Help Save My Daughter From Starvation! (from Terri Schiavo's father)

By now you have probably heard about a young woman who is threatened with starvation in Florida.

That young woman is my daughter, Terri. In 1990, through circumstances which are shrouded in mystery (and may involve a criminal act by Terri's estranged husband), my daughter was left severely brain-damaged.

But before I go any further, I must put an end to the lies and misinformation that are circulating around the country through the media concerning my daughter's condition.

Contrary to anything you may have heard, Terri is NOT brain dead; Terri is NOT in a coma; she is NOT in a "persistent vegetative state;" nor is she on ANY life-support system.

Terri laughs, Terri cries, she moves, and she makes child-like attempts at speech with her mother and me. Sometimes she will say "Mom" or "Dad" or "yeah" when we ask her a question. When I kiss her hello or goodbye, she looks at me and "puckers up" her lips.

This may not seem like much to you, but it means everything to Terri's mother and me. It tells us she is still here, she still knows us, and with therapy and time she can have some level of recovery.

I know that there are some hard hearted people who believe that due to my daughters condition, she is better off dead. Words cannot describe the pain and anger such sentiments cause us. This is our daughter, our little girl, and even in her disabled condition, she still has the right to life and the right to be loved and cared for by her family.

After the "incident" that left Terry in this condition, her husband Michael Schiavo sued various members of the medical community for money, saying that they did not treat or diagnose her properly at an early stage, and that he needed this money to provide for Terri's therapy and rehabilitation and care.

After lengthy court battles, he finally won upwards of $1.7 million under the guise of caring for our daughter, and then to our horror, he immediately began spending the money on himself and his Playboy lifestyle.

Terri's estranged husband Michael Schiavo has been living with another woman for years, and has two children by her. He is determined to see Terri dead. Why? We believe it's because he gets to keep whatever money is left... and he may have even darker motives than that.

To add insult to all of this injury toward my daughter, Michael Schiavo is still her "legal husband" and therefore is her "guardian." And since they are not legally divorced, he controls whatever health care she will and will not get. We are not even allowed to know if she is getting aspirin.

In 1993 my family initiated litigation against Michael Schiavo solely for the purpose of acquiring medical, physical and neurological assistance for our daughter Terri. The litigation escalated in 1998 when Michael Schiavo petitioned the court to stop Terri from receiving food and water, thereby starving her to death.

In filing this legal action, he retained the services of a high profile euthanasia attorney and the financial backing of powerful euthanasia organizations. He also used Terri's medical rehabilitation money to underwrite much of the legal expenses associated with his effort to starve our daughter to death.

We know that he has spent nearly $500,000 of Terri's money in attorney's fees for just one attorney trying to obtain a court order to have Terri starved to death. The very money that was supposed to be used for Terri's rehabilitation is being used to have her killed.

We very quickly discovered it was impossible for us to compete with the abundance of financial and legal resources the pro-death organizations were providing Micheal Schiavo in their effort to kill Terri. They are pouring time and effort into her starvation because they want to use this case to further the agenda of legalized euthanasia.

My wife and I are not wealthy people. Throughout those years, we did not have any large organizations trying to help rescue our daughter. Consequently, we had to rely on the generosity of attorneys who were willing to offer their legal expertise at no cost or at reduced fees.

The bottom line is that we are in the final weeks or months of our struggle to rescue our daughter from an untimely death by starvation. Death by starvation is very slow, and extremely painful. As you must know, it is against the law to deliberately starve an animal to death. There are members of the Florida court who would not treat a dog the way they plan to treat my daughter.

At this point we must pull out all the stops in our fight to rescue our daughter.

As parents, we are desperate to save our daughter's life. As people who love life, we are determined to deprive the euthanasia advocates of successfully legalizing this form of homicide. We believe that their efforts to kill Terri are designed to set a precedent for the future eradication of defenseless disabled human beings. I was alive when Americans fought the Nazis; I do not want my daughter to meet the same fate of thousands of disabled people in Nazi Germany, and I do not want our country to go down that same dark path.

Friend, though we have never met, I'm asking you for your help. We desperately need your financial assistance to help our family continue the battle to keep our daughter from being starved to death. There are so many expenses in a case like this it is mind-boggling and overwhelming. Please click below to make a contribution now:

Our adversaries believe that by our family's financial attrition and difficulties, they will attain their objective of killing our daughter. Presently, Terri's starvation may only be a few weeks away, unless we find the financial resources to prevent this atrocity from becoming a reality.

