Posted on 03/12/2005 4:16:32 PM PST by amdgmary
PINELLAS PARK (FBW) — Hollywood's Mel Gibson, producer of The Passion of The Christ, lent his support Friday to Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman at the center of the euthanisia debate that is heating up this week with an approaching Mar. 18 date set to begin her starvation process.
Speaking at a prayer vigil in front of the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park where Terri resides, her father, Bob Schlindler, told participants in the rally that Mel Gibson telephoned him Mar. 11 and said he supported the family's efforts to save their daughter. In addition he prepared a statement to be released later today.
"I fully support the effort of Mr. & Mrs. Schlindler to save their daughter, Terri Schiavo, from a cruel starvation," Bob Schlindler read from Gibson's statement.
"Terri's husband should sign the care of his wife over to her parents so she can be properly cared for," Schlindler continued reading Gibson's statement.
The prayer vigil was still in progress as the time of this report. A "rose rally" at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee will take place 3 P.M. EST Mar. 12.
Bob and Mary Schindler, are the parents of Terri Schiavo, the 41-year-old brain damaged woman and the center of a debate over what some say is the most definitive case yet for legalized euthanasia in the United States.
Terri’s husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, nearly a decade ago petitioned the court to halt the dispensing of nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube to his disabled, but otherwise healthy wife.
In 1990 Terri suffered brain damage after her heart stopped. Since then, some doctors have said she is in a persistent vegetative state, but her parents and supporters contend she is in a minimally conscious state. She could improve were she provided rehabilitation services, her supporters say, but Michael Schiavo has refused to do so in recent years.
Although Michael Schiavo says his wife would want to die, no written request from Terri exists and only he and his relatives have testified saying she would not wish to live. Terri’s parents and supporters have cited a conflict of interest in an ongoing court challenge to his continued guardianship of their daughter on several points--one of which is that Michael has lived with his girlfriend, with whom he has fathered two children, for 10 years.
Sixth Circuit Judge George W. Greer ruled Feb. 25 that Terri’s nutrition and hydration be discontinued March 18, and in a flurry of decisions since that time also has ruled Terri cannot undergo more medical testing and cannot be fed by mouth. Greer also rebuffed a request by Florida’s Department of Children and Families for a 60-day stay of his motion to begin the starvation process, so that they could investigate allegations that Michael Schiavo has abused and neglected Terri.
Greer also refused to move forward a motion challenging his ruling that a witness who testified about Terri’s end of life wishes was not credible.
The motion asked Greer to vacate his original Feb. 11, 2000, order that Terri’s feeding tube be withdrawn. The tube has twice been withdrawn and reinserted at the direction of the court and Florida’s legislature. [For more information, go to www.FloridaBaptistWitness.com and go to the Special Reports section and look for the timeline in: “Terri Schiavo: A Life at Stake.”]
Ping. Mel Gibson contacted Terri's family.
Mel upped the ante to Michael at 10 million? I was wondering who could come up with that kind of money..
BUMP!!!!
ping
Prayerful ping ...
Good on you, Mel.
It is an outrage this woman has been subject to what is effectively a death sentence hanging over her head. So much for "civilization"!
Why...felos has been making big money all along on Terri, never mind the hundreds of thousands of dollars mike the monster paid out to him with money supposed to be used for Terri's therapy, which he stopped just months after he got his big windfall.
Felos...is on the eagle talent website, offering to make speeches about Terri for a mere TEN GRAND to FIFTEEN GRAND and has been there a LONG TIME!
Heck...these two goons know that after they MURDER Terri, there will be:
AMAZING INTERVIEW FEES
FABULOUS MOVIE RIGHT DISCUSSIONS WORTH MILLIONS
THEIR OWN BOOKS TO AUTHOR AND HAWK!
AND OH THOSE SPEAKING FEES!
AND DON'T FORGET THE LIFE INSURANCE!!!
One million?
Ten MILLION?
FORGET ABOUT IT!
THERE IS JUST SO MUCH MORE TO BE MADE OFF OF TERRI...THEY GET TO BE FAMOUS, THEY GET TO LEGALLY SNUFF OUT A LIFE OF A HEALTHY, BRAIN DAMAGED WOMAN
AND THEY GET TO GET RICH!!!!
AIN't LIFE GRAND!!!!!
Maybe Gibson will make a powerful movie about the case and counter the message of Million Dollar Baby.
Wow, you could be right about that. Gloria Allred said there was an offer of $10M that Michael Schiavo rejected prior to the $1M offer last week. The $10M was said to be from an anonymous source. It certainly could be Mel Gibson.
Good post at #8
Mel Gibson is probably one of the most talented actors of our generation and also one of THE most amazing people of our generation. I never missed a Mel Gibson movie, even long before I knew he was a decent person too. Now I love and admire him all the more.
He's great whenever he's on Sean Hannity. He was also on Jesse Lee Peterson's show talking about sanctity of life.
Someone at another thread raised the question: Shouldn't the money have been offered to Judge Greer instead? Michael may accept it but Greer will still order her death.
I do too...I hear you...this man is a MAN among MEN. His love of our Father and his kindness, his conviction in his work and in his faith...have been wonderful to observe.
ping
Clearwater, Florida – In a fax to the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, dated March 11, 2005, actor and director Mel Gibson has made his feelings on the Terri Schiavo situation known. Best known for his role in “Braveheart” and his production of “The Passion of the Christ”, Gibson penned the following message in support of Terri’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, in their quest to protect her life:
Mel's a man of few words.
Does anyone know how to get a controversial pro-life novel into Mel's hands? ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
