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A man thought by doctors to be in a vegetative state for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time, it was revealed last night. Student Rom Houben was misdiagnosed after a car crash left him totally paralysed. He had no way of letting experts, family or friends know he could hear every word they said. Rom Houben was trapped in a coma for 23 years and had no way of letting anyone know he could hear what they were saying (pictured posed by model) 'I screamed, but there was nothing to hear,' said Mr Houben, now 46.

WASHINGTON – A proposed revision to the directives that guide Catholic heath care facilities would clarify that patients with chronic conditions who are not imminently dying should receive food and water by “medically assisted” means if they cannot take them normally. “As a general rule, there is an obligation to provide patients with food and water, including medically assisted nutrition and hydration for those who cannot take food orally,” says the revised text of the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” proposed by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine. “This obligation extends to patients in chronic conditions...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP)--I envied Terri Schiavo for her father, Bob. There were times I thought: What a waste, she doesn't know how good she has it. Not like it was her fault, but if only she knew. But of course she knew. From all the firsthand accounts and the vivid description of my friend David Gibbs, the attorney who fought for the right of Bob Schindler's daughter to live, Terri herself knew what it was like to feel the whiskered face of her father rough up against her cheek and tickle her until she smiled. She knew when he...

Terri Schiavo's Father Dies At 71 (St. Petersburg, FL) -- The father of a woman who was at the center of a battle over "end of life" issues has died. Terri Schiavo's dad, Robert Schindler, passed away on Saturday at the age of 71. Schindler, his wife Mary, and their two other children became national figures back in 2005 while fighting to keep Terri alive on a feeding tube, against the wishes of her husband, Michael. Bobby Schindler released a statement saying he was "heartbroken" over the loss of his father and called his father "a man of integrity, character,...

St. Petersburg, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The Terri Schiavo Story, a highly-regarded documentary on the life and euthanasia death of the disabled Florida woman, continues to rack up new awards. Meanwhile, the Schindler family continues to help disabled patients whose lives are threatened by doctors or families. Schiavo was killed in a painful starvation and dehydration euthanasia death over the course of nearly two weeks when her former husband won a court order to kill her and the documentary presents facts that the mainstream media distorted.Earlier this year the Terri Schiavo Story won the 2009 Jubilee Award at the San Antonio...

<p>Speaking of judicial empathy, where was the empathy for the helpless Terri Schiavo as she was dehydrated to death by judicial order, without even the simple kindness of allowing the grieving parents to whet her blistering lips as she was being tortured to death?</p>

To the disgust of Florida's left-wing newspapers, Gov. Jeb Bush has tried to save Terri Schiavo from a gruesome, painful death by dehydration and starvation. Now the usual suspects in the pro-death crowd are rejoicing at the latest ruling by the Democrat-run Florida Supreme Court. But the governor said, "I'm disappointed for the moral reasons of the taking of innocent life without having, I don't think, a full hearing on the facts of what her intent was." He observed that courts can delay death sentences for decades. Will the innocent Mrs. Schiavo be accorded the same privileges granted to vicious...

TALLAHASSEE -- State Sen. Jim King, a Jacksonville Republican and 22-year veteran of the Legislature, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the lawmaker's longtime spokeswoman said Saturday. “During a recent routine post-legislative session checkup, Senator Jim King was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While Senator King plans to seek additional medical counsel and aggressive treatment, he is aware that this particular type of cancer is difficult to treat and manage, and that the outcomes are, at best, guarded," said Sarah Bascom, a political consultant and longtime spokeswoman for King, in a statement.

New York, NY -- Rolling Stone magazine is coming under fire for featuring a mock interview with former President George W. Bush in its latest issue. During the interview, Rolling Stone satirizes the death of Terri Schiavo by having the former president supposedly mocking her death, even though he tried to save her life.

