From the AP:
An autopsy will be performed after Terri Schiavo dies to show the extent of her brain damage, her husband’s attorney says.
On Monday, Schiavo’s 11th day without food or water, supporters of prolonging the woman’s life carried their protests to the White House, while the husband’s attorney said she looked “peaceful” and had a stuffed toy cat under her arm.
George Felos, the attorney for husband and guardian Michael Schiavo, said Monday that the chief medical examiner for Pinellas County, Dr. John Thogmartin, had agreed to perform an autopsy.
He said her husband wants definitive proof showing the extent of her brain damage. Michael Schiavo contends his wife told him years ago she would not want to be kept alive artificially under such circumstances.
An attorney for Schiavo’s parents, David Gibbs III, said her family also wants an autopsy. “We would certainly support and encourage an autopsy to be done, with all the unanswered questions,” Gibbs said.
My understanding is that an autopsy, in addition to documenting the extent of Terri Schiavo’s brain injury, should be able to determine the cause of that injury (in a generic sense) as well—that is, it should be able to conclude that the injury was the result of a blow to the head, or heart attack, etc. Which means, of course, that an autopsy could very well prove that Michael Schiavo abused his wife—or, more likely, such a procedure will clear Michael Schiavo of some of the more pernicious pieces of conjecture I’ve heard floated during the ongoing coverage of this case.
The hideous acusations about Michael abusing Terri causing this condition can only be spouted by the truly thoughtless. They ended up settling a malpractice lawsuit that awarded Michael and Terri over $1 million. Don’t you think that a serious enough abuse injury that resulted in PVS would have stuck out like a sore thumb during the trial phase of the malpractice suit?
Come on, lets take off the tin foil hats.
Christophobe.
BTW, my comment is not directed at any specific person here, I’m just sick of all the people that are buying the idiotic stories without giving them any critical examination. It’s really a simple story, the poor woman has been effectively brain dead for 15 years due to side effects of bulimia. Her whole family tried everything even beyond reason for the first few years. After there was not the slightest hope Michael moved on with his life (while still giving impeccable care to Terri) while the parents are still in absolute denial. Case freakin’ closed. Sheesh, now everyone quietly and peacefully leave Jerry Springers la la land.
According to FoxNews last night, the primary reason for the autopsy is that it’s required under Florida law before cremation can occur…cremation being what the husband desires.
I haven’t blogged any on Michael abusing Terri or have I read any. (yes I know there are plenty, I just haven’t read them) But I have heard her brother throw that accusation around so it should be interesting to see what the autopsy shows. I’m betting it will all be “inconclusive.”
What if it shows she had brain activity? This is already a made for TV movie and I am sure Michael is working on his book.
It’s all so morbid and sick.
Cause of Death: Activist Judge, abusive spouse, with indications of a culture of death and devaluation of human life (and dehydration).
So they are willing to do analysis after her death instead of approving additional tests while she’s still alive. Instead of relying on tests run over a decade ago.
Forgive me if I think something is farked up about that.
Windrider, that’s not an entirely accurate description of Florida law.
Deaths involving cremation, burial at sea, donation to science, or removal of the body from the state must first be referred to the Medical Examiner for *approval.* The Medical Examiner reviews the cause of death information to ensure that jurisdiction under §406.11 does not exist. Transportation of the deceased to the Department is usually not required if the death did not involve trauma.
Autopsy is not necessarily required for cremation. In well-documented case where a feeding tube has been withdrawn from a patient who has been PVS for over a decade, years normally an autopsy would not be required prior to cremation.
Requesting/ Agreeing to an autopsy does settle any claim of jurisdiction under the statute that might be made by the medical examiner.
All that’s left now is for Michael to have said that Terri wanted her remains carted off to The University of Tennessee, home of well-known far right blogger and puppy smoothie drinker GLENN REYNOLDS and left out to rot as part of their ongoing decomposition studies as part of their study at the outdoor Anthropology Research Facility, better known as the Body Farm.
Because she was a fan of science.
From Terri’s lips to Michael’s ears to the court transcript.
Come to think of it, for Jeff and Bill to NOT ask Glenn about his association with rotting corpses on the UT campus and get his thoughts on what would happen if Michael were to ask for this on Terri’s behalf during their Net show would be proof of the VRWC.
Weathering under a brutal freeze-thaw cycle of right-to-life versus die-with-dignity, the cracks on the right are exposed and enlarged into gaping wounds. For tens of millions the veneer of common cause sundered
by the death of one.
The underlying question valid; the forum and format divisive and hateful.
Resolution? Reconciliation? First: death.
An end before any new beginnings.
If she died from a heart attack caused the damage done from bulimia well then, one has to wonder whether her loving husband ever said to his wife eternal “if you ever get fat, I’m leaving!.
