Governor Bush Finally Ends State Inquiry Into Schiavo’s Collapse

Many people were incensed last month when Florida’s Governor Bush refused to accept the end of the Terri Schiavo’s case by calling for an inquiry into her collapse 15 years ago. Bush had asked State Attorney Bernie McCabe to investigate why the 41-year old woman had collapsed in the first place, after her autopsy report revealed that although there had been no evidence of trauma, the medical examiner stated that he was unable to determine with reasonable certainty a "manner of death." The question of why Terri Schiavo’s heart stopped temporarily, cutting off oxygen to her brain, was left unanswered by the autopsy.

As a result of what Governor Bush considered to be an inconclusive autopsy report, he requested that the state attorney get involved to conduct yet another investigation. To justify his request, Bush cited an alleged gap between when Schiavo’s husband Michael found her and when he called 911, and said the issue of her collapse remained unsettled. However, McCabe’s investigation revealed that while such discrepancies may exist in the record, Schiavo's statements that he called 911 immediately had been consistent. "This consistency, coupled with the varying recollections of the precise time offered by other interested parties, lead me to the conclusion that such discrepancies are not indicative of criminal activity," McCabe wrote in a letter to Bush accompanying his report. The report, released last week, also said that in order to open a full homicide investigation there must be some fact or evidence indicating that a criminal act caused the death. He said his review had revealed none. He added that the most likely cause of Schiavo's collapse is the one already advanced by medical doctors handling her case for years—an eating disorder.

In a curt two-sentence letter responding to McCabe’s report, Governor Bush said he now considers the state’s involvement with the Schiavo case to be finished at last. "Based on your conclusions, I will follow your recommendation that the inquiry by the state be closed," Bush said. Still, amazingly, Schiavo’s parents have still not decided to accept things and move on with their lives. David Gibbs, attorney for Bob and Mary Schindler, said that the report appeared to have been rushed, noting that Schiavo’s parents were not interviewed by the state attorney’s office. "We had thought they would meet with the family," he said. And why exactly would the state have interviewed them? They were thousands of miles away when Terri Schiavo collapsed; the only information they could have provided McCabe would have been their own opinions, speculations, and emotional pleas for him to find something to keep the case alive artificially, just as they had hoped to keep their daughter alive artificially.

Certainly everyone familiar with the Schiavo case can understand the grief of her parents at losing their daughter, but enough is enough. In essence, Terri Schiavo died over 15 years ago when she collapsed in her home. The government and indeed the nation have accepted her death, and now her parents need to accept it and move on.