- Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Governor Jeb Bush
(R-FL) has asked to meet with a Stetson University law and health professor
who has been appointed as an independent guardian for Terri Schiavo.
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- On October 31, Chief Pinellas-Pasco Chief Judge David
Demers appointed Dr. Jay Wolfson as guardian ad litem to Terri, despite
the suggestion of bias from Terri's family.
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- Wolfson, who criticized passage of Terri's Law by the
Florida state legislature, will become Terri's advocate in the courts.
Ultimately, Wolfson's responsibility is to make recommendations to Governor
Bush and the court about Terri's care.
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- Bush said he wants to meet with Wolfson to express his
concerns about Terri in person and to "determine the scope" his
Wolfson's participation.
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- Bush sent a letter last Thursday to Wolfson requesting
a meeting.
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- The letter prompted opposition from lawyers for Terri's
estranged husband Michael Schiavo, who has been living with another woman
for years and has two children with her.
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- ''This is the latest example of the governor's intrusion
into this case. I find it very inappropriate,'' said Howard Simon, executive
director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which recently
joined Michael's legal team.
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- Governor Bush told the Miami Herald newspaper that the
request to speak with Wolfson was not inappropriate -- in fact the courts
asked Wolfson to talk with Bush.
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- ''What the judge asked the guardian to do is make a determination
based on some very specific facts,'' Bush said. To make a final decision
on Terri Schiavo's fate, he said, "I need to have a larger set of
facts to explore and so I want to talk to him about it.''
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- Wolfson declined to say whether he would accept Bush's
offer to discuss the case privately.
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- Meanwhile, Pat Anderson told LifeNews.com that Terri's
family has met with Wolfson "and is very hopeful he can get his work
done in the thirty days given to him."
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- Following the passage of Terri's Law, Wolfson told WFTS-TV
in Tampa, Florida: "If this law stands the constitutional test of
the courts, then it certainly implies the executive of our state has the
prerogative of injecting the state into your life, or your family member's
life."
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- Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri's parents, have asked the
courts to allow Terri's brother Bob Schindler, Jr. to become her guardian.
A decision is pending.
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- Related web sites:
- Terri's family - http://www.terrisfight.org
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- http://www.lifenews.com/bio131.html
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