Posted on 02/27/2009 5:47:09 AM PST by BykrBayb
DOCUMENTARY REVEALS NEW DETAILS IN TERRI SCHIAVO CASE
By Gina Adams
Story Published: Feb 25, 2009 at 5:31 PM CST
Story Updated: Feb 25, 2009 at 5:34 PM CST
The story of Terri Schiavo caused a nationwide uproar that garnered the attention of the worldwide media, the U.S. Congress, and even the office of the President of the United States.
The ethical and cultural implications of her case are still being felt throughout society and continue to spark debate.
In the newly-released documentary, The Terri Schiavo Story (Franklin Springs Family Media), previously unexplored facts of the case are revealed through in-depth interviews with participants on both sides of the issue.
Hosted by author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada, who became personally involved in the case in 2005, The Terri Schiavo Story sheds new light on the controversial decision that led to the death of a 41-year-old disabled woman.
In 1990, at the age of 26, Terri Schindler Schiavo suffered a mysterious cardio-respiratory arrest for which no cause has ever been determined.
She was diagnosed with hypoxic encephalopathy - a neurological injury caused by lack of oxygen to the brain. Terri was placed on a ventilator, but was soon able to breathe on her own and maintain vital function.
She remained in a severely compromised neurological state and was provided a PEG tube to ensure the safe delivery of nourishment and hydration.
On March 31, 2005, Terri Schindler Schiavo died of marked dehydration following more than 13 days without nutrition or hydration under the order of Circuit Court Judge, George W. Greer of the Pinellas-Pasco's Sixth Judicial Court.
Veteran producer and director Ken Carpenter felt the story deserved to be re-told, but he did not anticipate the amount of new information that would come to light.
"Working on this project made clear to me that we need to keep Terri's story alive. Our children need to know the lines were drawn when our government and court system let Terri die. Knowing the full story - not just what we heard in the media - equips us to address new challenges to our faith."
Joni Eareckson Tada, herself disabled after a diving accident which left her a quadriplegic in a wheelchair and unable to use her hands, says what happened to Terri continues to affect disabled citizens.
"The story remains relevant because there are countless people like Terri Schiavo whose lives are in grave danger because of unclear custody and guardianship laws," says Tada. "Plus, more states (under futile care policy directives) are quietly removing the feeding tubes from brain-injured people when families abandon their responsibilities. Feeding tubes are providing basic care, not medical treatment."
Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, was interviewed at length in the documentary and is now involved in helping families in similar circumstances through The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation.
Schindler believes the truth about his sister's death has been distorted and hidden - until now.
"Our hope is that people will learn the truth about what happened to Terri," says Schindler, "and realize the atrocity that it was and that anyone who claims that her death was 'peaceful' and 'painless' is lying. It is because of the truly inhumane nature of death by dehydration that when people are killed this way it is always done behind closed doors in the strictest secrecy. I wholeheartedly believe that if the public had been allowed to witness Terri's suffering first hand, the outcry would have deafened Florida and the world."
Tada was on the front lines with Terri's family in 2005, helping lead the protests that eventually landed in the halls of the U.S. Congress. "I hope that people understand that Terri Schiavo's story is really our story," says Tada.
"We have a special obligation to protect the weak and vulnerable in our society. We have a responsibility to uphold their human dignity -- because we are of equal dignity, we are not at each other's disposal. The weak and the vulnerable need their rights safeguarded and protected... we must not allow them to become eroded. For when we do, we are jeopardizing the rights of us all."
Originally produced as an episode for the Joni & Friends television series, Franklin Springs Family Media felt the story was compelling enough to produce as a stand-alone project.
Their decision was recently justified when The Terri Schiavo Story won the Jubliee Award for Best Documentary at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.
Franklin Springs Family Media founder Ken Carpenter believes the documentary should be seen by every church and organization that cares about policies related to the disabled and pro-life issues.
"I hope this film helps us see that our understanding of complex situations such as Terri's should not be rooted in popular opinion, but in biblical standards."
Carpenter took home the Dove Award for Long Form Video in 2007 for Amy Grant's Time Again, and in 2006 for Mark Schultz' A Night of Story and Songs.
Carpenter also recently produced and directed the latest John Tesh television special - John Tesh Alive.
Through his Franklin Films production company, Carpenter has produced projects for many of the leading names in Christian entertainment and ministry, including Michael W. Smith, Compassion International, Steven Curtis Chapman, The Gideons, Jeremy Camp, eHarmony, dcTalk, Integrity Publishers, Mercy Me, Big Idea Productions, Casting Crowns, and many others.
