Home Blog Ask This Showcase Commentary Discussions About Us Contributors Contact Us
Outside Terri Schiavo's hospice. (AP)

Getting the Schiavo backstory on the record
ASK THIS | March 25, 2005

When a story becomes as powerful and emblematic as the Terri Schiavo case has, the basics should be common knowledge. But some essential elements have been glossed over, or only reported here and there.

By Barry Sussman

bsussman@niemanwatchdog.org

 

Q. Aside from Michael Schiavo, who heard Terri Schiavo say she wouldn’t want to be kept alive under her current conditions?

 

Q. How much money did Michael Schiavo win in a medical malpractice suit, and what has happened to that money?

Q. Who is paying for Terri Schiavo's care, and how much has that care cost to date?

 

Q. Who is paying the legal fees for Michael Schiavo, and for the Schindlers, the parents of Terri Schiavo?

 

Q. How is Michael Schiavo supporting himself now?

 

Q. What are the financial implications for Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers when Terri Schiavo dies?

 

Q. What are the views of religious leaders of various denominations in the Schiavo case?

 

Q. It was clear in this last round of hearings that court rulings would be appealed as long as possible. Since that was so obvious, what is the explanation for not reinserting the feeding tube in the meantime? Has any judge explained the decision not to reinsert the tube for that period?

 

 

News stories have addressed some of these questions. For example, it would appear that two people, a brother and sister-in-law of Michael Schiavo—not just Michael himself—testified that Terri Schiavo said she wouldn’t want to live as a helpless burden to others.

 

But what has generally been lacking is solid, authoritative and widely shared answers. Part of the problem could be that the reporting of this tragedy has been largely corraled by cable TV, where, with a few exceptions, people say anything they want, not letting facts get in the way.

 

Any story that captivates as many people as this one is by definition important, telling us a lot about ourselves and divisions in society. It is a saga of enormous human interest: tragic, emotional, terribly sad.

 

The Schiavo case is also a hot political story. Evangelical fundamentalists and right-to-lifers have seized on the plight of the Schindlers. Republican leaders took extreme positions, trying to order the courts around, while their Democratic counterparts tended to remain in their own sort of vegetative state. Only time will tell how the politics plays out--whether, as some have said, few will recall the name 'Schiavo' in a few months, or whether it will be an issue in people's minds when they vote next year.

 

Here are some stories helping to contribute to the knowledge base:

 

  • USA Today, a story laying out how the feud between Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers may be as much over money as principle.  
  • An L.A. Times story on the vilification of Michael Schiavo.  
  • A Chicago Tribune article that goes into the cost of care for Terri Schiavo. (Registration required) 
  • A Detroit Free Press story on the personal side of Michael Schiavo. 
  • A St. Petersburg Times story on testimony regarding Terri Schiavo’s wishes.
  • A Washington Post story about the network of Christian and other conservative activists who helped support the Schindlers. 
  • A Washington Post story about some of the medical finances involved. 
  • An Atlanta Journal-Constitution Q&A about life insurance and other issues. (Registration required)
 Barry Sussman is the editor of the Nieman Watchdog Project.
E-mail: bsussman@niemanwatchdog.org
Comments
Submit a comment - Jump to bottom of list

Shhh America's secret the only legalized child abuse left....
Posted by Padme Brown - Nonprofit
05/01/2006, 05:35 PM
AND WHY NO ONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT?

What would you do?

Sugar and spice and everything nice.

This is suppose to every little girls life.

What happens when life is not like that?

What if your life is filled with constant abuse by the people who suppose to protect you?

For little Katelynn of Indiana, her life is filled with this from a father, stepmother and father's family; everyone but her the relatives that love her have been deined the ability to see her.

What happens when the police will not stop this?

Than try Child Protection Service, but they will not stop this either.

The next thing to do is go to the court.

What would you do if the Child Protection Services and the court helped the abusers hurt her?

The media might work but they ignore majority of average people.

In this search for help, several politicians ignored or said stop bothering them.

If these people will not help little katelynn than who will?

