The mainstream media have never hesitated to delve into the background and motivations of someone who comes from the 'wrong' side of the political/social spectrum. For example, regarding one of the doctors who said Terri was not PVS, the LA Times (signup required) ensures its readers know he goes to church, which apparently is supposed to render his medical testimony suspect:

Cheshire wrote that Schiavo has not had a complete neurological examination in the last three years and could fall into the minimally conscious category.

Other doctors, however, were skeptical of Cheshire's assertions. Though he was a respected doctor at a well-known institution, they said he was not a dispassionate evaluator.

"He generally has a reasonably thoughtful, conservative Christian right-to-life perspective," said David Magnus, co-director of the Stanford University Center of Biomedical Ethics. "He definitely is not a neutral party with respect to these culture wars. He has turf to defend."

Well, good enough then. Let's play the game all around, shall we?

First, we have Dr. Ronald Cranford who, according to some, refers to himself as "Dr. Humane Death". Dr. Cranford was the main expert who testified before Judge Greer that Terri was PVS (in a Persistent Vegetative State). He "is a member of the board of directors of the Choice in Dying Society, which promotes doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia," is a featured speaker for the Hemlock Society (which recently changed its name to "End of Life Choices") [ref].

Further:

In cases where other doctors don’t see it, Dr. Cranford seems to have a knack for finding PVS. Cranford also diagnosed Robert Wendland as PVS. He did so in spite of the fact that Wendland could pick up specifically colored pegs or blocks and hand them to a therapy assistant on request. He did so in spite of the fact that Wendland could operate and maneuver an ordinary wheelchair with his left hand and foot, and an electric wheelchair with a joystick, of the kind that many disabled persons (most famously Dr. Stephen Hawking) use. Dr. Cranford dismissed these abilities as meaningless. Fortunately for Wendland, the California supreme court was not persuaded by Cranford’s assessment.

Dr. Cranford is also one of the voices who first made the argument you've been hearing so much lately -- that starvation is comfortable. He argued this in all the way back in 1988, in his article "The Persistent Vegetative State: The Medical Reality," (Feb '88, Hastings Center Report, pg. 29-32). When you hear this line from the media, they are not telling you is that this is Cranford's own line of argument, filtered through other parties. You are hearing one side of the story -- in stereo.

(And indeed, if starvation is "comfortable", then why is Terri now on morphine -- one of the strongest painkillers known to man?)

So, if we are to be warned a man is merely a Christian, shouldn't the public also be informed that Terri's main "expert witness" was a man diagnosed a person who can operate a manual wheelchair and follow instructions as PVS? Shouldn't you hear that the "starvation is comfortable" argument is his? And should a man who is an activist advocating euthanasia be treated by both court and media as a dispassionate 'expert'?

Wouldn't all that be important to let the public know?

Next, we have Michael Shiavo's attorney George Felos. Among us walk people who believe they take orders and follow directions from spirits of uncertain origin. Felos is one of them.

Like most New Agers, Felos draws his beliefs from a hodgepodge of belief systems, but the overall structure is standard Eastern theology. In his book Litigation as Spiritual Practice, Felos describes the way his "higher self" controls him at times, rather than his own mind:

In this reality, so grounded in the truth that your essence is the eternal unchangeable God, you become the sky. You become the stage upon which the play and dance of creation unfolds, without identifying with the manifestations of creation. In this state I experience a different relationship with my mind.... Grace feels like your ‘higher self’ stepping on the clutch—the gear of the mind lifts and disengages, and it [your mind] loses all authority over you.”

“This autonomy from mental control is characteristic of how events and emotions are encountered during Grace. … Nothing holds permanent and immutable except the ocean of God’s consciousness from which and upon which the forms of Divine consciousness play."

This higher self is another personality which the practitioner is told is really "them", an 'external' spiritual entity which will give them instructions and direction on how to live their life and which directions to take. Felos is basicly describing how he allows an external spiritual entity to override his own mind and guide him on a daily basis.

