Posted on 10/22/2003 11:57:26 PM PDT by Robert Drobot
Focus on the Family's founder and chairman talks at length about the Terri Schiavo case — and the extraordinary efforts of Americans to help save her life.
It was a momentous day in Florida yesterday, when the Sunshine State's Legislature passed "Terri's Bill — legislation giving Gov. Jeb Bush the authority to rescue Terri Schiavo from the court-ordered dehydration she's been suffering through since last week. As of this moment, Schiavo is receiving the nourishment she needs to live.
Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, told a national listening audience on his daily "Focus on the Family" broadcast that he was relieved.
"I just don't know why it took so long for the Florida Legislature to act," Dobson said. "I mean, this is an absolutely unbelievable situation . . . where a woman who's not in a coma — she's not on a respirator, she can relate to her mother and those around her, she can even say some words — (was) being starved to death, deprived of water (and food). That's unconscionable."
While some criticized the Legislature, saying it was overriding Schiavo's wishes, Dobson strongly disagreed.
"Terri has not expressed her desire to be starved to death and deprived of hydration," the best-selling author and former University of Southern California clinical psychologist said. "It's her husband's statement that she didn't want to be on life support -- but she's not on life support. She's breathing normally. You know, if you're going to start killing people like Terri, you're going to have to kill an awful lot of people who are mentally retarded and on a feeding tube."
Others claim Schiavo is in a vegetative state and doesn't understand what's happening. That, Dobson said, is also untrue.
"She is not in a 'vegetative' state. When you are in a vegetative state you can't respond to people. You don't follow things with your eyes when they're moved in front of you. You don't use words. She has said words like 'mommy' and 'help me' and other things. This woman is not in a vegetative state. Now I don't know that she could ever come out of this or be normal, but you don't kill people just because they're not going to be normal."
Pro-life groups everywhere are applauding the Florida Legislature's courage — and that of Gov. Bush, who acted immediately to have Schiavo fed. Dobson said that's because this is a right-to-life issue.
"It's life at an older age," he said. "Life is life, and yet I would not want to give the impression that the concern about Terri is limited (only) to those in the pro-life movement. I mean, this situation will grab your heart. If you've ever gone a full day without drinking water, you can imagine what she's experienced after six days without food or water. It's Nazi-esque. It's what (Nazi Germany) did in 1939, '40 and '41 and on through the war (to the disabled, to Jews and others). It's where they started."
Pro-life groups also worked hard to tell their constituents about Schiavo's plight, and they got active. In fact, so many calls went into Florida's legislative offices that the phone lines were shut down.
"There is a growing crescendo of concern across the country," Dobson explained. "I have a radio program that's heard on 2,000 stations across North America and we talked about it this morning and asked people to call — and we weren't the only ones. A lot of (broadcasters) in Florida, and many other radio stations and television stations around the country, have been asking for a response and people have responded in massive numbers."
Dr. Dobson said that speaks volumes about the power of Christians to influence government.
"Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address that (we have) a government 'of the people, by the people and for the people.' That's the way it's supposed to be. It's not for judges, it's not for the Supreme Court, it's not for the man in the White House, it's not for the Congress . . . it's for the people. And when the people respond, their leaders had better listen. If they don't, there are going to be some new leaders, and I think some new leaders are going to come out of this one."
Terri's family, meanwhile, is thankful that she has been given another chance, said Michael Vito, a relative.
"We know there's going to be roadblocks, we know that the fight isn't over yet," Vito said. "But compared to where we were yesterday at this time, this is monumental."
Those roadblocks include an expected legal challenge to the Florida law that — at least for the moment — saved Terri's life. It's being described as uncharted legal waters.
FOR MORE INFORMATION To obtain a recording of Dr. Dobson's broadcast on the Schiavo case, please go to the following order page.
To learn the facts of her medical condition, and how the media often misreport those facts, see a news release we've prepared on the subject.
In addition, we've created a special Web page to make it easy for you to thank Gov. Jeb Bush and every member of the Florida House and Senate who voted for "Terri's Bill." Once you visit the site, you can click each legislator's name and be instantly connected to contact information, including e-mail address and phone number.
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