Brother of Terri Schiavo to speak

BY JOE RODRIGUEZ

The Wichita Eagle

Bobby Schindler says he can't even begin to describe what it was like seeing his sister, Terri Schiavo, die.

For the last 13 days of her life, when her feeding tube was removed, Schindler said his older sister suffered from dehydration and hunger. In March, a court had ordered the removal of her feeding tube.

Since then, "it's just been a day-at-a-time process," he said in a recent phone interview.

"It's been extremely difficult to come to terms with the manner in which my sister was killed."

Schindler will be in Wichita on Friday to share some of his family's experiences when they were the focus of national and international media and offer his views on other related topics.

He will be the featured speaker on the opening night of the Midwest Catholic Family Conference, which runs through Aug. 7 at Century II Convention Hall.

Friday's event begins at 5:30 p.m. with Stations of the Cross, a welcome by Bishop Michael Jackels and comments from the conference directors. A "Concert of Hope" begins at 6:45, and Schindler is scheduled to speak at 8:45 on "We Must Obey God Rather Than Men."

"It's very important to speak about what happened to my sister," he said.

Schindler said he and his family get frequent requests to speak. He plans to cover several topics related to his sister's death, including examining the laws that allowed the removal of her feeding tube.

"What we like to speak about, what we found was how relatively easy it is to walk into a courtroom, petition the courts to remove the feeding tube to people like my sister," he said.

Schiavo had relied on a feeding tube for 15 years. On March 18, at the request of her husband, Michael, a court ordered the removal of the tube. She died March 31.

Results of the autopsy on Schiavo were released last month and showed that she had suffered from severe and irreversible brain damage.

The report generally supported the contention of Schiavo's husband -- also accepted by judges in six courts over the years that her case was appealed -- that she was unaware and incapable of recovering.

Schindler criticized how some people referred to the autopsy results as a way "to vindicate the killing of my sister."

"To my family, it didn't matter how much brain damage she had, we wanted to care for her the way she was," he said. "Yet, it seems to be in our society, more and more these days, that it's turning into a 'quality of life' issue."

As a result of his sister's story, many people began talking about such issues as living wills and the use of life-sustaining measures.

But Schindler is concerned that, with such issues, people may be "signing their lives away."

He said people ask him whether he would choose to live in a state such as his sister's.

"Nobody would choose to live that way," he said. "But that doesn't give society the right to starve these people to death."

Coming Soon!

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http://www.trafford.com/4dcgi/robots/05-1041.html

The first expose and sourcebook on the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case! Discover the true facts behind the most significant legal battle over constitutional rights of the disabled in history. Read the actual documents. Discover the dangers all Americans face with Terri's death!

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Theresa Marie Schindler
December 3, 1963 ~ March 31, 2005
Light a candle For Terri at her online Memorial Website
Memory-of.com - Memorial website in memory of Theresa Schindler (1963-2005)
http://theresa-schindler.memory-of.com/about.aspx

Visit: www.fight4terri.blogspot.com

Cheryl Ford, RN (Fight4Terri@aol.com) is not affiliated with any other group and works to protect the rights of the disabled community.