.
This is a family issue. This is a state law situation. This is not to become a three-ring circus...
HARRIS: Yes.
D. DOLAN: ... and a political play by every half-baked politician on the hill.
K. DOLAN: All right, but talk living will. Tony is asking living wills.
D. DOLAN: Yes. Let me -- let me talk about this.
K. DOLAN: I got off the subject.
HARRIS: OK.
D. DOLAN: Terri Schiavo, if, in fact, it is true that she said to her husband, "I would never want to live that way," could have put the whole thing to rest by filing -- filling out a durable healthcare power of attorney with - with her lawyer. Then there would be written proof that she did not want any, any heroic measures used to keep her alive if she was in less...
HARRIS: But Daria, Daria...
D. DOLAN: ... than some sort of recuperative state.
HARRIS: You know I love you. But I've got to ask you, who was talking about living wills 15 years ago when she took ill?
D. DOLAN: Well, you know, the sad, good news that comes out of this whole Terri Schiavo and all the publicity surrounding it and the potential for a Supreme Court decision on this is that I think more people will be forced to talk about it. And that's very important.
When you sign one of these durable healthcares, you do not initial your death sentence.
HARRIS: I see.
D. DOLAN: You can go on for 50, 60, 70, 80 years longer. It's just a legal precaution.
Because within the state of Florida, which is where Terri Schiavo is, the unfortunate situation is the husband can't even turn to the parents and say, "OK. I think you're wrong. I don't think Terri wanted to say alive. I will cede my care of her to you. Go ahead and do it."
They are interpreting Florida law in the inability for him to even do that for the family.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Ken, what is in one of these living wills? What are you signing? What are you agreeing to? What are we talking about here?
K. DOLAN: That's a great question, Tony. As you said, Tony, clearly, somebody who is, I believe, in her 20s when this happened to her, when it was the potassium imbalance which led to her death. Clearly, in the 20s...
D. DOLAN: Not her death, her coma.
K. DOLAN: Right. Her coma. Tony, the bottom line is, basically, there are instructions to say, if I become incapacitated and unable to make the decisions about my own healthcare, I'm going to, as Daria says, cede that responsibility, usually, to my mate -- could be another family member -- that if I can't do it, here are the instructions.
Among those instructions, Tony, are whether you -- among many instructions, including specific medications and procedures is, if I am in a persistent vegetative state, among -- which many say Terri Schiavo is in.
HARRIS: Yes.
K. DOLAN: Or I would be if I was on life-sustaining, I want that because hope springs eternal if I'm alive. Or I want my person to whom I've ceded my responsibility to make the decision that life, that the quality of life is not what I would want and take it from there.
HARRIS: Got you.
K. DOLAN: This is a political football.
HARRIS: Yes.
K. DOLAN: The power is -- the plug is pulled on...
HARRIS: It does feel that way in a bit, doesn't it? It does feel like everyone is involved in this. And then...
K. DOLAN: It happens dozens of times a day, Tony, all over the country.
HARRIS: And it truly (ph) is about a family, isn't it?
D. DOLAN: It is about a family. But there's one other post- script to all of this.
HARRIS: yes.
D. DOLAN: And it, yet again, goes back to the federal government. From the Department of Health and Human Services, there was a Health Information Privacy Act passed. It's referred to as HIPA.
So for any clients of attorneys who have taken the time and the care to draw up these healthcare durable powers of attorney, they're going to need to now fill out another form with their lawyer, and I would hope that their lawyers are informing them.
HARRIS: Yes.
D. DOLAN: Because now, they've met -- at the hospital and the medical personnel are confused as to whether they can, in fact, turn to even a designated healthcare alternative and share the information without a new piece of paper signed.
K. DOLAN: It's a must.
HARRIS: Got you.
D. DOLAN: That's what happens when Washington gets involved.
HARRIS: OK. All right. I think we're flat out of time.
K. DOLAN: All right, Tony.
HARRIS: But I think we -- and I think we shared some good information for folks.
