Attorney Who Aided Terri Schiavo’s Husband Now Advising Barack Obama

Life News ^ | 12/7/08 | Steven Ertelt

[wagglebee]

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- An attorney who won an award for representing Terri Schiavo’s husband Michael in his efforts to kill his disabled wife is now an advisor to the transition team of incoming president Barack Obama.

Thomas Perrelli, who raised over $500,000 for the pro-abortion presidential candidate and is the managing partner of a Washington law firm, Jenner & Block LLP, is helping advise Obama on putting together a Justice Department team.

However, Perrelli provided Michael Schiavo with legal advice during his response to the Congressional bill that President Bush signed allowing the Schindler fail to take their lawsuit seeking to prevent Terri’s euthanasia death from state to federal courts.

Perrelli led the Jenner & Block team that developed the legal briefs opposing appeals for Michael and he ultimately received the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award in October 2006 for representing Terri’s former husband at no cost.

On Michael’s legal team, Perrelli worked with infamous pro-euthanasia attorney George Felos as well as lawyers from the Florida chapter of the ACLU.

Obama’s selection of Perrelli to participate on his Justice Department transition team is no surprise given his comments on Terri’s painful 13-day starvation and dehydration death during the presidential campaign.

During his debate with Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary, Obama said his biggest mistake was voting with a unanimous Senate to help save Terri.

In March 2005, just weeks before Terri died, Congress approved legislation allowing her family to take its case from state courts to federal courts in an effort to stop the euthanasia from proceeding.

Terri was not on any artificial breathing apparatus and only required a feeding tube to eat and drink. Her family had filed a lawsuit against her former husband to allow them to care for her and give her proper medical and rehabilitative care.

The Senate unanimously approved a compromise bill, which the House eventually supported on a lopsided bipartisan vote and President Bush signed, to help the disabled woman.

Obama said he should have stood up against the life-saving legislation.

“It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped,” Obama said.

“And I think that was a mistake, and I think the American people understood that that was a mistake. And as a constitutional law professor, I knew better,” he added.

That wasn't the first time Obama said he regretted supporting the bill to protect the disabled woman.

During an April 2007 debate, Obama said, "I think professionally the biggest mistake that I made was when I first arrived in the Senate. There was a debate about Terri Schiavo, and a lot of us, including me, left the Senate with a bill that allowed Congress to intrude where it shouldn't have.”

"And I think I should have stayed in the Senate and fought more for making sure [Terri's parents couldn't take their case to federal court to save her life]," he explained.

Since Terri’s death, the Schindler family has established a foundation to help disabled and elderly patients obtain proper medical care and legal and other assistance when they are denied it.

Related web sites:
Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation - http://www.terrisfight.org

[wagglebee]

It certainly came as a shock to me!

[BykrBayb]

 

 

Sister Abby

By Michelle A., Phoenix, A

Abby is my older sister by a year and seven months. Mom would dress us up like twins when we were babies. In pictures, you’ll often see us wearing matching outfits with our hair in pigtails; we were adorable. Abby was the quiet one, while I was usually ­getting caught in mischief. Abby sat and watched TV while I would filch my sister’s pacifier and replace it with my own. I found this entertaining, and she never argued with me about it.

 

In fact, Abby never complained to me about anything. Every morning when I was in kindergarten, I would sing her a song that I learned at school. She never sang with me, just laughed and smiled. Abby was my buddy, my best friend and sister; I never saw anything different about her, not the fact that she wasn’t audible or sat in a wheelchair, or had tubes and wires always attached to her, or the fact that she was born handicapped.

 

When Abby was born my mother went into labor eight weeks early. Abby was diagnosed with a birth defect called VATER syndrome, which prevents normal development of the fetus. A few of the defects in Abby’s case were that her esophagus did not connect to her stomach, there was a hole between the wall connecting the trachea and esophagus, and her lungs were not developed because she was premature. Doctors put in a feeding tube. In the first couple years of her life, Abby would go through many surgeries, hospital visits, and adjustments.

