Terri Schiavo: It is time to act

We have talked about Terri Schiavo quite a bit here. Almost all of us who post to FR are of the same mind -- that her feeding tube should not be removed, that she should be cared for, and that everything possible should be done to rehabilitate her.

The talk is useful. It is good for us to compare notes and to get our facts right.

It is time for us to act. Publicly and visibly. We each need to actively do whatever we can do. Posting here will gain us no more ground. We need to talk outside here, write letters, send emails, make phone calls, demonstrate, talk to our neighbors, and do other things. Whatever we can do.

This needs to be done now. Now as in NOW. Terri’s time on Earth is running out.

Posting here is not enough. It is time to rattle the cage. A big rattle. Loud enough that it will get heard.

Phil, I fired off three e-mails, two to my senators (Clinton and Schumer), and one to my representative:

Concerning Terri Schaivo, disabled citizen of Florida, currently scheduled, by court order, to be starved to death on March 18, 2005, I understand that Rep. David Weldon, R-Florida, a physician, is or will be sponsoring the Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act, also known as Terri's Law and would grant the same constitutional protection of due process to patients who can't speak for themselves accorded to death-row inmates. This law would allow Terri Schaivo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, to take their legal efforts to save their daughter to the federal courts.
I urge you to vote in favor of such an act.
Senator ________, I do not know if you are aware of this case or of the inconsistencies of statements made by Terri Schaivo's husband, Michael, who is also her guardian. I also do not know if you are aware that he is living with a woman not his wife and has fathered at least two children with that woman, putting into question his ability to act in Terri's best interest.
As her guardian and spouse (who has made another family with another woman), he stands to gain any material possessions accumulated during his marriage to Terri, whom he won't divorce, including the house he bought after receiving an ~$1.2 million award from the civil litigation (wherein he stated he "want[ed] to take care of Terri for the rest of HIS life"), the Mercedes he purchased after receiving the award monies, and whatever funds remain in various accounts (including the medical trust fund account set up, allegedly for Terri, but from which no therapy has been afforded Terri, per Michael Schaivo's direct orders). After Michael Schaivo received the $1.2 million, he stopped allowing Terri to receive therapy of any kind, ordered that medical treatments be withheld (including antibiotics) for life-threatening illnesses (sepsis on one occasion), refused to allow her priest to give her Last Rites, with the communion host, a host of other incidents.
Judge Greer maintains that Michael Schaivo's hearsay testimony that "it was Terri's wish to not live if she were hooked up" is "clear and convincing" testimony to that Judge, even though it contradicts Michael Schaivo's testimony during the civil litigation; even though it contradicts what Terri's friend has said, which affidavit was filed with the Court; and even though a nurse named Trudy Capone, RN, swore under oath, that Michael Schaivo told her that Terri Schaivo never talked to Michael Schaivo about her end of life decisions. Judge Greer's "clear and convincing" evidence is nothing short of preposterous.
Senator _________, it is inherently immoral to end an innocent person's life based on hearsay testimony, especially when it is contradictory, and most especially when there is no living will or sworn document stating a disabled person's wishes.
You also may or may not be aware that the Department of Children and Families has opened an investigation into possible abuse committed by Michael Schaivo against Terri Schavio as her guardian. There are also allegations, filed in court, that he may have possibly put her into her disabilitating condition.
I apologize for the length of this letter, but it is an extremely important matter to me and one I have been following for several years.
Please at least contact Rep. Weldon. Additionally, there are legal documents which may be accessed at this website: http://terrisfight.org/ should you wish to investigate this matter further.

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