Michael Schiavo Threatens to Sue Schindler Family Over Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation

Despicable, hateful, vindictive excuse for a man:

St. Petersburg, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Terri Schiavo's name could be back in court, but this time for a different reason. Her former husband says he is considering a lawsuit against her family because they started a foundation in her name to assist other disabled who may be deprived of their legal rights and medical care.

The foundation was once named Terri's Fight and existed before Terri's death, which saw Michael Schiavo starve and dehydrate her to death over 13 days after winning a court order to take her life.

The Schindler family -- Terri's mother and father and brother and sister -- headed up the foundation to defray legal expenses and costs to provide Terri the rehabilitative treatment and medical care Michael deprived her when he gave up on her recovery.

Following Terri's painful euthanasia death, the Schindler family change the name to the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation and it has raised a modest amount of money -- less than six figures -- to provide help and support for disabled people like her.
But, Michael, who said he never wanted anyone to profit from the use of Terri's name, claims the helpful nonprofit organization is doing just that.

Michael says a court document gives him rights to the name Terri Schiavo and he says it means no one can use her name without her permission. His attorney has written to the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation telling it that its use of the name violates that court order.

Schiavo's attacks are ironic given that he attempted to profit politically from Terri's death, by starting a political action committee that supported candidates until it closed down after the FEC repeatedly fined it for late reports and violating reporting guidelines.

David Gibbs, a pro-life attorney who helped the Schindler family during their legal battle to protect Terri's right to live, told WTSP that the Schindler's are doing a good job running the nonprofit and helping hundreds of people.

Gibbs also says the foundation has the right to use Terri's name since she is a public figure and they are related to her.

Wesley J. Smith, an attorney and bioethicist based in California, says what Michael Schiavo “believes” is "irrelevant and beside the point."

"Had the reporters wanted to find out the kind of help the foundation offers others, producers could have called me or a myriad of others active in this field, who are quite aware of the selfless giving and effort each surviving member of Terri’s family offers to others," he said. "Indeed, I have personal knowledge of case after case in which the Schindlers worked selflessly–and without financial compensation of any kind–to assist family members save their cognitively disabled loved ones from suffering the same dehydration fate as Terri."

Smith says neither Terri's brother Bobby Schindler nor her sister Suzanne Vitadamo are making any money off of Terri's name.

"And as for profiteering–Bobby Schindler’s salary is $37,500 annually, and all speaking fees he receives go to the foundation," he explained. "His sister Suzanne, makes less and is 14 months in arrears in receiving her compensation."

"It is also worth noting, that after receiving complaints, the IRS investigated the foundation and gave it a clean bill of health in 2008," Smith continued. "The hatred of this family is pathological and obsessive."

Smith says the Schindler family is a wonderful one who have been unfairly attacked.

"Father Bob gave everything he had to save his daughter’s life, and seeing her die slowly by intentional dehydration when the family was prepared to love and care for her the rest of her life, destroyed his health and eventually took his life," he said. "I stand wholeheartedly and unreservedly with the Schindler family and against the continual calumny mounted against them."

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

Dude, you've already put their daughter and sister to death (albeit with the sanction of Florida judge). Leave them the hell alone.

5 Years Ago Today: Terri Schindler Died at the Colluding Hands of a Faithless Husband and a Florida Judge

My blog posts from that day:

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo, Rest In Peace

What Has Our Country Done Unto "The Least of These"?

National Catholic Register: "Once You Say That Some People Don’t Have a Right to Life, Where Do You Stop?"

The editors of National Catholic Register write in the August 24-30 issue:

... Is it shocking that a man who refuses to protect infants born alive is seriously contending for the presidency? It shouldn’t be. Not in a world where we say we support people’s decision to kill or keep their own kids — whichever they decide.

The only acceptable plank for an American political party should be one that reiterates what the Declaration of Independence says. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Barack Obama started out deciding that unborn children didn’t have the right to life, and it wasn’t long before he added “accidental” newborns to his list. Next came the unwanted wife, Terri Schiavo. The Senate tried to save her when a court allowed her husband to starve her to death in the hospital. Obama called the Senate’s attempt a mistake.

Once you say that some people don’t have a right to life, where do you stop?

