Reviewing the 11th Circuit decision

The 11th Circuit in Atlanta has refused to overturn Judge Whittemore's ruling on Terri Schiavo so the feeding tube stays out. The Godfather reviews the decision this morning and it reads very much like the dissenting opinion of Judge Charles Wilson in this 2-1 ruling.

Hugh says:

With the astonishing decision of the 11th Circuit to deny injunctive relief to Terri Schiavo's parents during the course of these appeals, the urgent matter moves first to a petition for en banc review and then to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, only recently in the headlines for relying in part on foreign law in his ruling against the death penalty for juveniles. It is a false hope to believe that Justice Kennedy will act to stay Terri's death, or that there are five members of the Court willing to do so, despite the clear intent of Congress that hydration and nutrition be resumed until a de novo trial was held, and appeals from that trial exhausted.

Judge Wilson, quoted by Andrew McCarthy in today's NRO says in his dissent that, "[intent] is to maintain the status quo by keeping Theresa Schiavo alive until the federal courts have a new and adequate opportunity to consider the constitutional issues raised by Plaintiffs. The entire purpose of the statute was to give the federal courts an opportunity to consider the merits of Plaintiffs’ constitutional claims with a fresh set of eyes. Denial of Plaintiffs’ petition cuts sharply against that intent, which is evident to me from the language of the statute, as well as the swift and unprecedented manner of its enactment. Theresa Schiavo’s death, which is imminent, effectively ends the litigation without a fair opportunity to fully consider the merits of Plaintiffs’ constitutional claims."

I'm no lawyer, nobody in my family is a lawyer and I know no lawyers. I'm not qualified in any way to offer competent commentary on this matter, so I won't even try. I can look at it through the clear prism of common sense and say, "Most certainly, yes!"

Even if she is as bad off as many say, what is lost in a new review of the facts? If her brain is truly a tub of goo (as I've literally heard someone say), what does she care if she undergoes an MRI or PET to further determine the extent of her injuries?

Are we then concerned about the mental anguish it causes Michael Schiavo, or Terri's parents? While a concern certainly, that's not part of anybody's argument. So again I ask, what's the problem with subjecting this "brain-dead" woman to additional tests meant to determine more conclusively what her state at this time truly is?

Whats the hurry to see this woman die?


UPDATE: Just heard a radio report that the Schindler's request for an en banc hearing from the 11th Circuit has been refused. The dread just grows; they're going to let her die.