If a foot is run over by a steamroller and by visible inspection can be seen to be flattened, further examination to discover if there may be some non-crushed structures remaining is not necessary because even if there are, the foot will not function.
So, Susan – even if Michael is cleared of the allegations that he caused her heart attack, you’ll still figure it’s his fault anyhow?
Channeling Flannery O’Connor a lot these days, are we?
Didn’t she weigh something like 150 when he either met or married her?
Should we start an I-hate-Michael Shiavo conspiracy theory roundup right here on PW?
Susan has the first entry with her 2:17 post.
My crackpot entry might be: The autopsy reveals full brain activity – she wasn’t impaired at all! But a secret toxicology test proves that Michael was putting heavy sedatives in her feeding tube to keep her comatose while he ran around town for 15 years.
I think Susan was kidding.
I want to know how she’s still alive. Everything says she’s had no food or water for 12 days. I thought you could only live a couple of days without water.
Did I miss the “Wise Blood, redux” post on Schiavo? Someone in Milledgeville’s smiling. Just a little.
I used to hold the opinion that Mr. Schiavo was somewhat slimy in his insistence that his wife die. At first, I thought it was money, and then read that little of the settlement is left (albeit, $40,000, in my eyes, is a lot of money). I then thought it was about marriage in the Catholic Church. I then read that the mother of his children is divorced, and so this route is cut off from him.
That leaves 2 options left. The easiest to accept is that Mr. Schiavo is actually representing what he believes is Terry’s wish. In which case, whether he is wrong or not in this regard (she may have changed her mind w/o telling him, for instance), it is wrong to question his motives.
The other option is that this was originally about the money (hey, it is possible), but now it is about pride. About getting his way and maintaining face.
I don’t care enough about the case to determine if the latter option is in fact true, and so the moral position, I believe, is to assume that he is doing this because he sincerely believes Terry would want it (that making a righteous judgment thing). One can still disagree with the decision he is making (heck, what’s a living will for if hearsay works just as well), and I can sympathize with the Schindler’s. This is their daughter. Regardless of letting go, they may feel it is their responsibility to care for her .
As far as an autopsy is concerned, what evidence of a crime do they expect to find after 15 years of a live body? What do they think they’ll find that the ER physicians and brain scans missed? This is a dead end, and one, IMO, that shows little respect.
Turing word ‘board’ as in this topic has left me board (sic).
Or, Terry will be as stiff as a . . .
My turing word is “feed”. Must have something to do with networks and satellites and stuff.
Here’s a little question: if the family suspected that Michael had abused his wife, why didn’t they tell anyone until very recently? Using the logic of the Schiavos, that means they are liars. Actually, using just regular logic, they come across as liars.
Just saying.
Sorry, that’s not the logic of the Schiavos but her parents, the Schindlers. How could I get these complete strangers mixed up? I don’t know, but I did. Sorry.
Matt – could be 30 days.
30 days without food, sure, but I’ve never heard of anyone going without water for more than a week.
30 days.
Sorry to be a pest, but do you have any links? Everything I find says 8 to 10 days, absolute max. 30 days sounds ridiculous.
No links. Just me and an awful family tragedy.
Hmmm.
1. Heart attack: Supposedly the thinking is that she was damaged from a heart attack that stopped the flow of blood to her brain.
2. The theory is that the heart attack was caused by near-fatally low potassium in the blood.
3. The next theory is that the near-fatally low potassium in the blood was caused by her drinking 10-15 glasses of ice tea per day.
4. Doctors assumed that she had bulimia because she *drank 10-15 glasses of ice tea per day*.
Well at least according to the Wolfson report. Which I frankly think is a pile of crap. Anybody remember the dieting advice of 15 years ago? Drink lots of fluids. Remember that? Does it seem at all credible that drinking 10-15 glasses of ice tea per day would actually kill someone?
Sorry but this doesn’t seem credible to me. I used to enjoy some outdoor sports in some particularly brutal situations. I would literally drink gallons of water and ice tea in a single day, from the heat and humidity, and I never came close to keeling over from it. Maybe from the humidity, but not from the ice tea.
I’m not accusing Michael Schivao of killing his wife. But it’s pretty damn hard to have a fatal level of low potassium.
Can’t speak to iced-tea, but I can tell you that one of the problems with X being used as a rave drug is that it makes you really thirsty, and there have been cases in which people have died from drinking too much water. Related? No idea. Just making conversation.
Hyponatramea is a condition brought on by drinking too much water and essentially washing the sodium (and electrolytes) out of the body. It can cause seizures and coma.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200503290005
This doctor says it takes 10-14 days. Death is by dehydration. And he seems a hell of a lot more credible than the MSNBC talking heads.
Thanks Diana, Jon. I guess all those 2 or 3 day estimates probably assumed normal activity, not bed rest.
12 days. Thats a LOT of euphoria. Where do we sign up ?
TW -big- as in a big bag of red pills.