K. DOLAN: We did, Tony. Thanks.
D. DOLAN: I sure hope so.
HARRIS: OK. Your show is on, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED," tomorrow 10 a.m.
D. DOLAN: Ten o'clock.
HARRIS: Ten o'clock, right after "CNN SATURDAY MORNING."
K. DOLAN: Love you, Tony.
HARRIS: Ken and Daria, thank you very much.
K. DOLAN: Take care.
HARRIS: OK. See you on TV. K. DOLAN: Yes.
HARRIS: And some additional information. If you want advice how to keep your...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I immediately knew I was in trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know that she was choking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt these arms come around me.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Twist of fate. A hotel worker's life- saving action to help this woman may end up actually saving his own life.
Later on LIVE FROM, what happened to Cherry? Her face was the first to appear on missing child mailers nationwide. Twenty years later, how family and investigators are coping.
Later on LIVE FROM, steroids and sports. Major leaguers testify to Congress. A federal criminal investigation in San Francisco. The latest on juicing the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 18, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Will her feeding tube be pulled? A Florida judge says no. Live pictures now from Clearwater, Florida. The parents of Terri Schiavo expected to hold a news conference. Schiavo is the 41-year-old woman at the center of this right to die case.
TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: The Schiavo case goes far beyond a family matter. Congress is now stepping in. This hour, we'll talk to a congressman who subpoenaed Terri Schiavo to testify in an effort to keep her feeding tube from being removed.
PHILLIPS: We're following the case of a missing 9-year-old girl. Is a convicted child molester now in custody related to her disappearance?
HARRIS: An alleged kidnapping plot foiled. Comedian David Letterman thanks the FBI and Montana lawmen for protecting his son.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
The hour has arrived. But it looks as if the feeding tube that has kept a brain-damaged Florida woman alive for 15 years will stay where it is, pending the outcome of a brand new gambit in a long and grueling battle.
The patient is Terri Schiavo. And the question that is yet to be conclusively answered is who should control her care or lack of it during her vegetative state. That term, too, evokes a thicket of issues. And we expect Schiavo's parents to weigh in on many of them in remarks to reporters just minutes from now.
While we wait, let's check in with CNN's Carol Lin at Schiavo's hospice in Clearwater and Joe Johns on Capitol Hill. First to Carol and a report of yet another court ruling handed down just moments ago -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. From what we understand by the Associated Press is that there has been a temporary stay in this case, until they can track down the judge in order to go over the order.
I just got off the phone with the hospice spokesperson, who has confirmed the hospice has been served the subpoena. When asked specifically, "What are you going to do within the next couple of minutes," she said, "I don't know. We want to comply with the court. We are waiting and monitoring." Their legal advisers are meeting right now.
So it is uncertain exactly what's going to happen, but I think it's everybody's understanding at this point that for at least for the next 15 minutes Terri Schiavo will remain connected to the feeding tube until we hear officially from the circuit court and the attorneys.
Behind me, you see a series of prayer vigils going on. And within that group we are expected to hear from Bob and Mary Schindler, the parents of Terri Schiavo. They are also waiting by their daughter's bedside for the definitive word from the circuit court -- this meeting of U.S. attorneys that took place, to go over the U.S. House subpoena that was supposed to call for the, basically, a delay in -- or at least an order to keep Terri Schiavo alive until she can possibly appear before the U.S. House of Representatives, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Carol, you know there's been all this talk about will we see Terri Schiavo, will we see her in court? Is that even a possibility? Or is this just something that's been tossed out there to sort of create a media frenzy?
The last videotape that we've been able to see was in 2001. Have you been able to talk with her parents or with hospice nurses about how she's doing, what she looks like, if -- you know, what her communication has been like, if any?
LIN: Right. Well, I've talked with the father. We talked with the parents. And they have said, and they are absolutely insistent upon this, that Terri Schiavo's family says that she can, in her own way, communicate. They are absolutely sure that, with rehabilitation therapy, that she can. They see signs of this, Kyra. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, does not.
