Limbaugh falsely claimed attacks on Michael Schiavo have been "off limits" to the media

Nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that the media have treated attacks on Michael Schiavo, husband of Terri Schiavo, as "off limits." In fact, the Los Angeles Times has noted that talk radio and The Wall Street Journal editorial page, among others, have "vilified" Schiavo.

On the March 29 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh said: "[W]e're [the media] not to ask any questions about Michael Schiavo. We can put out all the dirt we want about the Schindlers [Terri Schiavo's parents], and we can associate them with the liberal media's most hated people in America. Michael Schiavo? No, no, no, no, no! Off limits!"

The Times reported on March 24 that "Michael Schiavo has become the target of accusations that he caused her [Terri Schiavo's] heart attack and collapse with abusive, violent behavior; that he fabricated the story that she wouldn't want to live this way only after collecting more than $1 million in a malpractice claim; that he has sabotaged her therapy and barred her friends and family from comforting visits; and that he wants her to die so he can marry a woman with whom he has lived for the last few years and fathered two children."

Though Michael Schiavo has "vehemently denied the accusations of abuse, greed and heartlessness in interviews and to investigators, and an independent report to Gov. Jeb Bush and the judicial system two years ago said 'the evidence is incontrovertible that he gave his heart and soul to her treatment and care,'" the attacks have spread through the media, the Times reported, adding: "The attacks on his character have become talk-show fodder and high-profile commentary, from the Wall Street Journal's editorial pages to website chat rooms and morning drive-time call-ins."

—A.S.