"TERRI'S LAW" STRUCK BY FLORIDA SUPREME COURT, LEGISLATURE MUST NOW ACT TO SAVE HER.

On September 23, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that "Terri's Law," the measure under which Governor Jeb Bush restored food and fluids to Terri Schindler-Schiavo last fall, is unconstitutional. The court set a 15-day period for the filing of briefs on any petition for rehearing, raising the prospect that she could begin to be starved and dehydrated within a couple of weeks, unless Gov. Bush or the Schindler family attorneys can gain a stay through other legal avenues.

The court's opinion focused squarely on "separation of powers" doctrine. The judges unanimously concluded that the legislature could not empower the governor to intervene in a specific case after final judgment has been rendered.

However, the decision left open the possibility that the legislature could yet enact a more comprehensive set of amendments to the Florida statute governing the standards for making decisions in such cases whose application would include, but would not be limited to, Terri Schindler-Schiavo.

S.B. 692 is a bill that would address denial of food and fluids not only to Schindler-Schiavo, who is severely brain-injured, but also to other persons with disabilities like hers. It was introduced by Florida state Senator Stephen Wise during the spring but never came to a vote. However, with enough of an outcry by Florida citizens, Florida legislators could pass a similar bill that might survive Florida Supreme Court scrutiny.

Web Site Provides State Legislator Contact Info

A link from www.nrlc.org allows Florida residents, by entering their zip codes, to get contact information for their state senators and representatives. "It is critically important that anyone with a voting residence in Florida immediately urge his or her state legislators to support a bill like S.B. 692," said David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., NRLC executive director.

Florida Constitutional Standard