By Christine Korenthal
As I write this column, Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo may have only 24 hours before her sentence is carried out in Clearwater, Florida. Her sentence? Death by starvation and dehydration. Her crime? The inability to object on her own behalf.
Theresa Schindler-Schiavo is 41 years old. She cries when she is sad or in pain, laughs when she is happy or amused, and requires food and water in order to live. She isn’t dying. She isn’t even ill. She is not hooked up to any machines such as a ventilator or blood pressure monitor. She does not require life support and she is not comatose. Terri is brain damaged. She is bedridden, can’t speak, and is unable to feed herself. All of which may be improved with therapy. She has a family full of people willing to love her and take care of her and her special needs. Unfortunately, the only person who can legally speak for her, her husband, Michael, won’t allow this. He just wants to take away her feeding tube, required only during feeding times, and starve her to death.
Michael has a serious conflict of interest in this case. He claims that his quest to end Terri’s life has to do with her wishes not to be attached to any machines. Her family and friends contend that Terri did not feel that way at all. Interestingly, Mr. Schiavo only remembered this alleged conversation after receiving 1.5 million dollars for Terri’s care and rehabilitation from a medical malpractice lawsuit. Almost immediately thereafter, he began his attempts to end her life. Additionally, the circumstances surrounding Terri’s collapse, which led to her current condition, are highly suspect. Respected pathologist, Michael Baden has called into question whether Terri may have been a victim of domestic abuse, rather than a victim of a natural chemical imbalance. Last, but not least, Michael Schiavo is engaged and has fathered two children by his fiancé. It is understandable that he has moved on, but he should not have done this while still married. There is no way on Earth that a guy with this many ulterior motives should be making choices for Terri, yet the court sees no problem with it.
The courts have failed Terri Schiavo. She has received minimal care in the last 15 years and no rehabilitation. She has a family that just wants to take her home, yet the courts want to kill her because her husband says that it is what she would have wanted. They have ignored the fact that what her husband asks is in clear conflict with Terri’s religion as a Catholic and goes against Papal statements about the preservation of life. If Michael succeeds, legal precedent will be set, and the next victim could be you or me. Go to Terri’s site, read the facts in this case, and then act. Write to the media and government representatives, pass out fliers, and spread the message, whatever it takes. We cannot let this happen in our society. Go to http://www.terrisfight.org/ to find out what else you can do to help and find out more about this case. I can’t emphasize the importance of your immediate action. If enough of us speak up, we can make a difference.
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