PHILLIPS: All right. Carol Lin, just outside -- right there in Clearwater, actually, just outside from where the hospice is.
We want to take you now live to a news conference that we had been expecting. Tom DeLay, Republican from Virginia, with a number of other representatives, discussing the congressional intervention and the subpoena that will be issued next week.
REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: And our understanding is that an order has been issued to block the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. We hope that the judge modifies his ruling so that recipients of today's congressional subpoenas can comply with them, pending the Government Reform Committee's inquiry.
It's -- it's now 1 p.m. on the East Coast, the time preordained by a Florida state judge to allow for denial of food and water to Terri Schiavo. That act of barbarism can be and must be prevented.
The Senate has before it the Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005. This bill is the right bill, and it's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, they have chosen to adjourn rather than pass it. Those senators responsible for blocking our bill yesterday afternoon, senators Boxer, Senator Wyden and Senator Levin, have put Mrs. Schiavo's life at risk to prove a point, an unprecedented profile of cowardice.
The American people are not interested in squabbles between Republicans and Democrats and between the House and the Senate. They care, and we care about saving Terri Schiavo's life. The House bill will do that. And we will work over the weekend to see if we can't pass that House bill in the Senate.
Terri Schiavo is alive. She's not just barely alive. She's not being kept alive. She is alive, as you and I. And as such, we have a moral obligation to protect and defend her from the fate premeditated by the Florida courts.
This is not over. We are still working. So -- so are Mrs. Schiavo's lawyers and so is the Florida state legislature. And we urge the Florida state legislature to address this. That's where the real answer comes from.
This is not over. We haven't stopped working on it. We will fight for Terri's life and spend all the time necessary to do that.
So to friends, family and millions of people praying around the world this Palm Sunday weekend, don't be afraid. Terri Schiavo will not be forsaken.
Now, I'll turn it over to the whip, Roy Brunt.
REP. ROY BLUNT (R-MO), MAJORITY WHIP: I'd like to say that we thought we sent a good bill over to the Senate, a bill that would solve this problem. They had all day yesterday to work on it. And I share the leader's disappointment with less than a handful of individuals who stood in the way of that bill being sent to the president yesterday and this being resolved at that time.
It's really hard to imagine a death a lot more hideous than simply deciding that you're no longer going to allow someone to have food and water. And as they -- as you watch them dehydrate and starve to death.
It's clear from watching the tapes of Terri Schiavo that she -- she interacts with people. She's aware of her surroundings. She attempts to communicate.
It's equally clear that her family members, while her husband is divided from other family members on this, the -- her parents and others who have cared about Terri her entire life don't believe that this would be -- this is what she wants to have happen.
They are more than willing to accept responsibility for the future of her life and just as those closest to Terri, her family members, have stood by her we're doing everything we can to stand by her as well and, certainly, our understanding is that the courts have given some extension to the -- to Terri's life. And what they've actually done is postpone the beginning of a very painful death, if this death is allowed to occur.
DELAY: Thank you.
HARRIS: And just a moment ago you heard House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, essentially applauding a decision by a state judge in Florida today that temporarily blocks the removal of a feeding tube that has been keeping Terri Schiavo alive.
Let's bring in our congressional correspondent now, Joe Johns.
And Joe, I first have to ask you, it is -- to explain the flurry of activity on Capitol Hill today that seems to have made a real difference in this case.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five subpoenas, Tony, have been issued by the House Government Reform Committee. These are those subpoenas.
Now, we do have to correct something that we've been reporting based on sources throughout the morning. We were told earlier that a committee hearing would be held on Capitol Hill with Terri Schiavo and others or, perhaps, on remote television.
Now, according to the subpoenas, what we're being told is that that committee hearing will be held at the hospice in Florida. We're also told three of those subpoenas have now been delivered, one to Terri Schiavo, another to Michael Schiavo. Also, to Annie Santa Maria, the director of the hospice.
So, apparently, that committee hearing to be held March 25 at the hospice.