 

For her first two years, Abby spent the major­ity of her time in the ICU. When I was born she was a year and a half old, and she finally came home when I was six weeks old. Eventually, my sister began to spend more time at home than in the hospital. Many doctors and nurses believed she would not make it past the age of two, but my parents were determined to prove them wrong and ­continued to hope and pray. After much heartache, stress, and medical intervention, Abby would shock everyone.

 

Today, Abby is 18 – happy and healthy. She hasn’t been in the hospital for eight years, which is a miracle. Though she is currently on full life support, ventilator, oxygen, and a feeding tube, it has never stopped her from having fun. Abby has always gone on family vacations – to the beach and the Grand Canyon – and school field trips. While Mom is at work, she has nurses to take care of her. Abby is always surrounded by family and loves to go with us to the movies or shopping. She specially loves when we play ­music, or when I talk to her. Growing up with Abby has taught me much and greatly impacted my life. Because of her, I have a bigger heart for handicapped and physically disabled children.

 

Though I have grown to be taller than she, we still share clothes. She’s always been my big sister whom I can talk to, and even though she doesn’t talk back, she loves it when I tell her about my life and what’s going on. Because of her, I’ve always had a best friend.

 

I’ve learned to get accustomed to the stares we receive when we’re out in public. Though everybody else might see my sister as different, I don’t; I see it as a gift and a blessing to have her in my life. Because of her, I know that good things come to those who wait and to never give up. Abby went through a myriad of challenges and survived them all. My sister is my hero.

 

 

 

 

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[wagglebee]

This is beyond despicable!

Thread by NoGrayZone.

Medics Caught on Tape Allegedly Decided Disabled Man Not Worth Saving

Two EMT workers in Britain were arrested after they were heard allegedly discussing whether they should bother to resuscitate a disabled man who had collapsed at home and subsequently died.

Barry Baker, 59, who lived alone, dialed 911 saying that he thought he was having a heart attack. An ambulance was sent to his house while a controller kept him talking on the line...

[wagglebee]

Unfortunately, threats without subsequent action are meaningless.

Thread by Salvation.

Cardinal George Warns Catholic Members of Congress About FOCA

Cardinal George has warned Catholic members of Congress that voting for the Freedom of Choice Act may result in excommunication.

Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, who is president of the USCCB, did not say politicians supporting FOCA would necessarily result in excommunication -- he said it would depend on whether the cooperation with evil was "material" or "formal."

...

[wagglebee]

Merck is no longer even pretending to respect life.

Thread by Sun.

Merck Focusing on Combination Vaccine (Attn: doctors, parents, no moral alternatives)

Note: Merck's separate dose for rubella, Meruvax, uses aborted fetal cell lines and taints the entire MMR II vaccine. The separate doses of Attenuvax (measles) and Mumpsvax (mumps) use chick embryo. Without these separate doses for measles and mumps, there will be no moral alternative for parents! See contact information for Merck below...

[wagglebee]

What else should we expect from someone who considers a baby to be a "punishment"?

Thread by me.

Safe, Legal and Rare? Abortion Advocates And Obama Want Unsafe and Frequent

The common mantra of pro-choice politicians is that they do not favor abortion. Quite the contrary, they want abortion to be “safe, legal, and rare.” Pro-choicers generally hold to this position; thus, as they are quick to note, they are not “pro-abortion” but “pro-choice.”

I've personally tried to respect that formulation, and typically refrain from referring to pro-choicers as “pro-abortion.” That being the case, the latest actions by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice are deeply troubling, as are the promises of the incoming president, both of which go hand-in-hand. Let me explain...

[wagglebee]

The culture of death exists to find "reasons" to kill anyone they consider "inferior."

Thread by me.

New Study Further Disproves Freakonomics Abortion-Crime Reduction Theory

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new study offer more reasons for doubting the Freakonomics theory put forward by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt that claims legalizing abortion reduced crime. The study shows a large rise in homicides by black teens in recent years even though black women have the highest abortion rate.

