Terri at risk again

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Rochester Area Right To Life

 

September 23, 2004.  Terri Schindler Schiavo’s life is again on the line.  See the statement below by the National Right to Life Committee.

 NRLC Responses to Florida Supreme Court Decision

In a unanimous decision issued today, the Florida Supreme Court struck down "Terri's Law," ruling it unconstitutional. According to the opinion, "Terri's Law," which was passed in an emergency session of the Florida Legislature in October 2003 and signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush, is said to violate the separation of powers.

"Today's ruling on `Terri's Law' is a stark reminder that the lives of many disabled Americans, including the life of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, are in danger and it is imperative that we do not set a precedent which would allow the court system to arbitrarily induce the death of disabled persons who do not have advanced health care directives," said Burke Balch, J.D., director of the NRLC Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics. "National Right to Life is urging all citizens to contact the Florida Legislature to request that they take up S.B. 692, the Florida Starvation and Dehydration of Persons with Disabilities Prevention Act."

Although the Florida Supreme Court struck down the protective law because it overruled the judiciary in one particular case, the way is still open to pass a law that would be generally applicable to people with disabilities, including Terri Schindler-Schiavo.

The Florida Starvation and Dehydration of Persons with Disabilities Prevent Act would require that the starvation and dehydration of a person occur only if the patient had made the statement to do so under express and informed consent.

"We can not sit idly and allow the pro-euthanasia forces in our country to dictate who is worthy of living and who deserves to be sentenced to a death of starvation and dehydration, against their will," stated Balch.

Concerned citizens are urged to click on http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/officials/state/?state=FL&lvl=L to contact Florida representatives and senators to urge them to commit support.

 

Background:  You will remember that Terri suffered significant brain damage, the cause of which is still unknown.  Her husband, Michael, went to court to obtain a large settlement to take care of Terri’s needs, saying that he wanted to spend the rest of his life taking care of Terri.  However, after he received the settlement, he remembered that she had earlier said she would not want to live in the condition in which she now finds herself.  Terri’s parents and siblings remember no such statement; they remember her making statements about protecting people’s lives under such circumstances. Michael has since been working through the courts to be allowed to remove Terri's food and water, currently being provided through a tube.

Michael now lives with his girlfriend and their two children.

 


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