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REMEMBRANCE of EASTER 2005 Crowd my eyes, you bevies of daffodils, And you forsythias in throngs of cheer, Dandelion galaxies and fountains of trees. Fill my mouth with the breath of hyacinths, you purple air And you roistering breeze. And you quince-buds so eager, you swelling seeds, You squirrels running stitches across the loom Of woven grasses, inflorescent weeds; Jasmine-bush, loop me with your lariats of perfume. Fill me, small birds, with your versicles, And chuckled replies. She is bleeding from the mouth and eyes. Sate me then, Sun, all dapple and spangle Crowd out all else Lade me and...

For members of any family, an order of execution issued by a judge for a loved one is devastating news – it’s catastrophic to learn that someone you have known all your life is going to be killed by the state. That’s what happened to my family when, on March 31, 2005, Terri Schiavo died as a result of Florida probate judge George W. Greer’s ruling to sentence my sister to death. Her crime? She was profoundly brain injured, could not speak or fend for herself and had a loving family that wanted, more than anything, to just bring her...

Terri Schiavo Dies After Enduring 13 Day Court-Ordered Starvation by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor March 31, 2005 Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) — Terri Schiavo has passed away after enduring 13 days of a painful starvation and dehydration death that six state and federal courts declined to prevent. While her family will remember a loving daughter and sister, her death will be the beginning of a renewed debate about euthanasia and end of life issues. Terri died Thursday morning at Woodside Hospice, and Paul O’Donnell, a Franciscan monk who has been a spokesman for the Schindlers during the last two weeks,...

The court-ordered starvation and dehydration death of Terri Schindler Schiavo eight years ago marked a watershed moment in our nation’s history. Millions of people both here and around the world became suddenly faced the reality that our society is not only willing, but seemingly eager, to treat those with disabilities as if they are expendable. Among the many commentaries and reflections published in the wake of Terri’s death was a series of analyses in the pro-life publication Human Life Review. Yesterday we began discussing one of those articles written by columnist Nat Hentoff. In it, Nat wrote about society’s progression...

Nat Hentoff is no stranger to the pro-life movement and his defense of life in the face of overwhelming opposition is noteworthy. For many, many years, Nat was a columnist for the New York City paper, The Village Voice — a paper so liberal that the New York Times almost appears mainstream in comparison. Nestled away in its pages, however, was columnist Nat Hentoff. Nat’s advocacy for life knows no boundaries. Shortly after the death of Terri Schindler Schiavo, the pro-life quarterly journal, Human Life Review, ran a series of articles analyzing the impact of Terri’s tragic death. Among the...

As Holy Week begins and we reflect on the passion of Jesus Christ, it is especially appropriate to remember another person who eight years ago at this time was subjected to a tortuous, brutal and heinous death – one whose anniversary falls this year on Easter Sunday: Terri Schindler-Schiavo. And just as the Church now ushers in our new Pope Francis, I am reminded how two days after Terri’s death we also lost our Holy Father. As Pope John Paul II lay dying at the Vatican his aides would later tell the Schindlers that when he learned of Terri’s death,...

As Holy Week begins and we reflect on the passion of Jesus Christ, it is especially appropriate to remember another person who eight years ago at this time was subjected to a tortuous, brutal and heinous death – one whose anniversary falls this year on Easter Sunday: Terri Schindler-Schiavo. And just as the Church now ushers in our new Pope Francis, I am reminded how two days after Terri’s death we also lost our Holy Father. As Pope John Paul II lay dying at the Vatican his aides would later tell the Schindlers that when he learned of Terri’s death,...

by Cathy Cleaver Ruse March 24, 2005 LifeNews.com Note: Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Esq., is the Director of Planning and Information for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. The following editorial originally appeared in Newsday. TERRI SCHIAVO is at the heart of a human tragedy being played out in our nation, and watched by the world. Her husband wants to remove her feeding tube, saying this is her wish, while her parents and siblings vigorously disagree that she would have wanted to die. Since last Friday, Schiavo has faced each new day without food or water, by...

The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is delighted to announce that Moe & Sana Maraachli will receive the 2013 Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Award at the first Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network Award Gala on Friday, April 5, in Philadelphia. In 2011, an international controversy erupted over Joseph Maraachli (Baby Joseph) after Canadian physicians refused to perform a tracheotomy, calling the procedure invasive and futile. This would have ultimately led to Joseph’s imposed death. The Maraachlis courageously fought to have Joseph, who was diagnosed with a neurologic disorder called Leigh’s disease, transferred to the United States, contending...

Sick children are being discharged from NHS hospitals to die at home or in hospices on controversial ‘death pathways’. Until now, end of life regime the Liverpool Care Pathway was thought to have involved only elderly and terminally-ill adults. But the Mail can reveal the practice of withdrawing food and fluid by tube is being used on young patients as well as severely disabled newborn babies.

