Abuse by Terri Schiavo's Husband? What Abuse?
As the day approached in which Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was to be removed, Gov. Jeb Bush claimed there were new and compelling allegations of abuse or neglect that the state Department of Children and Families had to investigate. That effort led to a dramatic showdown between the governor and the Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge who ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed on March 18. Bush and DCF continued to seek its reinsertion, claiming the 30 or so new complaints had to be probed. But documents released by DCF Friday reveal few fresh allegations that Schiavo was abused or neglected. Investigators wrote that there were "no indicators" of abuse in any of the cases. "The preponderance of the evidence shows that Michael Schiavo followed doctors' orders (regarding) Ms. Schiavo's diagnosis of being in a persistent vegetative state and that he provided her with appropriate care," one investigator wrote.-Art CaplanDCF released nearly 70 pages of documents Friday in the Schiavo case after the St. Petersburg Times sought their release in court. Perhaps the only allegation in the batch not heard before: A March 7 complaint that accused a nursing assistant at Schiavo's Pinellas Park hospice of using an "air freshener substance" in her bath water in July, which caused a rash. DCF investigators learned the substance was an aromatherapy oil that the assistant placed in a spray bottle, not in Schiavo's bath.
Another complaint, made on March 8, said Schiavo was moaning because she was in pain from recent dental work. But other complaints allege that Schiavo received no dental work for years. Some people called to complain that the blinds in Schiavo's room weren't open wide enough.
Others just repeated allegations that had been made for years: That Schiavo's husband, Michael, abused her. That he didn't seek rehabilitation for her. That he failed to properly care for her. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer, who ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed, had previously found no credibility in those accusations either. Greer issued an order Thursday requiring DCF to release the latest records by Monday.