Terri Schiavo Passed Away 3 Years Ago Today

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo was born into eternal life 3 years ago today, after being dehydrated to death by her husband and a Florida judge, and after the passage of Congressional legislation to come to her aid (a vote a certain presidential candidate called "my greatest mistake") went unheeded.

My posts from that day are linked below.

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo, Rest In Peace

What Has Our Country Done Unto "The Least of These"?

For full coverage of this tragic anniversary, be sure to read Blogs for Terri. Also, please visit the website for the Terri Schiavo Foundation. Finally, please remember that the Schindlers have written a book about Terri's life titled A Life That Matters : The Legacy of Terri Schiavo - A Lesson for Us All.

Please pray for the repose of Terri's soul and for the Schindler family on what must be a very difficult anniversary for them.




UPDATE
"Barack Obama vs. Terri Schiavo" by Nat Hentoff.

(Hat tip: Christopher at Catholics in the Public Square)

Obama Calls Vote to Help Terri Schiavo Biggest Mistake

Whether it's leaving babies who have survived an abortion attempt alone in a closet to die of exposure or starving and dehydrating a woman to death, Obama is hell-bent on proving his culture of death bona fides:

During the 20th Democratic presidential debate Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said the one vote he would take back was his 2005 U.S. Senate vote to help save the life of Terri Schiavo, a brain-injured Florida woman.

"We adjourned with a unanimous agreement that eventually allowed Congress to interject itself into that decision-making process of the families," Obama said. "It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped. And I think that was a mistake."

Schiavo was not dying nor terminally ill; she was not brain-dead nor in a coma. Yet for seven years, her husband, Michael, sought to have her feeding tube removed. Congress intervened toward the end, but it was not enough. Schiavo died March 31, 2005, after 13 days of court-ordered dehydration and starvation.

Jill Stanek, a pro-life speaker and blogger, called Obama "utterly pro-death."

"He lives in 'opposite world,' where he is an environmentalist, to the extreme, and very pro-animal," she said. "But when it comes to the sanctity of human life, he takes every stand against it, up to, and including, babies who have been aborted alive.

"His priorities are completely unintelligible."

***
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said Obama has been disingenuous.

"How can Obama reconcile his cavalier dismissal of Terri Schiavo's predicament as a 'family matter,' when he has stated he wants to appoint judges who are 'going to protect people who may be vulnerable in the political process, the outsider, the minority, those who are vulnerable, those who don't have a lot of clout'?

"Whether it's abortion or end-of-life issues," Hausknecht said, "he's been consistently anti-life."

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
"Why American Catholics are Supporting Barack Obama"

Former Head of "Catholics for a Free Choice" and So-Called "Philosopher of Abortion Movement" Says Obama A Better Choice than Hillary

Sen. Moloch H. Obama Celebrates Abortion, Warns Supreme Court Could Reverse Roe

National Catholic Register: "Religious" Democrat Barack Obama Sticks to the Abortion Line

Litmus Test: Democrat Candidates Demand Pro-Abortion Supreme Court Justices

Obama, Clinton Slam Supreme Court on Abortion Ruling

Democratic Candidates for President Give Unanimous Pro-Abortion Views

During First Debate, Democrats Back Abortion, Criticize Efforts to Save Terri Schiavo

Reaction to Court’s Abortion Ruling Falls Along Predictable Party Lines

Regular Guy Paul on Barack Obama: "Nice is Different Than Good"

Brownback, Schiavo's Brother to Campaign

Sen. Brownback to campaign in Iowa with brother of late Terri Schiavo:

Republican presidential hopeful Sam Brownback is embarking on a campaign trip with the brother of the late Terri Schiavo, whose fate touched off a political firestorm over government intervention and end-of-life issues.

The Kansas senator is less well-known than leading GOP candidates for president, but he is a favorite of anti-abortion conservatives who influence Iowa's nominating caucuses. Brownback is calling the tour "Pro-Life, Whole-Life."

He is traveling this weekend in Iowa with Bobby Schindler, Schiavo's brother, and Francis Bok, an escaped slave from Sudan.

[More]

Terri Schiavo Passed Away 2 Years Ago Today

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo was born into eternal life 2 years ago today, after being dehydrated to death by her husband and a Florida judge. My posts from that day are linked below.

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo, Rest In Peace

What Has Our Country Done Unto "The Least of These"?