Will this little girl have to pay the ultimate price for these adults mistakes? What would you do?

Indiana's Shame Teardrops for Katelynn

referral sources
www.courageouskids.net ...

Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation :: Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories Aired on PBS http://www.mkacf.org/BreakTheSilence.html ...

Breaking the Silence
http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20051019/C ...
http://www.tatgelasseur.com/pages/bts.html ...

Battered Women, Abused Children, and Child Custody: A NATIONAL CRISIS
http://www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/ ...

Petition for Justice for Katelynn:
http://www.gopetition.com/online/5918.html ...



Submit a comment - Jump to top of list

Bruce Kushnick
Is basic American telephone service in a death spiral?
Bruce Kushnick questions whether AT&T and Verizon are trying to kill off the “plain old telephone service” that millions of Americans rely on. In a recent FCC filing cited by Kushnick, AT&T stated that landline utilities are from a bygone era, and asked to be relieved of its obligations to service them.

George Wilson
Obama gave a pass to out-of-control military spending
The GAO showed that contractors’ estimates have nothing to do with reality, and economic hard times may eventually force the President and Congress to rein in outrageously costly warships, planes and missile systems that don’t work. But that time isn’t here yet.

Martin Lobel
Some remedies for the Supreme Court power grab
It’s easy to find activism, impossible to find original intent behind the Roberts/Scalia group’s ruling on corporate political spending. Martin Lobel suggests six sharp, practical steps to deal with it.

Watchdog Blog
Barry Sussman
 Scratch the Big Bonuses and Turn Them Over to Borrowers?
As an old assignment editor I’m used to asking questions and not being embarrassed if they expose me as naïve or wrong minded, because sometimes there’s a good story lurking. So here are a few simple questions. The biggest financial institutions are said to be on the verge of issuing $145 billion in bonuses. My [...]

Barry Sussman
 A Simple Solution for Corporate ‘Free Speech’
A friend and contributor to Nieman Watchdog, Martin Lobel, sent this emaiI with the suggestion that people pass it along. Looks worth passing along to me. Here’s Marty: “I don’t know whether you’re as upset with the Supreme Court’s legislating in Citizens United v. FEC as I am, but there is a simple solution that is [...]

George Lardner Jr.
 No 60 Votes Needed Here
Item: The New York Times reported Friday afternoon that “two more Democratic senators” said they would vote against a second term for Fed Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. From there, the Times said this made it unclear “whether there were the 60 votes necessary to confirm Mr. Bernanke.” Excuse me? Sixty votes are not necessary to [...]

Blog main page >>
Web Essentials
Leading journalism sites, blogs...
Enter your e-mail address
Spotlight On

TWITTER
Follow Nieman Watchdog on Twitter.
(Nieman Watchdog)

Torture probe abandoned
For lack of interest, the Senate will not move ahead on the idea to appoint a commission to investigate detention, rendition and interrogation policies by the U.S. during the George W. Bush administration.
(Secrecy News)

Find John Brennan's op ed
Harry Shearer, working from a fantasy assignment desk, wants reporters to find a 2005 anti-Iraq war op ed that never was published.
(Huffington Post)

Those Mohammed cartoons
On Jan 2 a man with an axe tried to attack the Danish artist whose 12 depictions of the prophet Mohammed created a furor in 2005. After the failed attack, a Norwegian newspaper reprinted six of the drawings.
(Editors Weblog)

Afghanistan surge to rely heavily on private contractors
Private contractors are expected to make up at least half of the total military workforce in Afghanistan, according to Defense Department officials cited in a recent study from the Congressional Research Service. The number of contractors will likely increase by between 16,000 and 56,000 for a total of 120,000-160,000.
(TPM Muckraker)

Recession scars will be lasting
The aftershocks from deep recessions reverberate for years, even decades.
(USA Today)

The curious spending of a GOP pro-choice PAC
The money doesn't seem to actually go to supporting choice.
(Center for Public Integrity)

More Spotlights >>
Site Policies  |  Nieman Foundation Home  |  Harvard University Home | XML RSS |
© 2010 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College