Appalling auction

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print

Schiavo's items were on eBay before being removed.

A local hospice wants to know who is trying to sell Terri Schiavo's hospital gown on eBay.

The eBay listing claims the gown was owned by Schiavo, the Clearwater woman who died 13 days after being removed from a feeding tube last year after a long court battle.

Most people watched the saga of Schiavo's life and death and saw families hurting. But somewhere in America, one person watched and saw the chance to make a buck.

The listing popped up on eBay Monday with the title, "Terri Schiavo's hospital gown."

The seller claims the gown was worn by Schiavo during the years she

Contact The Reporter
	Click here to e-mail Chris Hawes, the TV reporter for this story.

lived with severe brain damage. The description goes on to add: "The winner of this macabre auction will also receive the feeding tube that was Schiavo's lifeline during her final days."

The listing was removed from eBay Tuesday morning, but by then hundreds of people had seen it.

"When I first heard about this this morning ... so incredibly tacky," said David Gibbs, the attorney for Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.

Gibbs said he's concerned by the seller's claim the gown was first bought from an employee at Woodside Hospice House in Pinellas Park, where Schiavo passed away last March.

"We will definitely want to know the origin of something like that and we're glad it's been removed from eBay," Louise Cleary of Hospice said. "Any employee who did anything to violate the privacy of our patients and the policies regarding patients would be dismissed. It's just not tolerated."

Some good news in the upsetting story is that eBay reported no one bid on the items.

George Felos, the attorney for Schiavo's guardian, her husband Michael Schiavo, said his first impression is that the sale was a hoax. But it's already proven painful for the Schindlers.

"It's just an added level of hurt for a family that dearly loves Terri," Gibbs said.

Felos said he will wait to see what Hospice does before making his next move.