And it seems other spiritual entities have guided Felos too. In 1985, he claims, an entity appearing as a disabled woman directed his efforts in a way which had a lasting impact on Florida law:

Browning, of Dunedin, had written a living will in 1985, saying she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means if she ever became ill. A year later, she had a stroke. But the nursing home refused to stop feeding her because she was not technically brain dead. Her cousin and former roommate, Doris Herbert, asked Felos to take the case.

He wanted to see Browning for himself. She could not speak, but Felos says his spiritual side picked up on something. He says her soul cried out to his soul and asked, "Why am I still here?"

Felos described the experience, in more detail, as follows:

His first legal appointment after returning from the retreat at the yoga center was with Doris F. Herbert, the cousin of Estelle Browning, seeking his assistance in the removal of her feeding tube.

Felos became consumed with yoga and meditation following his retreat, including three or four hours per day to the point that his wife and those close to him were “disturbed by and concerned with my abrupt and radical change and believed I was close to becoming nonfunctional..."

As Mrs. Browning lay motionless before my gaze, I suddenly heard a loud, deep moan and scream and wondered if the nursing home personnel heard it and would respond to the unfortunate resident. In the next moment, as this cry of pain and torment continued, I realized it was Mrs. Browning.

I felt the mid-section of my body open and noticed a strange quality to the light in the room. I sensed her soul in agony. As she screamed I heard her say, in confusion, ‘Why am I still here … why am I here?’ My soul touched hers and in some way I communicated that she was still locked in her body. I promised I would do everything in my power to gain the release her soul cried for. With that the screaming immediately stopped. I felt like I was back in my head again, the room resumed its normal appearance, and Mrs. Browning, as she had throughout this experience, lay silent.”

So a spirit-intelligence which seemed to be Mrs. Browning appeared to Felos and "screamed" at him until he agreed to dedicate himself to killing the woman lying before him, motionless.

The result:

Browning died in 1989 of natural causes while the case was still unresolved, but the suit has had a lasting effect on the law. In 1990, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a living will can allow caregivers to withhold food and water from an incapacitated person, even when death is not imminent.

So you can see how this alleged supernatural encounter, and direction given to Felos therein, permanently changed Florida law to create the legal environment and precedents under which Terri is dying today. Without these changes, Terri's parents would be facing a very different set of legal circumstances today.

While Terri's parents are currently under the impression that Terri tried to communicate to them that she wanted to live, Felos apparently seems to think something presenting itself as Terri has been communicating with him as well, but giving him a rather different message:

He thinks the court will agree that her feeding tube should be removed.

That is what is necessary, he says, "to accomplish what I believe are Terri's wishes."

Does Felos believe Terri Schiavo's soul has spoken to his?

Felos declines to answer, showing his lawyerly side. "It's a pending case," he says.

Yes, that's so much less interesting than a doctor who goes to church.

So, what does this spiritual guidance do for his character? As far as ethics are concerned, Felos appears to be involved in a conflict of interest so big you could toss a stadium through it:

In March, 2000, Michael Schiavo and his attorney, George Felos, secretively relocated Terri Schindler-Schiavo from the Palm Gardens Nursing Home to the hospice without court order and without notifying her parents.

George Felos also conveniently forgot to give notice to the court and her parents, Mary and Robert Schindler Sr. that he was chairman of the board of directors at the Hospice at the time and had been since at least Jan. 31, 1997 and perhaps earlier.

Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, moved his client's wife Terri to a hospice, at which she is dying even as I write this, which was under his complete control and from which he stood to profit (and undoubtedly at which he still has influence).

(Judge Greer did nothing about this.)

Further, it seems Felos also did not tell the court that his hospice was currently being investigaged for millions in Medicare fraud -- involving cases where persons who were not dying were classified as terminally ill, and billed to Medicare thusly:

According to records The Empire Journal has obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the federal agency has initiated collection procedures against the Hospice of Florida Suncoast to recover some $14.8 million which they say was unlawfully paid to the hospice as a result of fraudulent claims made for Medicare reimbursement for patients that were not terminally ill and therefore not eligible for hospice care. According to the 2004 annual report of HHS filed Dec. 31, 2004, the agency has initiated collection procedures against the hospice.