I implore you to please help us. We are writing to you, because we believe you have a heart for justice and mercy. I'm asking you to put yourself in my shoes, and then do whatever you can to help our family. Whether it is $10 or $1000, we are desperate for the resources to fight this battle for our daughter's life at this critical juncture.

Please do whatever you can, and forward this e-mail to any friends or family that you have who you think might be interested in saving Terri's life.

I thank you for your time, your concern, and I solicit your prayers for Terri and our entire family. These have been very trying times for us all.

http://www.nbc6.net/news/4225309/detail.html

nbc6.net

Case Of Brain-Damaged Woman At New Turning Point

Gov. Bush Looks For Ways To Intervene

POSTED: 2:43 pm EST February 23, 2005

UPDATED: 3:14 pm EST February 23, 2005

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- As the parents of a brain-damaged woman at the center of a life-and-death legal battle were set to plead with the judge for another stay to keep her alive, Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday he continues to look for a means to intervene in the emotionally charged case.

Terri Schiavo

TERRI SCHIAVO

Who Should Decide Terri Schiavo's Fate?
Discuss Case
Timeline Of Legal Battle
The Terri-Schindler-Schiavo Foundation

Top of Form

SURVEY

Who should decide whether or not Terri Schiavo should remain on life support?

Michael Schiavo, her husand

Bob and Mary Schindler, her parents

Results | Disclaimer

Bottom of Form

Bob and Mary Schindler intend to ask Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer at an afternoon hearing to extend a stay keeping their daughter, Terri Schiavo alive, while they pursue more legal options in the case. The Schindlers are fighting their son-in-law, Michael Schiavo, who contends his wife did not want to be kept alive artificially and intends to remove her feeding tube as soon as the stay is lifted.

Images: Dozens Protest Removal Of Feeding Tube

"They are candidly pleading for the life of their daughter," said David Gibbs, the Schindlers' attorney as the hearing before Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer began.

Meanwhile, speaking at an afternoon news conference, Bush said he is exploring options to block the removal of the tube but called the effort a "work in progress."

Bush's actions are being closely watched because in October 2003, he pushed through a law allowing him to intervene six days after Terri Schiavo's feeding tube has been removed. That law was struck down as unconstitutional.

"I can assure you, I will do whatever I can within the means, within the laws, of our state to protect this woman's life," Bush said Wednesday. "I won't go beyond that."

Bush said he has received thousands of e-mails and telephone calls from the Schindlers' supporters encouraging him to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The governor said his legal staff is working with legislative attorneys to see what can be done.

"People with deep faith and big hearts are concerned, as I am about the circumstance that Ms. Schiavo is in," the governor continued. "I want them to know I will do what I can, but there are limits to what any particular person -- irrespective of the title they currently hold -- can do."

Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage 15 years ago when a chemical imbalance caused her heart to stop beating. Doctors have testified that she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery.

Her parents, though, dispute that finding and have countered with their own medical experts who say Terri Schiavo is disabled, but not without hope of some recovery.

On Tuesday, a Florida appeals court removed the last remaining legal hurdle keeping Michael Schiavo from removing the feeding tube when its latest denial of the Schindlers' request for a new trial became official.

But less than 45 minutes later Greer issued another stay blocking Michael Schiavo from acting until at least 5 p.m. Wednesday.

That stay expires just hours after the judge is scheduled to hear the latest arguments from the Schindlers that their son-in-law is not fit to be his wife's guardian because he has denied her therapy and has conflict of interest in wanting to see her dead.

The Schindlers are seeking to oust Michael Schiavo as his wife's guardian and are asking Greer to allow new medical tests which might show if Terri Schiavo has more mental cognition than previously thought.

The highly emotional case which has drawn international attention prompted protesters to picket Michael Schiavo's home on Wednesday. Led by anti-abortion activist Randall Terry, the group confronted Michael Schiavo at one point.

Terry said he had a brief conversation with Michael Schiavo as police looked on.

"I just spoke with him very briefly and asked him to please let Terri live, give her back to mom and dad," Terry said. "He said, 'Mr. Terry, I don't want to talk to you. I don't want you on my property. Good day."'

Previous Stories:

· February 23, 2005: Wednesday Hearing May Determine Terri Schiavo's Fate

· February 22, 2005: Court Clears Way For Removal Of Schiavo's Feeding Tube

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.