Carpenter launched Franklin Springs Family Media in 2005.
For more information and to view a trailer for the new documentary, click here: www.TheSchiavoStory.com.
For more information on Franklin Springs Family Media,visit: www.FranklinSprings.com.
For more information on The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, visit: www.TerrisFight.org.
For more information on Joni Eareckson Tada, visit: www.JoniandFriends.org.
BUMP
Great job on the thread, thanks so much!
It was an honor.
WB
| Four Years Ago Today, March 29, 2005 |
Thread by GonzoII.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — During the last days of Terri Schiavo’s life, her family and supporters feverishly tried to prevent her from being starved and dehydrated to death.
The brain-damaged Florida woman was the subject of a bitter battle between her husband, who pushed to end her life, and her family, who wished to care for her. Her family’s efforts to save her ultimately proved futile: She died on March 31, 2005.
Four years after her death, Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life and Father Thomas Euteneuer of Human Life International will concelebrate a Mass at Ave Maria University in Florida in her memory. It is part of the second annual “Terri’s Day,” also known as the International Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Terri Schindler Schiavo and All Our Vulnerable Brothers and Sisters.
The day was established by the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation and Priests for Life.
“This issue did not die with my sister, Terri,” said Bobby Schindler, director of the foundation. “There are tens of thousands of people in similar conditions who are in jeopardy of being killed like her in our country and worldwide.”
Indeed, a high-profile case in Italy was compared to the Schindler family’s plight of four years ago. Beppino Englaro, the father of Eluana Englaro, a 38-year-old Italian woman who was in a persistent vegetative state for years, fought to remove her feeding tube to cause her death. The resulting legal battle culminated with Italy’s top court late last year awarding Englaro the right to disconnect his daughter from life support. Among those protesting was the Church.
Eluana lost her life Feb. 9.
During the debate, Italians checked out the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation website.
“It tracks people from all over the world, and, other than America, Italy was getting the most hits,” Bobby Schindler said.
He said several Canadians supported Terri’s Day last year, and he expected the same this year.
“There are some people up there that I’ve been in contact with, and I know they will be doing some things” on March 31, he said.
The Church’s teaching on the matter is clear. According to the Catechism, “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable” (No. 2277).
Wesley Smith, a senior fellow in human rights and bioethics at the Discovery Institute, said the Schiavo case made many people aware for the first time that people could be legally dehydrated to death if they had a severe cognitive disability. After Terri’s death, he said, “Due to many factors, particularly media bias, [there] has been a general shrugging of the shoulders, with more people now willing to countenance doing to a vulnerable human what would cause utter and justified outrage if it were done to a dog.”
. . .
Edinburgh, Scotland (LifeNews.com) -- Scotland MSP Margo MacDonald has narrowed her bill that would legalize assisted suicide, but the measure still targets the disabled. MacDonald is hoping to get a private member's bill introduced at Holyrood this year, and she has narrowed the scope of the bill to attract more support.
The Scottish Parliament, the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, has not been receptive to the legislation thus far.
MacDonald originally had only four members of the parliament behind her effort.
To get more MSPs on her side, she modified her bill to only allow assisted suicides for three specific categories of people. That includes those with a progressive, degenerative conditions; people who have suffered a trauma such as accidents or injuries and that left them dependent on others for care; and people with terminal illness. . .
______________________________________________________________
Quoting Deliverance, the newsletter of Dr Nitschke's organisation, Exit International, The Observer said the kits, which have chemicals that change colour when mixed with lethal barbiturates, would be released in May. . .
______________________________________________________________
So, now that we know that many people thought to be unconscious--are actually awake and aware--some might think that would cause bioethicists to step back from the dehydration agenda. As I have long predicted, not on a bet! An article published in the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy by Oxford bioethicists Guy Kahane and the always crassly utilitarian Julian Saveulescu, makes it clear that demonstrable awareness should be no bar to ending the lives of these disabled patients. . .
"We will not be silent.
We are your bad conscience.
The White Rose will give you no rest."
This is horrible.
(So, Jeb told Jesse he was going to let her die after they met).
Jackson got the truth out of Jeb anyway and came bk to hospice with nothing but his pimped up ride - empty handed.
Fifteen Patients Die as Earth Hour Kills Life Support in HospitalBy Brian Briggs
San Francisco, CA – Fifteen patients on life support and in surgery died at San Francisco General Hospital when power was cut for "Earth hour" on Saturday.
The hospital was pleased with their participation in the worldwide celebration of the planet. "We asked all the patients and their families if they were all right with us cutting the power. To a person, they all said as stewards of this planet it was their duty to observe Earth Hour. They knew the risks and were willing to take it," said hospital administrator Lawrence Cho.