The tragic story of Terri Schiavo has, for most Americans, become a faded memory. But now, thanks to Ken Carpenter and Franklin Springs Family Media, the account of her heart-wrenching ordeal will forever be available to those who believe in the sanctity and value of human life. Narrated by well known Christian author and advocate for the disabled, Joni Eareckson Tada . . .

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Several pro-life leaders are hoping the majority of Americans who take a pro-life position on abortion will re-charge and re-energize following Tuesday night's election defeats. They say the pro-life movement must prepare themselves to take on a pro-abortion president and renew educational efforts."We have long known that the work of advancing a culture of life is not a short-term project," Americans United for Life president Charmaine Yoest told LifeNews.com."Recall that William Wilberforce fought against the slave trade for 45 years before he ultimately prevailed in his defense of life," she said."In 2008, it is clear...

Los Angeles, October 1, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Saturday, September 27, the Mexican superstar of Latin America, Eduardo Verastegui, and several of his friends joined the 40 Days for Life prayer campaign outside Family Planning Associates, an abortion business at 601 S. Westmoreland Avenue. He went there for two reasons: to help mothers and their unborn children, and warn people about the number-one abortion celebrity, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).Verastegui is cofounder of L.A.-based Metanoia Films and lead actor in the company's first feature film, Bella (http://www.amazon.com/Bella-Eduardo-Ver%C3%A1stegui/dp/B0014...), which premiered in American movie theaters last October.Until November 2, citizens of 179 cities in...

St. Petersburg, FL -- Terri Schiavo's mother Mary Schindler has uncovered a note that Terri wrote back in 1984 when she married her husband Michael. Now remarried to someone with whom he had an affair before Terri's death, Michael won a court order to take her live despite pleas from her family. Terri's brother Bobby Schindler tells LifeNews.com about the note. Complete story at: http://www.LifeNews.com/bio2440.html

Cleveland, OH (LifeNews.com) -- Senator Barack Obama debated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night and said his biggest mistake was voting with a unanimous Senate to help save Terri Schiavo. Terri is the disabled Florida woman whose husband won the legal right to starve her to death. In March 2005, just weeks before Terri died from a painful 14-day starvation and dehydration death, Congress approved legislation allowing her family to take its case from state courts to federal courts in an effort to stop the euthanasia from proceeding.Terri was not on any artificial breathing apparatus and only required...

In last night's democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - their last one before the Texas/Ohio showdown on March 4th - Barack Obama made a surprising (to me, shocking) statement: RUSSERT: Senator Obama, any statements or vote you'd like to takeback? OBAMA: Well, you know, when I first arrived in the Senate that first year, we had a situation surrounding Terri Schiavo. And I remember how we adjourned with a unanimous agreement that eventually allowed Congress to interject itself into that decision making process of the families. It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was...

Bronx, NY (LifeNews.com) -- The battle over the life and death of a teenage girl in New York has drawn the attention of pro-life advocates in recent days. The fight to save Javona Peters reminds some of the struggle of the Schindler family in Florida to save the life of Terri Schiavo, a beloved daughter and sibling whose former husband eventually took her life. In this case, Peters' parents are disagreeing on whether or not to remove her feeding tube and take her life.Peters fell into a coma in October while she had a routine medical procedure at Montefiore Medical...

December 14, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Shiavo, the young woman who was dehydrated to death in Florida in 2005, has become a prominent opponent of euthanasia since that wrenching time for his family. In a recent Challenge magazine interview with Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, Schindler revealed the shocking details of the support from many prominent Catholic clergy for the court ordered removal of food and hydration from Terri. Bobby is a practicing Catholic as was his sister.   Schindler stated that his sister "was not dying, not attached to any type of...

Tyler Savage: he is fed through a tube in his stomach A boy of 12 suffers from so many allergies that he is able to eat only five foods. Tyler Savage is violently ill every time he is given dishes containing dairy products or wheat, gluten, eggs, lactose and soya. The sole foods he is allowed are chicken, carrots, grapes, potatoes and apples. To help him survive, minerals and vitamins are pumped directly into his stomach through a tube. Tyler started to fall ill at the age of six when even a morsel of food would leave him writhing...