For full coverage of this tragic anniversary, be sure to read Blogs for Terri. Also, please visit the website for the Terri Schiavo Foundation. Finally, please remember that the Schindlers have written a book about Terri's life titled A Life That Matters : The Legacy of Terri Schiavo - A Lesson for Us All.

Please pray for the repose of Terri's soul and for the Schindler family on what must be a very difficult anniversary for them.

Bobby Schindler, Brother of Terri Schiavo, Endorses Brownback for President

Blogs for Terri reports:

Bobby Schindler Endorses Brownback for President
Terri Schiavo's brother thanks Brownback for his efforts to protect all human life
ALEXANDRIA , Va. - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback received an endorsement today from Bobby Schindler, the brother of the late Terri Schiavo. Schiavo died nearly two years ago from starvation and dehydration after a court mandated the removal of her feeding tube, sparking a nationwide bipartisan effort to save her life.

"My family will never forget Sam Brownback's valiant efforts to save my sister's life," said Schindler. "Sam Brownback is the pro-life conservative we can trust to stand for all life, regardless of political calculations."

This endorsement comes one day after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stated his opposition to the efforts of Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature to save Terri from her court-ordered starvation and dehydration: "I think it's probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts," Romney said yesterday to Bay News Channel 9 in Florida.

"Mitt Romney's alleged pro-life conversion evidently does not to apply to all human life," said Schindler. "The pro-life movement needs a leader we can trust in 2008 and I know Sam Brownback is that leader."

In 2005, Brownback joined the family of Terri Schiavo to launch the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the rights of disabled, elderly, and vulnerable citizens against care-rationing, euthanasia, and medical killing.

[More]

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Romney Says Government Was Wrong in Schiavo Case (Says Congress Wrong for Trying to Save Terri)

Romney Says Government Was Wrong in Schiavo Case (Says Congress Wrong for Trying to Save Terri)

... and in the process tells pro-lifers he REALLY doesn't want their votes:

TAMPA -- He's campaigning hard for support from Republican social conservatives, but presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Saturday he disagreed with the government's intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.

"I think it's probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts," Romney said in a television interview airing today.

[More]

My Comments:
Starving and dehydrating defenseless disabled people okay with Romney. Not that I was going to vote for his flip-flopping, lying arse anyway, but this proves that he's unserious about right-to-life issues and wholly unworthy of the votes of pro-lifers.


UPDATE:
By way of contrast, here's what Sam Brownback had to say about the efforts to save Terri's life.

Terri Schiavo Passed Away 1 Year Ago Today

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo was born into eternal life 1 year ago today, after being dehydrated to death by her husband and a Florida judge. My posts from that day are linked below.

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo, Rest In Peace

What Has Our Country Done Unto "The Least of These"?

For full coverage of this tragic anniversary, be sure to read Blogs for Terri. Also, please visit the website for the Terri Schiavo Foundation. Finally, please remember that the Schindlers have written a book about Terri's life titled A Life That Matters : The Legacy of Terri Schiavo - A Lesson for Us All.

Please pray for the repose of Terri's soul and for the Schindler family on what must be a very difficult day for them.

Thoughts from the Right: Dean Plans to Politicize Schiavo

Will Bloomfield blogs about Democrat Party Chairman Howard Dean's plans to "use Terri Schiavo" against the Republicans in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

You remember Howard Dean, don't you? The guy who thinks Southern voters should be less concerned about "God, gays, and guns" and whose favorite New Testament book is Job? And this is the guy who's supposed to help the Democrats win back religious voters?

Well, by coming down on the side of the culture of death in the Terri Schiavo case, the Democrat Party will once again prove itself to be politically tone-deaf where religion and moral values are concerned.

A "LOVING WILL"

Today, I received in the mail a letter from American Life League offering a free "LOVING WILL" package.

What exactly is a LOVING WILL? According to the letter,

"The LOVING WILL provides instructions regarding your medical treatment and care when you are unable to communicate your informed consent because of illness or injury. You sign it in the presence of two witnesses and acknowledge it in the presence of a notary public."

Now, I had heard of a "living will" before, but never a "LOVING WILL". So, how is a LOVING WILL different from a "living will"?