The federal agency has been trying to recover the Medicare overpayments made to the hospice since May, 1997 at the time when Felos was chairman of the board.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted an audit of the Hospice of Florida Suncoast Inc. during 1995. The objective of the review was to evaluate hospice eligibility determinations for beneficiaries that remained in hospice care more than 120 days. OIG also determined the amount of payments made to the hospice for those Medicare beneficiaries that did not meet the Medicare reimbursement requirements.

Federal auditors have been cracking down on hospices like Florida Suncoast that seek Medicare payments for treating the terminally ill when the patients aren’t on the brink of death -- such as Terri Schiavo.

The review included medical evaluation of Suncoast eligibility. It was determined the 176 patients were not eligible for hospice care and 118 were unable to conclusively determine their terminal illness.

The final audit report issued in August, 1996, determined that Suncoast had received improper Medicare payments totaling $8.9 million for 176 ineligible beneficiaries....

Futher, concerning Terri specifically:

Although money had been specifically earmarked by the court in the 1992 malpractice suit for Terri’s rehabilitation, and despite Michael Schiavo having received well over $1 million, in 2002 he petitioned the court and [Judge] Greer for permission to place Terri on Medicaid and permission was granted.

The article reports that, according to the US Office Inspector General, the hospice's CEO "knows all about ineligible individuals being entered into hospice care and Suncoast receiving Medicare reimbursements to which they were not entitled... [a]nd so does George Felos."

In his book, Felos remarked, "The force that created today’s Hospice also propels the right-to-die movement." In his case, it would seem that was literally true. Whatever is behind this "force", as well as Felos' "higher self", both seem to have no problem with blatant ethical conflicts like those described above.

And, as if we didn't need more evidence of the overlapping interests of those leading the Florida Hospice and right-to-die movements:

[Gus] Bilirakis... is a member of the board of directors of Hospice of Florida Suncoast, the non-profit organization which operates the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park where Terri Schiavo resides.

And thus, served on the same board of directors which Felos chaired. Furthermore, he was on the legislative committee that, by some amazing co-incidence, was responsible for the following while Terri was confined to his hospice:

Bilirakis was instrumental in the passage of the 1999 amendment which amended Section 765 of Florida Statutes to change the definition of "life prolonging procedures" to add "including artifically provided sustenance and hydration which sustains, restores or supplants a spontaneous vital function.

What an interesting modification to the law.

Bilirakus was apparently also a contributor to the political campaign of Judge Greer, who ordered Terri's feeding tube removed. Also sitting on the exact same board of directors is Everett Rice, who endorsed Judge Greer in re-election ads! And not only did Everett sit on the Board of Directors of Suncoast Hospice with Felos and Bilirakus, but he was also Sherrif of Pinelas County, and also thus was also Michael Shiavo's boss!

Further, according to this affidavit by Schindler Atty Patricia Andersen, Everett Rice had told her that he and Judge Greer had discussed the Shiavo case at a baseball game the night before -- yet another ethics violation in this twisted affair. Greer, as we know, did not appropriately recuse himself.

In interviews, Felos says he grounds his right-to-die activism in his spiritual beliefs and experiences. Who says spirituality can't be profitable? It's not just the televangelists we must watch, y'know. Are we worried a doctor might go to church on Sunday? I'm much more concerned about a man who takes career direction from spiritual apparitions and says his "higher self" takes authority over his own mind.

Again, shouldn't the media should have reported at least some of this?

If you felt this article was valuable or helpful, I ask only that you share it with a friend or loved one who has not been told the whole story of what is going on in Pinellas County, Florida. I expect to publish a follow-up article with even more interesting information as soon as I can. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of the Empire Journal, who seems to be the only source I can find who is looking into some of the corruption issues detailed above. Their efforts deserve more exposure too, which I'm hoping to give here.