Since the election of Pope Benedict, the Church has been renewed by an abundance of blessings flowing from the Vatican. In case you did not hear, the Pope's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has just released its answer to the question of providing nutrition and hydration (i.e., food and water) to persons in so-called vegetative states. Even though a child can figure out that it's not right to starve people to death, the Vatican set the issue to rest this week. In its technically-precise language, the CDF vindicated our beloved Terri Schiavo by saying that no one...

Leaders Shouldn't Separate Faith and Politics, Catholic Governor Jeb Bush States By Elizabeth O'BrienATLANTA, Georgia, August 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Republican governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, brother of President George Bush, described his "faith journey" to audiences at a Catholic conference this summer, emphasizing that faith and politics should not be separated. The devout Catholic and pro-life politician received a standing ovation from a crowd of families, children, priests and young people before he even began his speech at the 11th Youth and Family Encounter conference at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The event was sponsored this July...

CLEARWATER, FL, July 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A North Country Gazette exclusive alleges, with evidence, that Michael Schiavo, who ordered the starvation of his wife Terry Schiavo in 2005, has a history of hostility towards co-workers, stalking women, vindictiveness and general unprofessional behavior. Last year, the Gazetter reports, Schiavo was involved in a complex tangle of accusations against co-workers at the Pinellas County Jail. The first alleged incident occurred on July 31, when co-worker Diane Cross illegally gave prescription medication, a muscle relaxant called Robaxin, to nursing supervisor David Richardson in order to alleviate his extreme back pain. Schiavo did...

On May 30, Ramirez was part of a serious car accident where he suffered multiple injuries and was put into a comatose state. He was placed onto feeding tubes where he received nourishment and water. Ten days later, the man’s wife, Rebecca, 33, asked doctors to pull him from the tubes after they explained that the accident would probably leave the man blind or in vegetative state. For five days, the hospital withheld sustenance from the injured man, but restored the tubes after the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) – an Ariz.-based Christian law firm – filed a lawsuit on behalf...

Springfield, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The family of Terri Schiavo could have called it a day after Terri was starved and dehydrated to death by her former husband over a two week period. They endured constant international news coverage and waged a discouraging battle in the courts that left their daughter and sister with no hope. Instead, Terri's parents Bob and Mary, brother Bobby and sister Suzanne pressed on. Not wanting the same fate to befall other disabled patients, they reworked the foundation they created to help Terri and organized it to assist other incapacitated or minimally conscious patients. Since they...

MESA, Ariz. - An incapacitated Chandler man in a hospice must be kept alive and given a special guardian, a judge has ruled. Jesse Ramirez, 36, suffered a broken neck, fractured skull, punctured lung, broken ribs and fractured face in a rollover crash May 30 in Chandler. A neurosurgeon told Ramirez's wife and family on June 8 that doctors had done all they could for Ramirez, who maintains minimal brain activity. Ramirez's wife, Rebecca, reportedly wants him to be denied food and water but his parents and sister want him to be given life-supporting care.

UNITED STATES, May 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The three front-runners in the Republican presidential primary repudiated Congress’ intervention to save the life of Terri Schiavo, the Florida brain-injured woman who died of court-ordered dehydration and starvation in 2005 at the behest of her husband who was then living with another woman. Front runners Rudy Giuliani, Sen. John McCain, and former Gov. Mitt Romney were all asked in the debate moderated by MSNBC: “Terri Schiavo: Should Congress have acted or let the family make the decision, the husband?”Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who is campaigning on his pro-life conversion responded...