"A 'living will' tells others to stop medical treatment in certain circumstances. Living wills more and more can have the effect of granting others unlimited authority to stop medical treatment and care, even when death is not near. This could include, for example, cutting off food and water to an unconscious patient and could lead to euthanasia -- an act or omission intended to cause death. In contrast, the LOVING WILL provides for necessary medical treatment and care, including food and water."

The letter further states:

"Unlike a 'Living Will', a LOVING WILL presumes a desire for life. [emphasis added]

The LOVING WILL is a resource American Life League developed with 9 lawyers over eleven years ago. When you sign a LOVING WILL, you will have instructed others to treat your life with respect and dignity."

In light of the Terri Schiavo incident, and to honor the wonderful witness of the late Holy Father, John Paul II, who showed us that a life of suffering is nevertheless a life worth living, I have decided to order the LOVING WILL package from American Life League. It's free, although I'll probably make a donation anyway.

If you're interested in finding out more about the LOVING WILL, you can visit American Life League's website at http://www.all.org/issues/lovingwill.htm.

Terri Schiavo, the Pope, and the "Culture of Life"

I don't generally read the dogmatically secularist New York Times, but today Brother Dominic Langevin, O.P., sent me a link to a very interesting story on the impact of the Schiavo case on American culture. In this piece, the Times focuses its attention on how politics, religion, law, and medicine (not to mention the media) all intersected in the Schiavo case to create a microcosm of the larger "culture wars":

The life and death of Terri Schiavo - intensely public, highly polarizing and played out around the clock on the Internet and television- has become a touchstone in American culture. Rarely have the forces of politics, religion and medicine collided so spectacularly, and with such potential for lasting effect.

Ms. Schiavo, the profoundly incapacitated woman whose family split over whether she would have preferred to live or die, forced Americans into a national conversation about the end of life. Her case raised questions about the role of government in private family decisions.

But her legacy may be that she brought an intense dimension - the issue of death and dying - to the battle over what President Bush calls "the culture of life."

[More]

Here's Brother Dominic's take on the Times story:

"All kinds of people are talking about the culture of life vs. the culture of death, spouting off that these are new terms (and the article even links the phrase "the culture of life" as originating with President Bush), without recognizing the fact that the Pope spoke about this 15 or so years ago in Evangelium Vitae."

It does seem ironic that, as we appear today to be approaching the end of the Holy Father's life, the major media are just now catching on to the "culture of life" vs. the "culture of death" language that the Pope first invoked over a decade ago. And the Pope's not even getting the credit for it. I admire President Bush a great deal, but "culture of life" is not his invention, and he shouldn't be the one receiving credit for it.

Similarly, the clueless-about-religion liberal media commentators have spent the last 2 days talking about how "complicated" a Church leader the Pope has been because he could be so "liberal" on issues like war, the death penalty, and human rights, but so "conservative" on issues like sex, birth control, and abortion. Last night on CNN, Aaron Brown asked Bill Donohue of the Catholic League about this apparent contradiction (Brown even referred to the Pope as a "traditionalist" on cultural and moral issues, which I'm sure caused any trads who may have been watching to spew whatever they were drinking through their nostrils).

Donohue replied along the lines that there is no inconsistency at all in the Pope's teachings on these issues once you realize that his Papacy has been one that values the life of each individual as a unique child of God. The entire pontificate of Pope John Paul II has been one in pursuit of creating a "culture of life."

But when we see the outcome of the Terri Schiavo case - that a defenseless child of God, at the mercy of those who should be taking care of her, can be dehydrated and starved to death - we are confronted with just how far we have to go to achieve the Holy Father's objective.

And now, it seems, we are approaching the end of the Pope's life here on earth. When the Pope does pass on to his Eternal Reward, I pray that the next Pope, along with the Church's leaders and laity, will take up the Holy Father's mantle with respect to the creation of a "culture of life", and that we will redouble our efforts to bring into fruition a society that values life from conception until natural death.

National Review Online: "Killed by Euphemisms"

“Next time it will be easier. It always is.”

The editors at National Review Online note that, from those on the side of depriving Terri Schiavo of food and water in order to bring about her death, "we saw euphemism after euphemism deployed to cloud the issues."