Dehydrate dementia patients to death to save money: British Medical Journal editorial by Hilary White, Rome CorrespondentMon Jul 16, 2012 15:38 EST July 16, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The courts should not interfere with doctors who want to dehydrate to death incapacitated patients who are a drain on scarce financial resources, according to an editorial in this week’s edition of the prestigious British Medical Journal. Raanan Gillon, emeritus professor of medical ethics and former chairman of the Institute of Medical Ethics governing body, wrote that a ruling last year by the High Court against dehydrating an incapacitated patient to death was...

What would it be like to starve to death in silence? Can you imagine dying of thirst, but not being able to ask for a glass of water? Student and aspiring filmmaker Adam Hardy, 22, puts his viewers in the shoes of a woman in just that situation.Based on the true story of Terri Schiavo and others like her, Hungry reminds us of the discrimination that people with disabilities face and the sanctity of all human life. Since Live Action is a youth-led movement dedicated to building a culture of life, we love sharing what other young people are doing to communicate life-affirming...

April 11, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - If an American bioethicist gets her way, all patients evaluated as being in a “permanent vegetative state” (PVS) would by default have artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) withdrawn unless they have made a prior wish to be kept alive. In the March 2012 issue of Bioethics, Dr. Catherine Constable argues that “in the absence of clear evidence that the patient would opt for this existence over death, keeping him alive by any means of assistance is ethically more problematic than allowing him to die.” Terri Schiavo was declared to be in a PVS state and...

We must never forget Terri and the premature, unthinkable death she endured. Last March 31st was the seventh anniversary of my sister, Terri Schiavo’s death. Terri was starved and dehydrated to death by those who value killing the innocent ahead of preserving life, and who put God second to the powers of a corrupt legal and government system—or leave Him out of the equation, entirely. Terri never wanted to die, and in fact told us just the opposite—that she wanted to live. As we look back on all she endured, we realize that Terri did not die in vain. For...

AVE MARIA, FL, April 2, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The 7th anniversary of the death of Terri Schiavo was commemorated by a Mass at the Ave Maria Oratory at Ave Maria University Friday evening. Terri’s remaining family - her mother Mary Schindler, brother Bobby and sister Suzanne - were all in attendance, along with pro-life leaders and activists from across North America. Homilist Fr. Denis Wilde, Associate Director of Priests for Life, vividly recalled the “crisis period that gripped our nation leading up to the final week of March 2005 in Pinellas Park.” It involved, he recalled, “day and night media,...

Lately, Americans have been quick to disparage other countries for their approach to life and death issues. In particular, many Americans have been outraged at the Netherlands’ policies regarding euthanasia, assisted suicide, infanticide and the killing of those with mental illnesses. As Americans, we haven’t been entirely intellectually honest in addressing why these things have become so prevalent in Europe. After all, we would never allow that kind of immorality or degradation of human life. Not in this great nation. Right? Wrong. Americans had better look again and take the time to rethink their value systems. Because if you honestly...

New York, NY -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, who became known as the "Terri Schiavo Priest" because of his involvement in the case back in 2005, issued the following statement in preparation for the seventh anniversary of her death on March 31: "None of us who were in Terri's room during her final weeks and hours will ever forget the intense spiritual and emotional impact of that experience. Terri's death was not a dignified, peaceful, beautiful event, like the proponents of euthanasia want to paint it. Instead, it was violent, ugly, and offensive to the...

The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network has announced that Ave Maria University will once again host “The National Mass for Terri’s Day” at the Ave Maria Oratory at Ave Maria University, located near Naples, Florida. Terri was killed on March 31, 2005 when her former husband won a protracted legal battle against the Schindler family for the right to disconnect her feeding tube. Doctors who examined Terri say she was not in a persistent vegetative state and that her condition could have been improved has she been given access to more medical care and rehabilitative treatment. The International Day...

An American doctor argues in the latest issue of the leading journal Bioethics that artificial nutrition and hydration should be withdrawn from all patients in a permanent vegetative state – unless there is clear evidence that they want to be kept alive. Dr Catherine Constable, of New York University School of Medicine, studied bioethics at the Ethox Centre at Oxford University. She argues that the current presumption in favour of maintaining ANH is misguided. It is not in the interests of the patient nor, because of its cost, in the interest of society.However, her argument is not based upon cost,...

Yesterday, I bemoaned the latest historical revisionism about the passage of the federal law to protect Terri Schiavo. I am so sick of the pretense that it was a Republican theocratic game–when in reality, it was a very bipartisan bill choreographed through passage by the leaders of both parties–that I decided to become an accurate history writer. From “Obama and Santorum Agreed on Terri Schiavo Law” in the Daily Caller: Newt Gingrich likes to write “alternate history” novels, such as “Gettysburg,” in which the South wins the epochal battle that in the real world saved the Union. Such fantasies are...