LifeNews.com Note: Bobby Schindler is the brother of Terri Schiavo and works with the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to help disabled and other patients like her to receive the lifesaving medical treatment they deserve.I recently returned from Austria and Germany where I had the fortunate opportunity to speak in front of several organizations to give witness to my family's struggle to care for my sister Terri. Along with the circumstances of Terri's life and death, I spoke about how the medical community continues to target the disabled by convincing the American people that if someone's "quality of life" is deemed...

Forget abortion rights. The opinions Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has now expressed on the right-to-die case of Terri Schiavo make him look both unprincipled and out of touch. That's a clumsy combination. Schiavo spent 15 years in a persistent vegetative state before she died two years ago after her feeding tube was removed. Her court case attracted international attention and spurred controversial attempts by Florida's governor and Legislature, and the president and Congress, to intervene. For Giuliani, though, his position seems to be a work in progress. In 2005, on the day after Schiavo died, he told the New...

I purchased this book last year, and found it to be one of the best references for facts in Terri Schiavo's case. Reading this book is like sitting down with Cheryl and Jan, and listening/watching them present the actual evidence and truth about so many things that the mainstream "pro euthanasia" media has refused to tell. You will see the actual hospital documents, police reports, and so much more. I will warn you though, that once you learn about the judicial misconduct, FL laws broken, the details of Michaels malpractice case,(money was paid under the claim that Terri had a...

St. Petersburg, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Terri Schiavo's family will never forget the next to last day of her life two years ago. It started with a Supreme Court ruling and a judgment by a federal appeals court, and ended with the knowledge that their daughter wanted to live.The U.S. Supreme Court, on that Wednesday, issued a decision allowing Terri Schiavo's painful starvation death. It wound up being the last legal decision in the long battle between Bob and Mary Schindler and Terri's former husband Michael.The once-sentence ruling was issued just hours after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

On the night of Terri's funeral, I posted a few observations and a lot of pictures of what I had seen in the days of Lent, the Triduum, and the First Sunday of Easter. They are here: http://www.endlesswonder.com/terrischiavo.html Many times I have wanted to go in and update or even expand upon what was there, but I decided to just leave it as a memory frozen in time of one of the most disgraceful moments in our history when just about everyone let us down, and worst of all, Terri's death There was once a day when I would think...

Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recently stated, "My view was a case like this would normally be left in the hands of a court." Romney was referring to the attempt by Congress to help save the life of my sister, Terri Schiavo. He mistakenly assumed passing the buck on this issue would gain him political capital. He could not be more wrong, morally or politically. Thomas Jefferson said, "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." Sadly, many of our politicians have abandoned this basic...

Her blue eyes sparkled, and a soft smile spread across Sarah Scantlin's face. Sarah belted out a series of scales and sounds after Golden Plains Health Care Center staff member Jennifer Trammell asked if she would like to practice her sounds. "La, la, la; da, da, da; so, so, so," she said. At Trammell's suggestion, she repeated the series. Hutchinson News Photo Sarah Scantlin smiles for the video camera during an interview Tuesday. Photo by Sandra J. Milburn "Why are we doing this, Sarah?" Trammell asked, then answered the question herself: "This helps you form words and strengthens your vocal...

TAMPA -- He's campaigning hard for support from Republican social conservatives, but presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Saturday he disagreed with the government's intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. "I think it's probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts," Romney said in a television interview airing today.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am still waiting for Michael Schiavo to make a correction on his blog about what "actually" took place in Colorado when he went there (to the debate) to supposedly ask Congresswoman Musgrave one question and she and her staff supposedly tried to have him removed. He called it, "My unreal night in Colorado - with radio link" (Thu Oct 26, 2006 at 08:05:14 PM PST). I'll say (from what I read) that it was his "unreal night". As I said before in "Standing up and Admitting a Mistake: Not Schiavo's Style?",  if...