Cho said that it was a net gain for planet Earth, despite the deaths. "The dead patients will no longer use any energy, and actually will be turned into energy in our patient incinerator," said hospital administrator Lawrence Cho.
As power was cut in the critical care ward some patients screamed in pain, others died calmly in their sleep. Cho said that most of the medical equipment has battery-powered back up systems, but those were disabled, because hospital officials felt that violated the spirit of Earth Hour.
Heart surgeon Dr. Gregory Morris was doing an open-heart procedure when the lights went out. "I wasn't sure what I was cutting into. Turns out it wasn't his heart, but his bowels. Unfortunately, Mr. Simms didn't make it."
Marla Tompkins, surviving sister of cancer patient Warren Tompkins, said, "Warren struggled for breath as his ventilator was powered down. I thought he might make it, but with three minutes left before power was to be turned back on, he expired. It was tragic, but kept me on the edge of the seat the whole time."
Cho hopes other hospitals learn from the example of San Francisco General and participate in next year's Earth Hour.
Today was Day 13 of Judge George W. Greer's (pictured below) court ordered slow death by starvation and dehydration of Terri Schindler Schiavo. Over the next two weeks we will post stories of the events that occurred on each of those days. We offer this not only in respect for Terri's memory, but a reminder that in this moment countless people are suffering slow, agonizing deaths in hospice, nursing homes, and hospitals in America and around the world.
-----------------------------
The Culture of Death Advances
From March 30, 2005 (WorldNetDaily)
By Pat J. Buchhanan
On Good Friday, as Terri Schiavo lay dying of thirst in Woodside Hospice, Gabriel Keys took her a cup of water. Gabriel was arrested, handcuffed and taken away.
Apparently, no one taught Gabriel that you do not disobey a judge's order, even to bring water to someone dying of thirst. As he is 10 years old, he is probably not yet conversant with the new morality, where a corporal work of mercy can be a crime. Perhaps his parents filled his mind with such subversive texts as, "Whoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones, a cup of cold water" shall not lose eternal life.
(continue reading . . .)
Thread by Steelfish.
A doctor molested three pregnant women as they were undergoing terminations at a Marie Stopes family planning clinic, a court heard today.
Dr Narendra Sharma, 51, stunned colleagues when he began using the women's hands to carry out sexual acts upon himself as they lay semi-conscious under anaesthetic, it was claimed.
One nurse reacted with 'shock, horror and utter disbelief' when she spotted anaesthetist Sharma exposing himself after holding one patient's hand and noticing 'up and down movements,' a jury was told.
The incidents occurred over an 11-day period during termination procedures at the Manchester branch of the worldwide charitable organisation which helps protect young mothers from back street abortions.
The women aged between 18 and 22 were under a 'partial' anaesthetic. They were not under a full general anaesthic but were unaware of their surroundings. . .
Thread by me.
NEW YORK, March 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The bishop recently appointed to head up the archdiocese of New York - one of the most influential positions in the U.S. Catholic Church - said in an interview yesterday that Notre Dame "made a big mistake" by inviting President Obama to receive an honorary degree and give the commencement address at the school on May 17.
"They made a big mistake ... in an issue that is very close to the heart of Catholic world view, namely, the protection of innocent life in the womb, [Obama] has unfortunately taken a position very much at odds with the Church," Archbishop Timothy Dolan told host Charlie Sykes on the "Sunday Insight" program of Milwaukee station TMJ4.
Dolan is the fifth bishop to condemn the university's decision since the March 20 announcement that Obama had accepted the invitation, and announcement sparked a wave of protest from the American Catholic community. . .
Knowing how people in FL are, George W. Greer may be the one “Republican” who can hold the Senate seat being vacated by the popular Mel Martinez.
I’m afraid we can pray until we are blue in the face, but the women of America will still rush to their nearest abortuary to keep themselves free of the unwanted ones.
Lord, may your perfect justice prevail in order to prevent
this travesty!
Thanks for the ping!
| Four Years Ago Today, Terri Schiavo Dies After Almost Two Weeks Without Food or Water |
I frequently see reference to “state sanctioned murder.” That needs to be corrected. The state didn’t merely sanction her murder. It ordered her murder. Judge Greer didn’t give anyone permission to kill Terri Schiavo. He issued a court order demanding that she be hung by the neck until dead. No wait, that wasn’t the method of execution. But I digress. The point is, it wasn’t a state sanctioned murder. It was a state ordered murder.
Þ
You are absolutely correct!
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