Act for the Relief of the Parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo

Legislation

By: United States Congress

Date: March 19, 2005

Source: 109th United States Congress. Act for the Relief of the Parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo. S. 653. March 17, 2005.

About the Author: The 109th Congress convened for two sessions during its tenure from January 2005 to January 2007. The Republican Party held a majority of seats in the 109th Congress.

INTRODUCTION

When Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo died on March 31, 2005, at the age of forty-one, she was at the center of a legal battle that had spanned seven years and incited political, ethical, and religious debate around the world. It was the longest right to die case in American history. The legal wrangling centered around whether or not Terri Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), whether she had irreversible brain damage and to what degree, and whether or not she would have wished to have her life prolonged by artificial means. In the end, her husband, who had asserted throughout that she would not have wanted to remain alive in her current state, won the right to have her feeding tube removed, and artificial feeding and hydration withdrawn. Schiavo died thirteen days after her feeding tube was removed.

Although there is some level of controversy surrounding the circumstances that caused the initial event, there is no doubt that Terri Schiavo experienced cardiac and respiratory arrest in the early morning hours of February 25, 1990. She was twenty-six years old. Her husband, Michael, reported being awakened by the sound of his wife falling to the floor. He found her unconscious and immediately called for emergency assistance. Schiavo was eventually resuscitated and taken to the hospital. However, her brain had been deprived of oxygen for about three quarters of an hour, and she remained in a deep coma for about ten weeks. Doctors later concluded that Schiavo remained in what is known as a persistent vegetative state: she was not conscious, she did not have volitional or purposeful movement, and she did not interact in a conscious or meaningful way with her environment or other people. The diagnosis of PVS was independently made by five different physicians, over the course of the first few years after the cardiac and respiratory arrests. The PVS was caused by the brain damage resulting from the extremely long period of oxygen deprivation to her brain—anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, according to the autopsy report.

Schiavo's husband professed to know her wishes around the continuation of her life under circumstances in which she was not able to lead an independent existence. He spent years embroiled in legal cases with her parents, in which he asserted her right not to be kept alive when there was no reasonable or likely chance of recovery to a functional state.

Before Terri Schiavo's life ended, there had been vast amounts of media coverage, official acts of legislation, and commentary by sources as remote as Florida's Governor, the Pope, the United States Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the United States Congress, and the American President. Never before in American history had the private struggles of a family been made quite so public, for quite so long.

PRIMARY SOURCE

AN ACT For the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,.

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida shall have jurisdiction to hear, determine, and render judgment on a suit or claim by or on behalf of Theresa Marie Schiavo for the alleged violation of any right of Theresa Marie Schiavo under the Constitution or laws of the United States relating to the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain her life.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURE

Any parent of Theresa Marie Schiavo shall have standing to bring a suit under this Act. The suit may be brought against any other person who was a party to State court proceedings relating to the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain the life of Theresa Marie Schiavo, or who may act pursuant to a State court order authorizing or directing the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain her life. In such a suit, the District Court shall determine de novo any claim of a violation of any right of Theresa Marie Schiavo within the scope of this Act, notwithstanding any prior State court determination and regardless of whether such a claim has previously been raised, considered, or decided in State court proceedings. The District Court shall entertain and determine the suit without any delay or abstention in favor of State court proceedings, and regardless of whether remedies available in the State courts have been exhausted.

SEC. 3. RELIEF

After a determination of the merits of a suit brought under this Act, the District Court shall issue such declaratory and injunctive relief as may be necessary to protect the rights of Theresa Marie Schiavo under the Constitution and laws of the United States relating to the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain her life.

SEC. 4. TIME FOR FILING

Notwithstanding any other time limitation, any suit or claim under this Act shall be timely if filed within 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. NO CHANGE OF SUBSTANTIVE RIGHTS

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to create substantive rights not otherwise secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States or of the several States.

SEC. 6. NO EFFECT ON ASSISTING SUICIDE

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to confer additional jurisdiction on any court to consider any claim related—.

1. to assisting suicide, or
2. a State law regarding assisting suicide.

SEC. 7. NO PRECEDENT FOR FUTURE LEGISLATION

Nothing in this Act shall constitute a precedent with respect to future legislation, including the provision of private relief bills.

Nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of any person under the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990.

SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS

It is the Sense of Congress that the 109th Congress should consider policies regarding the status and legal rights of incapacitated individuals who are incapable of making decisions concerning the provision, withholding, or withdrawal of foods, fluid, or medical care.