Respected criminologist James Alan Fox of Northeastern University has released a new study showing homicides by blacks between the ages of 14 and 17 have jumped 34 percent from 2000 through 2007...

[wagglebee]

I NEVER imagined the day would come that people would even have to wonder whether their doctors and hospitals wanted them alive or dead.

Thread by me.

Washington Group Building Assisted Suicide Free Zones With Doctors, Hospitals

Olympia, WA (LifeNews.com) -- One of the leading groups that tried to defeat the November ballot proposal voters approved to make the state the second to legalize assisted suicide is no trying to counteract the measure. The Coalition Against Assisted Suicide is working with hospitals and doctors to create assisted suicide free zones.

Katie Martin of CAAS tells LifeNews.com that she is hearing from Washington citizens who want to patronize doctors and medical centers committed to refusing to be involved in assisted suicides.

"We have received calls from across the state from Washington residents concerned about their hospitals, care facilities or doctors participating in assisted suicide," she said.

"Senior citizens, people with disabilities and caregivers have contacted us to ask how to make sure the facilities in their communities remain safe harbors, 'assisted suicide-free zones,'" Martin elaborated...

[Sun]

“Merck is no longer even pretending to respect life.”

For sure. Merck wants to force people to take immoral vaccines. Sounds demonic to me.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[editor-surveyor]

I’m shocked to hear that O’bummer is aligned with the Death culture, shocked!

[floriduh voter]

Suicide Free Zones: How will they screen for infiltrators? The pro-deathers would thrill at the chance to sneak into a suicide free zone. If they don’t screen, there will be moles.

[wagglebee]

EternalVigilance has posted a very worthwhile and well-written pledge.

The Personhood Imperative Proclamation and Pledge

A Proclamation and Pledge of Non-Cooperation with, and Perpetual Resistance to, the enablers and practitioners of abortion and euthanasia

Whereas, more than three thousand innocent pre-born American children continue to be unlawfully and unconstitutionally killed every day, by cruel and unusual means, and that the evil practice of euthanasia against the elderly and the infirm grows daily, the undersigned citizens of these United States do hereby, in accordance with America’s founding principles, declare that:

“Every human being, without exception, unborn and born, from the very first moment of fertilization, the beginning of biological development, until natural death, existing within any State or Territory of the United States, in accordance with natural rights that preceded, and are preeminent to, the formation and existence of our government, are fully Persons, with the self-evident and attendant God-given, unalienable Right to Life that is possessed by all citizens of the United States; and shall henceforth, and forever, be protected in their Lives and in their Persons under the self-evident principles contained in the Organic Law of the United States: the provisions of the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, which binds all state governments to enforce the unalienable rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the United States Constitution, the specific provisions of the Fifth, the Eighth, the Ninth, and the Fourteenth Amendments to that document, and in the clear provisions of the constitutions of all fifty States in the Union.

“Commencing on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand and nine, we hereby call upon the Executive Branch of the United States Government, including the law enforcement and military authority thereof, upon the Congress of the United States, and upon all members of the Judiciary of the United States; as well as the executive, legislative, judicial, and law enforcement authorities of all member States and Territories of the United States; to give due regard to the imperative duty created by their sworn oaths made before God, and to therefore recognize and actively protect the unalienable Right to Life of all such Persons, and to do no act or acts to repress such Persons, or to allow or effectuate the taking of any human life; the only exceptions being in the conduct of lawful and just war, justifiable homicide, or after trial and conviction by a jury on a capital offense as explicitly provided for in laws ratified by the elected representatives of the People or by the People themselves.

“The undersigned citizens hereby call upon the President of the United States, and the chief executives of the several States and local jurisdictions, to give due regard to the imperative duty created by their sworn oaths made before God, and so to, by proclamation or executive order, declare the Humanity of the aforesaid Persons, from fertilization until natural death; and to henceforth use the power and authority of their offices in the perpetual task of protecting the God-given, unalienable Right to Life of said Persons, and to use all the power of their offices to enforce the constitutional guarantee of their right to the equal protection of the laws.