Here on Capitol Hill, on the Senate side, meanwhile, an invitation for Terri Schiavo and her husband to appear before the health committee. Now, we talked to lawyers some time ago. And essentially, what they told us is they believe the extension of the invitation for her to appear gives her certain legal rights, including the right to keep the feeding tube in until that appearance occurs.
That's what's happening here on Capitol Hill right now. On the other side of the coin, there are some people who are saying that this is the wrong way to go, particularly with subpoenas.
Among them, the Democrat Henry Waxman of California, who just a little while ago put out a statement saying, in part, "These subpoenas are a flagrant abuse of power. Congress is turning the Schiavo family's personal tragedy into a national political farce. The committee has no business inserting itself in the middle of an excruciating private family matter."
So there are people here on Capitol Hill who disagree. As you heard, though, the Republican members of the House of Representatives feel very strongly about this. They've been talking about this in terms of the culture of life -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Congressional correspondent, Joe Johns, for us. Thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: The American Civil Liberties Union calls the congressional subpoenas a bid to circumvent a lawful court order. The group's Howard Simon says it's unclear to him, quote, "how a subpoena, which is ordinary done to produce records or somebody to testify can, essentially, have the effect of an injunction overriding the orders of a court."
John Mica doesn't see it that way. He's a Republican member of the House Government Reform Committee, for which this has been an especially busy week. And he's a Floridian, besides. The congressman joins us now from our Washington bureau.
Congressman, it's a pleasure.
REP. JOHN MICA (R), FLORIDA: Well, thank you. Good to be with you.
PHILLIPS: Well, let me get your immediate response to Congressman Henry Waxman, coming forward -- we just got this statement moments ago, that these subpoenas are a flagrant abuse of power.
MICA: Well, he calls it a private family matter. And actually, it's one of the most fundamental basic matters of public policy, and that's the preservation of life.
We have an individual who's caught in a family dispute, who's disabled or not able to speak or act for herself, who hasn't left the terms of what she'd like done.
Now, a government court can order the removing -- removing of the feeding tube, and they can die. And maybe one side of the family may win. But this is, again, about the most fundamental responsibility of government. And that's protecting the disabled, those who can't speak for themselves, those who have no other advocate.
So I think it's appropriate that we have acted. I'm glad that the court acted moments ago to rescind another court order, but we need to be engaged in this.
PHILLIPS: Well, when you look at this case and how -- how you are engaged and Congress engaged. And now we're hearing about these subpoenas. Is this really about long-term care of incapacitated adults, or is this about a story that has grabbed the headlines; everybody has been talking about it. They've been talking about it for more than a decade. And unless politicians step in and do something, this could be a catastrophe, politically?
MICA: Well, it's a fundamental question about government and government's role in protecting, again, the most innocent, those that are disabled. In our society today we do have the ability to determine life or death.
And here, when you have, again, a very difficult call, two sides of the family disputing this, and the innocent person unable to speak or act for themselves and made no prior written plans, no legal direction. The government has to side on the side of, again, the innocence in this case.
PHILLIPS: But Congressman...
MICA: Otherwise, what kind of government do you have that says we can just dispose of life?
PHILLIPS: But is it the government's position to do this? Is it the government's position?
MICA: Absolutely. Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: But isn't it -- isn't it up to the spouse? I mean, if this were to happen to me, legally, it's up to my husband to decide what happens to me.
MICA: Well, again, you have a strained relationship here between -- and a division among the family members. And that's why it's become a public matter. I mean, it should be something that people should pay attention to.
PHILLIPS: But by law, isn't it up to the spouse? By law?
MICA: Again, there are questions there. And this has gone back and forth, both between the family and also in the courts as we've seen even by even the most recent decision a few minutes ago. So it is rightful that we do step in, the government, whether it's the governor, the president, or the Congress, that we take the side of those that are the most innocent in this process.
And, certainly, Terri is the most innocent. Maybe she's not as beautiful as she used to be, but that doesn't mean that someone should do away with her -- her life. We should -- we should give life every chance and every opportunity, and that's our role. Otherwise, what kind -- what kind of government do we have in the United States?