Frozen in time: the disabled nine-year-old girl who will remain a child all her life · Parents fiercely criticised over 'offensive' surgery · Disability groups say case raises troubling issues Ashley's parents call her their Pillow Angel, a moniker that is a reference to the love and joy they feel for their nine-year-old daughter and the severe disabilities she has suffered from birth. She cannot sit up, walk or talk, is fed by tube, and, as her parents put it, "stays right where we place her - usually on a pillow". Ashley won't know this, as she is brain-damaged and...

Theresa Marie Schindler was born to Robert and Mary Schindler on December 3, 1963. She was the first of three children the Schindlers would have. Terri was a shy, but comical, child who had an affinity for music, animals and the arts. She kept a small circle of friends and was dear to schoolmates, neighboring families and her own extended family. Following high school, Terri came into her own. She developed a knack for sketching and doodling. She enjoyed outings with her friends. She was an adoptive mother to the family’s dog, Bucky. Terri attended Catholic School while growing up...

TERRI Irwin has taken her two children to a psychologist following concerns daughter Bindi has been "so happy" despite the death of her father Steve. In an interview in The Australian Women's Weekly to be published today, Mrs Irwin said she had taken eight-year-old Bindi and her two-year-old brother Bob to a psychologist to assess their emotional state. "I don't pretend to have all the answers," Mrs Irwin said. "I met with a psychologist and that's been a tremendous help for me. "I asked him if everything was OK, because Bindi has been so happy. "And he said, 'Why? Are...

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Charlie Crist says he was perfectly clear in opposing governmental intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. He spoke out loudly. And he was silent. Loudly silent. The day after limping through a tough nationally televised debate, the Republican attorney general wanted to talk about his plans to slash taxes. Instead reporters questioned him about his debate assertion that, “Yes, I did’’ speak out against Congress trying to force the reinsertion of the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube in 2005. Crist did not publicly express his opposition to the Schiavo intervention until April 2006, more than a year...

FOOTAGE of Steve Irwin's death will never be shown on television, Terri Irwin has told American journalist Barbara Walters. Clutching a handkerchief and her eyes red from crying, Terri spoke emotionally to Walters about her fairytale marriage with crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin. Walters, one of America's best known TV journalists, flew to Queensland last week for the interview. Asked whether the footage of Irwin's September 4 death would ever be aired on television, Terri was blunt and emphatic. "It won't be. No. No. What purpose would that serve,' she said, adding that she had not looked at the footage of...

In a case of "Whose life is it anyway?" a state appeals court ruled yesterday that a mentally handicapped woman has no say over whether she should be kept alive on life support. In the unanimous decision, a five-judge panel ruled that the 26-year-old - who says she wants to be kept on life support in the event she's felled by illness or an accident - isn't competent to make that decision. Instead, her mother, who is her legal guardian, gets to make the call - and she doesn't want her daughter on life support. A lawyer for the woman,...

A ONE-HOUR interview with US news "queen" Barbara Walters will be a cleansing experience for Steve Irwin's widow Terri, a close friend of her husband has said. Mrs Irwin and her eight-year-old daughter Bindi are due to talk to Barbara Walters in Brisbane for a one-hour special to be aired on America's ABC television network next Wednesday. Ms Walters is reported to have arrived in Brisbane this morning. Channel 9 will also broadcast "an exclusive Australian interview" by Ray Martin with Mrs Irwin and Bindi next Wednesday. Mr Irwin's long-time friend and manager John Stainton today said the interviews would...

STEVE Irwin's daughter Bindi has told a packed memorial service that her dad was her hero and she did not want her father's passion for wildlife to ever end. The little girl told mourners at Australia Zoo - and an international television and internet audience in excess of 300 million - that "my Daddy was my hero". "He was always there for me when I needed him", Bindi said. "(But) most of all he was fun". "I know Dad had an important jo - he was working to change the world so we everyone would love wildlife like he did",...

