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Cardinal Keeler Issues Statement on Fla. Schiavo Case; Stresses Church Teaching on Feeding, Hydration

3/9/2005 5:04:00 PM

To: National Desk, Political Reporter

Contact: Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, 202-541-3200 (office), or 301-587-4762 (after hours), of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

WASHINGTON, March 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Cardinal William H. Keeler, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities, stressed Church teaching on nutrition and hydration in a March 9 statement.

His remarks followed a statement by the bishops of Florida who recently spoke out regarding the case of Terri Schiavo, a woman at the heart of a controversy over withholding nutrition and hydration from people with cognitive disabilities.

Cardinal Keeler's statement follows:

"The case of Terri Schindler Schiavo in Florida has focused national attention on the plight of patients diagnosed as being in a 'vegetative' state.

"In a speech last year, Pope John Paul II affirmed the inherent dignity of every human being: 'Even our brothers and sisters who find themselves in the clinical condition of a 'vegetative state',' he said, 'retain their human dignity in all its fullness.' They are not 'vegetables,' but fellow human beings in need of our love and care.

"The Holy Father added that these patients have 'the right to basic health care (nutrition, hydration, cleanliness, warmth, etc.).' He reminded us that providing water and food, even by artificial means, is 'morally obligatory, insofar as and until it is seen to have attained its proper finality, which in the present case consists in providing nourishment to the patient and alleviation of his suffering.'

"There are times when even such basic means may cease to be morally obligatory, because they have become useless or unduly burdensome for the patient. Deliberately to remove them in order to hasten a patient's death, however, would be a form of euthanasia, which is gravely wrong.

"I applaud the February 28 statement of the Catholic bishops of Florida, applying this teaching to the Schiavo case. The bishops reiterated their plea that Terri Schindler Schiavo 'continue to receive all treatments and care that will be of benefit to her.' I join with them in praying that those who hold power over Terri Schindler Schiavo's fate will see that she 'continues to receive nourishment, comfort and loving care."

http://www.usnewswire.com/

The Race to Save Terri Schiavo
By David Brody
Congressional Correspondent

http://www.the700club.org/cbnnews/news/050309b.asp

CBN.com – (CBN News) - Two Florida lawmakers have introduced a bill that could save the life of Terri Schiavo.

Schiavo suffered a severe brain injury in 1990. A court has ordered her feeding tubes to be removed on March 18th.

Terri Schiavo's life may end in just a few weeks. If doctors do indeed pull her feeding tubes, as a court has ordered, then it will be just a matter of days after that before she will die. She will basically starve to death. It may take an act of Congress to save her, literally.

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) is a congressman and a doctor, too. He is convinced that Schiavo is not in a vegetative state, as the media is reporting.

Rep. Weldon said, "I took care of a lot patients like this. She is brain-damaged. She is not in a vegetative state."

So in trying to save Schiavo, Rep. Weldon has come up with a bill that allows her, and others like her, the right to a lawyer when there is a family disagreement. He is introducing it in the House, and Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) is introducing it in the Senate.

The bill's guarantee to a lawyer is a due process right guaranteed under the Constitution. Rep. Weldon says death row inmates have these rights, so why not Schiavo? Then, with a lawyer in hand, Terri would get another hearing and a chance at a court reversal.

Rep. Weldon said, "That's my goal. My hope is that it will be taken to federal court with her own attorney and a complete review of the facts, and then a determination will be made that she's not in a vegetative state."

On Capitol Hill, Schiavo's brother and sister, Bobby and Suzanne, have come here to push for Rep. Weldon's bill. The family has tried their best to lobby Democrats and Republicans.

Terri’s brother, Bobby Schindler, said, "We’re going around telling them that Terri is not in a coma - she interacts. She's very responsive, and she can be helped. And when we tell these things to even the senators, they look at you, and they were unaware of Terri's condition."

So as it stands now, leaders in both the Senate and House may try to rush this bill through, though there are no guarantees.