The parents of Terri Schiavo held a memorial mass and dedication on the third anniversary of their daughter’s death this week as pro-life leaders renewed their vows to fight for the forces of life.
The events surrounding Schiavo, who had been in what some doctors described as a “persistent, vegetated state” after incurring brain damage fifteen years earlier, and her death in 2005 after a court ordered her feeding tube removed, continues to bring new dimensions to pro-life issues.
Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, an association of Catholic Clergy who give special emphasis to pro-life teachings, commented on Schiavo’s death Monday as being part of a larger and continuing desperate struggle.
“Terri’s death was not the end of her fight. It was the beginning of a new chapter in the pro-life movement,” he said to WorldNetDaily.
"I call upon all those who were moved by Terri’s death to continue their courageous activism in the cause of life, and never to be silent.”
Steven Ertelt, editor and CEO of LifeNews.com, also commented on the events involving Terri Schiavo’s death in an editorial Monday.
Ertelt, whose pro-life news service claims to reach 250,000 people each week, said Schiavo’s death has given the pro-life movement a new “obligation to speak up for the Terri Schiavo's of the future and millions of people around the world at risk.”
“We must draw on the lessons from Terri's brutal 13-day starvation and dehydration death … and we must pass laws that give patients the medical care and treatment they deserve,” he said.
“With so many Christians and pro-life people who are still pro-life on abortion but tolerant of putting grandma ‘out of her misery,’ our educational efforts need to start at home. We must put forward the principle that everyone deserves the right to live regardless of age or quality of life both before and after birth,” he added.
Schiavo’s brother, Bobby Schindler, speaking for The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, which advocates for both the legacy of Terri Schiavo and “all persons in danger of being killed because they have been deemed ‘unworthy of life,’” also released a statement Monday.
“This third anniversary should be an occasion for all of us to both remember the injustice done to Terri, and reach out to others with prayer and concrete action when they need the kind of help Terri needed," he said.
Last December, The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation and the Priests for Life announced that the March 31 date of Terri Schiavo’s death would be an "International Day of Prayer and Remembrance” to be held each year.
The mass and memorial service for Terri Schiavo was held Monday evening at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Largo, Fla.
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Comments
RBB
The article you linked is clearly biased.
Again, there has been no legal action taken personally against the husband.
My original comment was and is that a blanket statement that denies any immediate family the right to make decisions regarding the welfare of the immediate family is not acceptable.
wrhalver - I'm not sure where you've read this but I'm sorry you're wrong. I followed this case very closely on the news, as this subject is very important to me, and this woman touched my heart from the moment I first saw how she reacted to her mother.
I would suggest that you read this http://www.terrisfight.org/pages.php?page_id=31
RBB
What I understand, from articles I have read, is that the Schindler family only opposed the death of their daughter (on religious grounds) after a court ruling that supported Terri's husband.
He is the legal guardian (or was) and had the moral and legal right to make the decision to remove the feeding tube.
But because of the unnecessary media circus that developed, He left the overall decision to the courts as to whether the feeding tube should be removed.
In the end the court sided with the husband, and I have not read anything to indicate that any further legal actions were ever taken against the husband.
There is no proof that anything was done irresponsibly or selfishly by any of the family.
We, of course, can continue to speculate all we want.
wrhalver -
I'm not sure if you fully understand this situation. This family wanted to keep her alive, and they fought tooth and nail to do so. Her mother, father and siblings tried everything they could to get the court to let her live. It was her husband, who had his own motives, who fought to have her put to death. I don't think he is the idyllic family, looking out for the patients good, that you seem to envision.
God makes it plain that we are to stand up for what is right. Granted, once evil is done, we are to let him repay, but to simply let someone be killed and not try to save them is wrong.
RBB
Your question assumes that there is some kind of selfishness on the part of the family.
Otherwise there would be no arguement.
Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the core responsibility of any immediate family is to take care of its own members according to what is beneficial to the entire family.
This can only be denied if it is proven that a family acted irresponsibly. In this case, the family acted in accordance with the court, and in accordance with what they believed was best for their daughter.
Who are we to say otherwise. Let God render the judgement.
wrhalver - Do you believe that the family should be able to starve someone to death (someone without any legal, or even written, life directive) because they think the person's life isn't worth living or for reasons that might, shall we say, benefit them more?
Pro-life: A Misnomer?
http://polemos.net/AMisnomer.html
“With so many Christians and pro-life people who are still pro-life on abortion but tolerant of putting grandma ‘out of her misery,’ our educational efforts need to start at home. We must put forward the principle that everyone deserves the right to live regardless of age or quality of life both before and after birth,” he added.
Sorry, Mr. Ertelt. I completely disagree.
There are some decisions that must be made within the immediate family unit. Nobody else has any right to be involved.
We cannot apply blanket statements such as yours to all cases. God will render the appropriate judgement at that Final Day.
I'm sure your own immediate family would not welcome such attention if you had a similiar decision to make regarding a close family member.
1man - I agree with you, it is the right word.
I believe murdered is the proper term for it. Look out America here comes euthenasia.
It's hard to believe it's been three years since Terri was killed.