SIGNIFICANCE

After stabilization and recovery from her cardiac and respiratory arrests and ensuing coma, Schiavo was found to be unable to take hydration and nourishment orally, as she was unable to swallow voluntarily. As a result, she was given a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (also called a PEG tube) in order to put nutrition and hydration directly into her digestive system. It was the placement of the PEG tube and the later requests by her husband, Michael Schiavo, to remove the tube that were the focal points of the controversy. Before all legal efforts ceased, there had been numerous court cases, the first of which was a malpractice case brought against Ms. Schiavo's previous physicians for failure to notice and appropriately respond to indications of her alleged eating disorder. The court cases, motions and appeals spanned local district, circuit, state, federal, and Supreme Court decisions. Governor Jeb Bush filed federal court papers supporting Schiavo's parents' endeavors to prevent removal of the PEG tube; various advocacy groups filed court petitions and briefs supporting them as well. It is very rare that a state governor becomes personally involved in a family medical matter. However, this case quickly rose from being a private family medical matter to the status of a major international political and philosophical event.

The Florida House of Representatives enacted legislation referred to as "Terri's Law," allowing the governor to issue a stay preventing removal of nutrition and hydration tubes on a one-time basis. Various independent legal guardians were appointed by the court systems in order to assure that Ms. Schiavo's safety and well-being were properly considered. Among the many (in this instance, unsuccessful) legal precedents that were attempted in this case was one in which legislation was introduced by two Florida senators who proposed that artificial hydration and nutrition be mandatory in cases in which there was no Living Will in place, despite the wishes and beliefs held by next of kin or expressed by the patient and witnessed by others. Ultimately, "Terri's Law" was found by the Florida Supreme Court to be unconstitutional and was removed. Governor Bush petitioned the United States Supreme Court to overturn the ruling and re-institute "Terri's Law;" the U.S. Supreme Court refused the request to review the case.

In March of 2004, Pope John Paul II convened meetings regarding treatment of those considered to be in a persistent vegetative state and publicly decried any attempts to hasten the end of life by removal of artificial means of hydration and nutrition. This further raised the degree of public attention brought to the case of Terri Schiavo.

On March 17, 2005, the Schindlers were granted a Relief Act by the United States Government. The Relief Act was actually a "private bill" that applied solely to the Schiavo case. The United States Senate website refers to a private bill as one that "provides benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies). Individuals sometimes request relief through private legislation when administrative or legal remedies are exhausted. Many private bills deal with immigration—granting citizenship or permanent residency. Private bills may also be introduced for individuals who have claims again the government, veterans benefits claims, claims for military decorations, or taxation problems. The title of a private bill usually begins with the phrase, 'For the relief of….' If a private bill is passed in identical form by both houses of Congress and is signed by the President, it becomes a private law. On March 18, 2005, the PEG tube is removed from Terri Schiavo for the final time. Numerous appeals and attempts at legislation mandating re-insertion of the tube were filed, and all were denied. The tube remained out, and Terri Schiavo died on March 31, 2005. After the PEG tube was removed, there was a great deal of media attention focused both on the case and on the location of the hospice in which Schiavo was a patient. Threats were made against Michael Schiavo and his family, and arrests were made in connection with a plot to pay for Michael Schiavo's assassination.

Although there is still some debate regarding the legal and ethical decisions made in the case, some of the claims made against the diagnosis of PVS were silenced by the Medical examiner's autopsy report, in which statements were made regarding the permanent nature of Ms. Schiavo's brain damage, as well as the markedly decreased physical size of her brain. The Schiavo case renewed public discourse over whether there is a right to die. Public opinion remains sharply divided over whether to incorporate a right to die into U.S. law.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Books

Caplan, Arthur C., James J. McCartney, and Dominic A. Sisti. The Case of Terri Schiavo: Ethics at the End of Life.Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2006.

Pearse, Richard L., Jr. In Re: The Guardianship of Theresa Schiavo, An Incapacitated Person. Report of Guardian Ad Litem. Case No. 90-2908GD-003. The Circuit Court for Pinellas County, Florida: Probate Division, December 29, 1998.

Schiavo, Michael & Michael Hirsch. Terri: The Truth. New York, New York: Dutton Adult, 2006.

Schindler, Mary, Robert Schindler, Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo & Bobby Schindler. A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo, A Lesson For Us All. Clayton, Australia: Warner Books, 2006.

Periodicals

Annas, G.J. "Culture of life" politics at the bedside—the case of Terri Schiavo." New England Journal of Medicine. 352 (2005): 1710-1715.

Campo-Flores, Arian. "The Legacy of Terri Schiavo." Newsweek. April 4, 2005.

Editorial Opinion. "The sacred and the secular: the life and death of Terri Schiavo." Canadian Medical Association Journal. 172(9) (2005): 1149.

Web sites

Medical Examiner, District Six, Pasco & Pinellas Counties. "Report of Autopsy: Schiavo, Theresa." Date of Autopsy: April 01, 2005. 〈http://www.abstractappeal.com/schiavo/autopsyreport.pdf〉 (accessed April 28, 2006).

United States Senate. "Legislation, Laws and Acts: Chapter 1: Bills." 〈http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/bills.htm〉 (accessed April 28, 2006).