Terri Schiavo Case Not Over Yet; Gov. Bush Asks For Investigation

In another preposterous prolonging of the media coverage of Terri Schiavo’s death, Florida Governor Jeb Bush has asked a prosecutor to investigate why Schiavo collapsed over 15 years ago. Bush wants prosecutor Bernie McCabe to examine the alleged gap in time between when Michael Schiavo found his wife collapsed and the time that he called for help. Bush says that Michael Schiavo testified in 1992 that he found his wife at about 5:00 a.m., but that in another statement two years ago, he said that he found her at about 4:30 a.m. Michael Schiavo’s call to 911 was made at 5:40 a.m. Governor Bush says that there is "no explanation for the delay." Speaking to the Miami Herald, Michael Schiavo’s attorney addressed the governor’s request by saying that it is "preposterous" to suggest that Schiavo didn’t call for help immediately when he discovered his wife lying on the floor unresponsive. He added that if Michael had actually waited 70 minutes before calling, Terri would have been dead.

The findings of an autopsy performed on Schiavo were released Monday, and the county medical examiner, Dr. Jon Thogmartin, reported that the results of the autopsy confirmed that Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state and her brain damage was irreversible. In reporting his findings, Thogmartin pointed out that the sodium level in the vitreous of her eye was 207, the "highest he had ever seen," and that given her high sodium content and low water content, the fact that she was able to maintain her body’s systems for 15 years was remarkable. According to Thogmartin, "she had kidney stones, her bladder was chronically inflamed, and she had bilateral pneumonia…so she was not healthy…when they got her back, you could classify her as terminally ill." He added that the weight of her brain was 615 grams, and a normal brain weight for someone 41 years of age ought to be 1200 to 1300 grams, and her condition would never have improved no matter what amount of therapy she might have received. Schiavo’s parents stridently contended before their daughter’s death that she was not receiving proper therapy, and she could have improved had she been given such therapy.

During the press conference announcing the autopsy reports, Thogmartin repeatedly compared Schiavo’s autopsy findings with those of Karen Ann Quinlan, the patient who instigated the right-to-die debate. The 21-year-old Quinlan collapsed at a party after swallowing alcohol and Valium; doctors saved her life, but she suffered brain damage and lapsed into a persistent vegetative state. Her family waged a lengthy and bitter legal battle for the right to remove her life-support machinery. Although they succeeded, Quinlan kept breathing after the respirator was unplugged, and she remained in a coma for almost 10 years in a New Jersey nursing home until her death in 1985. Commenting on the differences between Quinlan and Schiavo, Thogmartin said that the autopsy findings for Terri Schiavo were "extremely consistent with what is reported in the medical lit for persistent vegetative state…specifically, on Karen Ann Quinlan, this example is even worse than what is reported for Karen Ann Quinlan, whose brain weighed.835 grams. She had more brain substance, more brain tissue than Terri Schiavo." Thogmartin stated unequivocally that Schiavo was blind and would not have been able to hear her parents, see her parents, or react to her parents, despite their many claims to the contrary.

Because of the definitive findings of the autopsy report, most of the country was relieved that there was finally a conclusion to the Schiavo story, so that hopefully the two fighting families would finally leave Terri at rest and go on with their lives. But the day after the autopsy report was released, Terri’s parents were again headlining the news, saying that they did not believe the autopsy findings and they are going to hire their own pathologist to perform an autopsy on their behalf, presumably to disprove the findings reported by Thogmartin. And now Governor Bush has joined them in prolonging the Schiavo case by asking for an investigation into the events of the night Terri collapsed, even though Michael Schiavo’s actions that night have certainly been thoroughly investigated in excruciating detail numerous times over the past 15 years.

The obvious question in response to Governor Bush sticking his nose into the case yet again is: doesn’t he have more important things to do with his time? Or better yet, is he so disappointed that he couldn’t intervene to keep Terri Schiavo alive that now he’s trying to punish Michael Schiavo by reopening a 15-year old investigation? In Monday’s press conference, Thogmartin said that based on his numerous interviews with friends and family of Terri Schiavo, she was a very likeable young person, and everyone spoke very highly of her. Although no one really knows whether Terri Schiavo would have wanted to be kept alive by artificial means, surely she wouldn’t have wanted to be at the center of this tragic, bitter argument that no one will let die.