Reply #146: Re: "How, exactly, has he been 'on the bottom of the dog heap'?" [View All]

[sidpleasant]

Well, let's see. Mrs. Schiavo's parents and the cabal of right wing foundations and pressure groups funding them have spread numerous heinous lies about Mr. Schiavo. They claimed that he abused his wife, that he was responsible for her condition, that he could have saved her when she had the heart stoppage but didn't, even that he tried to strangle her. They've claimed that the case was all about his greed (even though the estrangement between him and the Schindlers began when Terri Schiavo's father demanded a cut of the malpractice settlment), ignoring the fact that he recently refused a bribe of $1,000,000 to give up his rights. He's needed full time protection because of constant death threats - don't forget that a right wing kook was arrested last week for offering a quarter - million dollars bounty for Mr. Schiavo's murder. He's probably going to need bodyguards for the rest of his life.

As for his status as guardian, a lawyer appearing on Al Franken's show Wednesday neatly explained it by noting that courts have always given preference to the spouse over the parents, recognizing that the marital relationship is different and more intimate than the parent - child relationship. You choose your spouse, you don't choose your parents.