Posted: March 24, 2005

1:00 a.m. Eastern

Editor's Note: The life and death tug-of-war over Terri Schiavo is a 12-year-old court battle that remained under the radar of most major news outlets until recently. WorldNetDaily was among the first national news organizations to cover the story back when it primarily occupied the headlines of the local press in Southwest Florida, in November 2002.

As the rest of the news world works to catch up on this complex, multifaceted, precedent-setting case, readers have asked WND about errors and glaring omissions in the current widespread media coverage. In addition, much of what WND reported in previous years is now topping headlines elsewhere, leaving readers to question why they're not finding the same details in current editions of WND.

In view of this, WorldNetDaily has decided to mine our extensive archives to compile a comprehensive analysis of the Terri Schiavo story.

By Diana Lynne

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Major media organizations paint the pitched battle over the life of Terri Schiavo as a clear- cut debate between pro-life and right-to-die advocates, bankrolled by big money activist organizations on both sides. But the case of the 41-year-old brain-injured Florida woman is anything but clear cut.

The little-publicized nuances of her 15-year saga often get lost amid the smoldering, post-election political warfare reignited by the intervention of Congress on behalf of Terri. But as President Bush pointed out in a statement on Terri Schiavo, "there are serious questions and substantial doubts" in her case.

Chief among these doubts is whether the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube on March 18, which amounts to slow death by dehydration and starvation, reflects her wishes. There is no written directive from Terri Schiavo on the matter.

Terri Schiavo before her disability.

In February of 1990 at the age of 26, Terri Schiavo collapsed at home and oxygen was cut off to her brain for several minutes. The cause of the collapse is disputed. Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, blames a cardiac arrest induced by a potassium imbalance associated with bulimia. The Schindlers suspect he tried to strangle her, based on court testimony by a neurologist that Terri had suffered a neck injury when she was admitted to the hospital.

Though severely brain-damaged, Terri Schiavo breathes and maintains a heart beat and blood pressure on her own. While her vision is impaired, she can see and move her limbs. But she needs a feeding tube connected to her stomach to sustain her life.

WorldNetDaily reported the tube was pulled to fulfill the court-ordered request of Michael Schiavo, despite attempted intervention by members of House and Senate committees and the Florida Legislature, and after Florida courts rejected a flurry of eleventh-hour motions by Bob and Mary Schindler to keep their daughter alive.

Bob and Mary Schindler (courtesy Bay News 9)

The Schindler family maintains Terri has consistently exhibited a strong will to live, despite the February 2000 ruling by Judge George Greer of the 6th Judicial Circuit Court in Clearwater, Fla., that she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means. Greer's ruling was based on the testimony by Michael Schiavo, his brother, and his brother's wife that Terri made "casual statements" to them a year before her injury that she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Greer declared that testimony "clear and convincing evidence" of Terri Schiavo's wishes.

Florida law allows for consideration of oral expressions of end-of-life wishes.

Michael Schiavo told the court he and Terri had talked about life support when her grandmother was in a nursing home, unconscious for weeks and on a ventilator. He testified that Terri had said, "If I ever have to be a burden to anybody, I don't want to live like that."

Under Florida law, a feeding tube is considered a life-support device on par with a respirator.

Michael Schiavo (Photo: Baynews9.com)

"My aim is to carry out Terri's wishes," Michael Schiavo told WND after court proceedings in October 2002. "If Terri would even know that I had somebody taking care of her bodily functions, she'd kill us all in a heartbeat. She'd be so angry," he added.

More- http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43463

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------