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 ST. PETERSBURG, FLA--While most Americans are observing the holidays and readying for New Year's celebrations, Florida euthanasia advocate attorney George Felos of Dunedin is no doubt packing for his death cruise.
Now that Felos has been successful in securing the death of disabled Terri Schiavo by legalized homicide, Felos is taking his right-to-die crusade from the Pinellas County courtroom of George Greer to the Caribbean.
Physicians and attorneys taking the cruise will earn credits towards continuing education in learning how to legally kill the disabled and elderly applying Felos' methods.
Felos will be one of two faculty members who will lead a program entitled "Advance Directives/End-of-Life Care and Neurology" on a five-night cruise Jan. 3-8 from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas which offers continuing education credits to professionals while they cruise. He will be joined by Dr. James Barnhill of Dunedin, Fla., who has long teamed with Felos as players in the right-to-die movement Program Link http://www.continuingeducation.net/coursedetails.php?program_number=310
Felos was the lead attorney in one of the most controversial cases watched worldwide, representing Michael Schiavo for over seven years in a contentious court battle to end the life of Schiavo's wife, brain-damaged Terri Schindler Schiavo.
Felos and Schaivo were successful in removing all dignities from Terri Schiavo including her personal privacy, convincing Pinellas County probate court judge Greer to issue a death order, engaging in what many call judicial homicide, which resulted in the 13-day execution of the 41-year-old disabled woman in March while the world watched by removing her nutrition and hydration.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that the root of the word Felos is in medieval Latin meaning evildoer in respect to oneself and is defined as "one who commits suicide or who dies from the effects of having committed an unlawful malicious act".
How appropriate.
Continuing Education Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., a company which offers "credits while you cruise" is hosting the five-night cruise from Jan. 3-8, 2006, for a "target audience" of primary care physicians, oncologist, neurologists and nurses. The course fee for physicians taking the cruise is $625. The course fee for attorneys and all others is $350.
It is unknown how much Felos is being paid for teaching his course in euthanasia and judicial homicide.
Felos has commercialized the tragedy of the Schiavo case and capitalized on it monetarily in more ways than just the legal fees of more than a half million dollars realized from Terri's trust fund which had been judicially ordered to be used for her rehabilitation until Greer authorized Michael to use the money in the fund to pay for Felos and other attorneys to obtain judicial permission to kill her.
When he was registered with Eagles Talent Connection Inc., a speakers and entertainment bureau of East Orange, NJ, on their online booking site, Eagles offered the speaking services of Felos for fees ranging from $10,000 to $15,000. Among the topics listed was "The Terri Schiavo Saga-From Family Fight to Constitutional Crisis".
Felos is now represented by Roth Talent Associates of Encino, CA., who touts Felos as "attorney, right-to-die expert and author" but there is no fee listed for his speaking services.
"George Felos, America's foremost right-to-die expert and attorney for Michael Schiavo……… fought successfully in U.S. courts at every level-and overcame the Congress and both Governor Bush and President Bush-(with George Greer's help in tromping on the U.S. and Florida Constitutions and Florida Statutes) for Terri Schiavo's right-to-die. Felos' career of confronting legal and ethical dilemmas gives him license to present the compelling argument that individual rights are constitutionally protected, regardless of social (religious, economic, etc.) implications"----regardless of moral issues, legal and constitutional dictates and the patient's own wishes.
Felos continues to maintain that dying an agonizing death by dehydration over 13 days is "dignified" despite Florida Statutes specifically prohibiting the withholding of food and water of anyone. If the court was to sentence a criminal defendant in a capital murder case to death by such means, such would be ruled a violation of constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment---cruel and inhumane punishment---and the sentence would be set aside.
Now Felos' promotional information freely touts his board chairmanship at the Hospice of Florida Suncoast, a position he failed to disclose when he and Michael Schiavo covertly arranged for Terri to be illegally certified terminal, in violation of Medicare and Medicaid regulations and transferred to Woodside Hospice in April, 2000 without the knowledge or approval of the court or anyone else save Mary Labyak, executive director, and Martha Lenderman, Hospice board member with Felos who succeeded Felos as board chairman. In her position with the Pinellas County Area Agency on Aging, Lenderman was responsible for investigating Medicaid and Medicare fraud.
She was one of the key behind-the-scenes players in the judicial homicide of disabled Terri Schindler Schiavo and may have ultimately been the one responsible to quash any investigation into the Schiavo case by Florida's Department of Children and Families or any investigation into the rampant allegations of Medicaid fraud in the case.
According to the cruise company's website, "these programs are designed for the specific purpose of allowing the busy professional to obtain the educational course credits required to maintain licensure, while at the same time enjoying a family holiday without spending too much time away from his or her practice".
As a registered nurse and respiratory therapist licensed in Florida, Michael Schiavo is required to complete at least 25 hours of appropriate continuing education during each 24-month renewal period of his license. It is unknown if he has registered for the cruise.
The purpose of the cruise is listed as examining the legal requirements for advance directives and to discuss the professional's role in the management of end-of-life care. The company says that following attendance at this "educational activity" participant should be able to provide leadership in preliminary planning for end of life, assist in the development of advance directives, address and ensure the patient's right to die, discuss complex case scenarios regarding the right to die, accurately determine brain death and exhibit appropriate terminal medical care and caring.
The program is said to be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians and is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Georgia Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
Dr. Barnhill, a long-time associate of Felos in the right-to-die movement, was one of two neurologists hired by Felos and Schiavo, who testified that he had examined Terri Schiavo for 10 minutes and determined that she had no chance for recovery and was in a persistent vegetative state. The other neurologist engaged by Schiavo and Felos was Dr. Ronald Cranford who likes to be known as "Dr. Humane Death" and who also testified that the disabled woman was PVS with no chance for recovery.
Barnhill said that Terri engaged in "pathological laughter, pathological crying….consistent with the vocalizations that are seen in people with persistent vegetative states". After reviewing videotapes of Terri, Barnhill testified that he saw "nothing on that tape that indicates an awareness there or consciousness".
Dr. William Hammesfahr, a neurologist hired by Mary and Robert Schindler Sr., Terri's parents, reviewed the same videotape as Barnhill and said he saw a woman who was clearly reacting to her mother, turning towards her voice, smiling and appearing to sing when she heard familiar piano music. "She is absolutely responding to her mother", Hammesfahr testified. "There's no doubt". 12-25-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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