PHILLIPS: You've come forward, a number of other congressmen, members of Congress. Tom DeLay, just moments ago saying she is alive. She's not being kept alive. It's our moral obligation to protect her.
How do we really know, though, that she is alive like you and me when we can't see her or talk to her? The last videotape that we've seen of her that we even have in our archives is 2001. Why not hold a news conference? If this is the government's position.
MICA: That's again -- well, again, I think we've sort of come to that. And government's responsibility is to sort out the facts, whether it's in the court or in the Congress. And we'll sort out the facts here. And we're giving life a chance.
Now, I'm told that she is capable of sustaining life. The question is here is whether she'll be starved to death in a painful manner. And again, I don't think that that's the government's role, to be the advocate of starving people to death by inaction of government.
PHILLIPS: Congressman John Mica, appreciate your time today, sir.
MICA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Kyra, we've gotten plenty of e-mails on the Schiavo issue even without asking. But now we're asking. Who should determine Terri Schiavo's fate? Send your thoughts to LiveFrom@CNN.com, and we'll read as many as we can later this hour.
And later, CNN's Judy Woodruff looks at whether those congressional subpoenas violate the separation of powers. That's on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 in the West.
And tonight, tune in for Larry King's exclusive interview with Terri Schiavo's parents. That's at 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific, right here on CNN.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the complex Schiavo case brings up the need for a simple piece of paper. We're going to talk about living wills with the Dolans, just ahead.
Also, the son of comedian David Letterman apparently the target of a kidnapping plot. We'll have the details for you.
And a hotel worker saves a choking woman and may end up saving his own life in the process. A rescue with a twist later on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN.
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HARRIS: The Terri Schiavo case raises plenty of questions and plenty of strong emotions, no matter what side you're on. But one piece of paper, one piece of paper could have prevented a lot of people, at least, some of the pain.
Financial experts Ken and Daria Dolan may not always agree on dollars. But they both say living wills make a lot of sense. They join us from New York.
I've got to ask you both -- first of all, good to see you. Good to see you as always on Fridays.
DARIA DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": You, too, Tony. We missed you last week.
HARRIS: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Likewise here. Living wills, we're going to hear a lot...
KEN DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": Wait a minute. Tony, wait just a second. Can I say something before you go on?
HARRIS: Sure. Absolutely, Ken.
K. DOLAN: Let me speak for America for 30 seconds.
HARRIS: OK.
K. DOLAN: Blunt, Mica, DeLay, House, Senate, get out of this picture. Get out of this Terri Schiavo thing. Let the family, let the husband figure it out. Don't politicize it.
And oh my God, for the first time in my life, I'm in the ring with Henry Waxman and the ACLU.
HARRIS: But Ken, for all of those folks you just named, this is a right to life issue. This is not something that -- the government has a perfect right to be involved in this.
K. DOLAN: No.
D. DOLAN: Not from a group of people that would vote on late- term abortions and almost pass the situation.
This is a family issue. This is a state law situation. This is not to become a three-ring circus...
HARRIS: Yes.
D. DOLAN: ... and a political play by every half-baked politician on the hill.
K. DOLAN: All right, but talk living will. Tony is asking living wills.
D. DOLAN: Yes. Let me -- let me talk about this.
K. DOLAN: I got off the subject.
HARRIS: OK.
D. DOLAN: Terri Schiavo, if, in fact, it is true that she said to her husband, "I would never want to live that way," could have put the whole thing to rest by filing -- filling out a durable healthcare power of attorney with - with her lawyer. Then there would be written proof that she did not want any, any heroic measures used to keep her alive if she was in less...
HARRIS: But Daria, Daria...
D. DOLAN: ... than some sort of recuperative state.
HARRIS: You know I love you. But I've got to ask you, who was talking about living wills 15 years ago when she took ill?
D. DOLAN: Well, you know, the sad, good news that comes out of this whole Terri Schiavo and all the publicity surrounding it and the potential for a Supreme Court decision on this is that I think more people will be forced to talk about it. And that's very important.