A SPARE seat will be left beside Steve Irwin's widow and children tomorrow, as a special way to remember the Crocodile Hunter during his memorial service. Irwin's manager and long-time friend John Stainton has refused to reveal too many details about the service, but he has confirmed there will be a spare seat for Irwin beside his wife Terri and their children, Bindi and Bob. "There will be one seat alongside of the family for Steve because he loved the Crocoseum, he built it," Mr Stainton said. "His Australia Zoo cap that he always wore watching all the shows with...

Battle the 'anointed elite' Posted: September 1, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: This Letter of the Week is in response to a letter to the editor that appeared Aug. 29. It is reprinted here for the reader's convenience: Just thought you'd like to know that most, if not all, medical personnel here in Miami are endorsing and voting for Charlie Crist for governor. I'm a physician in Miami and my colleagues, both doctors and nurses, have been strong advocates against any public official who had the audacity to interfere in what should have been a family medical decision. Yes,...

Mr. Schiavo remains furious at lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington who intervened. Hence the creation last winter of TerriPAC, a federal political action committee aimed against politicians who tried to stop Ms. Schiavo’s death. Mr. Schiavo flew to Connecticut last month to help Ned Lamont, who defeated Senator Joseph I. Lieberman in the Democratic primary. Representative Jim Davis, a Tampa Democrat running to replace Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, widely distributed a letter that Mr. Schiavo wrote after endorsing him in June. Mr. Davis was among the most vigorous opponents of intervention in the Schiavo case. Mr. Schiavo’s PAC has...

Charlie Crist Let My Daughter Die by Robert Schindler, Sr. Posted Jul 31, 2006 As most Americans know, on March 31, 2005, my daughter, Terri Schindler Schiavo died of starvation and thirst after having her feeding tube removed by court order. The sad chain of events that concluded with Terri’s death ignited a media firestorm nationally and internationally. What few saw or heard was the callous inaction of aspiring governor Charlie Crist. Florida Atty. Gen. Charlie Crist let my daughter die. He had it within his authority to save her life, but he turned a blind eye to her suffering....

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- More than a month before the start of the Florida primary, one race to watch is the battle for the Republican nomination for Jacksonville's Senate seat. The latest skirmish has candidate Randall Terry accusing incumbent Jim King of having the backing of a bikini bar. Terry, 46, who has lived in Ponte Vedra Beach for three years, will run against King in the heavily Republican district that stretches from Duval County to northern Volusia County. In a move Terry called disappointing and sad, Gov. Jeb Bush publicly announced Wednesday that he is endorsing King. King has served...

What made you want to step out in favor of Sen. King? You do this very rarely. "I've done a few but it's not the norm, I guess that's probably right. ... Tom Lee and Jim King this year did significant work in building and passing an aggressive agenda, and I'm a grateful governor. I believe when people work hard to create a shared agenda and then work hard to pass it, it's appropriate to show your appreciation." Does this represent a distancing from a conservative segment of voters? "There is no distancing from my perspective. People know where I...

WASHINGTON, July 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Executive Director of The National Pro-Life Action Center, the nation's only pro-life initiative located on Capitol Hill, has responded to the expected endorsement of Jim King for Florida State Senate by Gov. Jeb Bush. Dr. Paul Chaim Schenck, the Executive Director of the Center, which is a joint project of Catholics United for Life, Priests for Life and Faith and Action (with a combined membership of over 250,000), issued the following statement - "Shame, shame on Jeb Bush for betraying the memory of Terri Schindler Schiavo by endorsing Jim King. As Senate president,...

Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday sided with a nurse who could lose her license because she discussed Terri Schiavo's medical condition on national TV. "The governor feels the actions taken against Carla Sauer-Iyer are not justified and hopes that the complaint will be reconsidered and dismissed," Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss wrote in an e-mail to the St. Petersburg Times. "She did not disclose any information which was not already public." On Thursday, the Department of Health requested the Board of Nursing to dismiss the agency's complaint that Sauer-Iyer, 42, improperly disclosed patient information on CNN last year. Sauer-Iyer rejected a...