“The undersigned citizens hereby call upon the Congress of the United States, the Legislatures of all the States, and the legislative bodies of all local, municipal and county governments, to give due regard to the imperative duty created by their sworn oaths made before God, and so to, by legislation, declare the Humanity of the aforesaid Persons, from fertilization until natural death; and to henceforth use all legislative power to resist those who would alienate the God-given, unalienable Right to Life of said Persons, and the constitutional guarantee of their right to the equal protection of the laws...

[wagglebee]

2009 will certainly be a pivotal year in the pro-life movement.

Thread by tcg.

Editorial: 2009, A Year for Life, Marriage and Freedom

We have begun a New Year. These first days are a time for reflection and resolution. I have noted a deep depression in the ranks of some committed to the great human rights struggle of our age, the struggle to defend and protect the first right, the right to life from conception to natural death. Similarly, I have noted weariness among those committed to defending true marriage - and the family founded upon it - against the new cultural revolutionaries who seek to compel society to grant a legal equivalency between homosexual partnerships and marriage and enforce their new order with the Police Power of the State...

[wagglebee]

Big Murder will turn on their own to protect their agenda.

Thread by me.

Abortion Facility Workers Who Hide Statutory Rape Could be Legally Liable

Indianapolis, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Staff at three Planned Parenthood abortion centers in two states in recent weeks have been exposed covering up cases of statutory rape. While two of the workers are no longer with the abortion business, one pro-life advocate says they could be held legally liable for their actions...

[wagglebee]

There are millions of post-abortive women in California, hopefully this will catch the attention of some of them.

Thread by me.

Walk for Life West Coast Launches Post-Abortion Billboard, Pro-Life March Coming

San Francisco, CA (LifeNews.com) -- The Walk for Life West Coast has grown since its inception and more than 25,000 people took part in the pro-life witness in one of the most pro-abortion cities in the nation. In preparation for the next walk on January 24, the group has sponsored a new billboard.

The sign, advertising the Walk for Life West Coast's signature slogan "Abortion Hurts Women" is now displayed near the approach to one of the most traveled bridges in the U.S.

The 20' x 60' billboard is easily visible to the more than 100,000 cars driving the freeway daily on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge approach.

It includes a phone number for a post-abortion helpline, which is staffed by women who have themselves experienced abortion.

Walk for Life co-chair Eva Muntean talked with LifeNews.com about the billboard, which went up on December 31, and the upcoming walk.

"San Francisco is a beautiful city but there is a lot of sadness beneath the surface--until recently we had more abortions than live births, and a high percentage of our population has experienced abortion," she said.

"We need to reach those women (and men) who are hurting, and this seemed like the most effective method," Muntean added...

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[wagglebee]

Fr. Neuhaus (who is also ill and in need of our prayers) has an excellent commentary comparing the pro-life movement to the radical movements of the 1960s.

Thread by me.

Father Richard John Neuhaus: The Pro-Life Movement as the Politics of the 1960s

Whatever else it is, the pro-life movement of the last thirty-plus years is one of the most massive and sustained expressions of citizen participation in the history of the United States. Since the 1960s, citizen participation and the remoralizing of politics have been central goals of the left. Is it not odd, then, that the pro-life movement is viewed as a right-wing cause? Reinhold Niebuhr wrote about “the irony of American history” and, were he around to update his book of that title, I expect he might recognize this as one of the major ironies within the irony...

[wagglebee]

The Wall Street Journal has a wonderful piece on how the Kennedys and others made the shift from pro-life to pro-death for political expediency.

Thread by me.

How Support for Abortion Became Kennedy Dogma

For faithful Roman Catholics, the thought of yet another pro-choice Kennedy positioned to campaign for the unlimited right to abortion is discouraging. Yet if Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of Catholics John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton, abortion-rights advocates will have just such a champion...