When you sign one of these durable healthcares, you do not initial your death sentence.
HARRIS: I see.
D. DOLAN: You can go on for 50, 60, 70, 80 years longer. It's just a legal precaution.
Because within the state of Florida, which is where Terri Schiavo is, the unfortunate situation is the husband can't even turn to the parents and say, "OK. I think you're wrong. I don't think Terri wanted to say alive. I will cede my care of her to you. Go ahead and do it."
They are interpreting Florida law in the inability for him to even do that for the family.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Ken, what is in one of these living wills? What are you signing? What are you agreeing to? What are we talking about here?
K. DOLAN: That's a great question, Tony. As you said, Tony, clearly, somebody who is, I believe, in her 20s when this happened to her, when it was the potassium imbalance which led to her death. Clearly, in the 20s...
D. DOLAN: Not her death, her coma.
K. DOLAN: Right. Her coma. Tony, the bottom line is, basically, there are instructions to say, if I become incapacitated and unable to make the decisions about my own healthcare, I'm going to, as Daria says, cede that responsibility, usually, to my mate -- could be another family member -- that if I can't do it, here are the instructions.
Among those instructions, Tony, are whether you -- among many instructions, including specific medications and procedures is, if I am in a persistent vegetative state, among -- which many say Terri Schiavo is in.
HARRIS: Yes.
K. DOLAN: Or I would be if I was on life-sustaining, I want that because hope springs eternal if I'm alive. Or I want my person to whom I've ceded my responsibility to make the decision that life, that the quality of life is not what I would want and take it from there.
HARRIS: Got you.
K. DOLAN: This is a political football.
HARRIS: Yes.
K. DOLAN: The power is -- the plug is pulled on...
HARRIS: It does feel that way in a bit, doesn't it? It does feel like everyone is involved in this. And then...
K. DOLAN: It happens dozens of times a day, Tony, all over the country.
HARRIS: And it truly (ph) is about a family, isn't it?
D. DOLAN: It is about a family. But there's one other post- script to all of this.
HARRIS: yes.
D. DOLAN: And it, yet again, goes back to the federal government. From the Department of Health and Human Services, there was a Health Information Privacy Act passed. It's referred to as HIPA.
So for any clients of attorneys who have taken the time and the care to draw up these healthcare durable powers of attorney, they're going to need to now fill out another form with their lawyer, and I would hope that their lawyers are informing them.
HARRIS: Yes.
D. DOLAN: Because now, they've met -- at the hospital and the medical personnel are confused as to whether they can, in fact, turn to even a designated healthcare alternative and share the information without a new piece of paper signed.
K. DOLAN: It's a must.
HARRIS: Got you.
D. DOLAN: That's what happens when Washington gets involved.
HARRIS: OK. All right. I think we're flat out of time.
K. DOLAN: All right, Tony.
HARRIS: But I think we -- and I think we shared some good information for folks.
K. DOLAN: We did, Tony. Thanks.
D. DOLAN: I sure hope so.
HARRIS: OK. Your show is on, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED," tomorrow 10 a.m.
D. DOLAN: Ten o'clock.
HARRIS: Ten o'clock, right after "CNN SATURDAY MORNING."
K. DOLAN: Love you, Tony.
HARRIS: Ken and Daria, thank you very much.
K. DOLAN: Take care.
HARRIS: OK. See you on TV. K. DOLAN: Yes.
HARRIS: And some additional information. If you want advice how to keep your...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I immediately knew I was in trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know that she was choking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt these arms come around me.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Twist of fate. A hotel worker's life- saving action to help this woman may end up actually saving his own life.
Later on LIVE FROM, what happened to Cherry? Her face was the first to appear on missing child mailers nationwide. Twenty years later, how family and investigators are coping.
Later on LIVE FROM, steroids and sports. Major leaguers testify to Congress. A federal criminal investigation in San Francisco. The latest on juicing the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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