"Perhaps chief among these was the fiction that we were "letting her die." On March 18, Schiavo was in no medical danger of death. She was profoundly brain-damaged (although just how profoundly remains unknown), but she was not in a coma or on a respirator. She was not being kept alive by artificial means, any more than small children are kept alive by artificial means when their parents feed them. Her body was functioning, there is some reason to believe she was minimally conscious, and she was responsive to stimuli (it's been reported she was actually being administered pain medication). She had devoted parents and siblings who were willing to care for her. She could easily have gone on in these conditions for many years. She was not close to dying. For death to arrive, she would have to be killed."

[More]

It took this poor woman nearly 2 weeks to die after being deprived of the basic necessities of food and water. Does that sound like someone who is on the verge of death? Terri Schiavo wasn't dying - it sounds to me like she was as healthy as a horse apart from her brain damage. And she clearly was not brain dead.

The notion that we hear from the other side and from the mainstream media (redundant?) that Terri Schiavo was "allowed to die" flies in the face of this reality. She was not dying until her estranged husband, sanctioned by the courts of this nation, took action to deprive her of her life. That's called murder.

What Has Our Country Done Unto "The Least of These"?

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."
-Matthew 25:40

I have often been ashamed to be a member of the human race, because of mankind's insatiable capacity for sin and cruelty and its utter contempt for the Grace that God has bestowed upon us. However, in my 37 years, I have been ashamed to be an American only twice: one of those times is now, as our country has looked the other way and done nothing while a defenseless and disabled child of God was cruelly dehydrated and starved to death by her estranged husband and the courts of this land.

"America, America, God shed His Grace on thee." And how have we repaid that Grace in our treatment of frail, yet God-given life? In how we treat the unborn, the disabled, the aging? As Terri Schaivo's fight ends, we still have before us the prospect of thousands of abortions performed daily, legislation to clone human embryos to be cannibalized for human "spare parts", and a medical mentality towards the disabled and the aging that places the burdens of the caregivers above the inherent dignity that exists in the lives of those who require care. What's worse is that we justify this cruelty toward those who are "inconvenient" by dressing it up in terms of human rights: "the right to reproductive freedom"; "advancements in medical technology to improve the quality of life"; "the right to die with dignity".

And so we continue to slide down that slippery slope to a Brave New World; we continue to slouch toward Gomorrah. How long, oh Lord, will you continue to bless this country, given our headlong rush to degradation?

Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.
- Thomas Jefferson


UPDATE:

"The Vatican denounced the 'arbitrarily hastened' death of Terri Schiavo on Thursday as a violation of principles of Christianity and civilization, and a cardinal described her end as a 'death sentence executed through a cruel method ... The circumstances of the death of Ms. Terri Schiavo have rightly disturbed consciences,' Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in the first statement from the Holy See on the case. 'An existence was interrupted. A death was arbitrarily hastened because nourishing a person can never be considered employing exceptional means.'"

____________________

"Cardinal Renato Martino, a top Vatican official, said Schiavo's death was a 'human tragedy, but also an ethical, juridical and cultural tragedy.' He told reporters her loss of life in a hospice in Florida to a 'death sentence executed through a cruel method ... That was not a natural death. It was an imposed death ... When you deprive somebody of food and water, what else is it? Nothing else but murder,' Martino said, adding that he was speaking on the case 'according to the teaching of the pope.' The pontiff has spoken on behalf of providing food and water, even through artificial means, to patients like Schiavo."

____________________

"A Vatican cardinal denounced the death Thursday of Terri Schiavo, saying removing the feeding tube that was keeping her alive was 'an attack against God.' Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican's office for sainthood, told reporters that 'an attack against life is an attack against God, who is the author of life.'"

____________________

"I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others."
- President George W. Bush

____________________

"Mrs. Schiavo's death is a moral poverty and a legal tragedy. This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today. Today we grieve, we pray, and we hope to God this fate never befalls another. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schindlers and with Terri Schiavo's friends in this time of deep sorrow."
- Rep. Tom DeLay, House Majority Leader

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo, Rest In Peace

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Props to Jesse Jackson

I have criticized Jesse Jackson elsewhere on this blog. But today, I'm going to give credit where credit is due. Jackson has been a stalwart figure on behalf of Terri Schiavo's right to life throughout her ordeal. He has praised the Republican leadership in Congress for passing a bill to give the federal courts jurisdiction to review Terri's case. And he has been outspoken on the TV talk show circuit in favor of re-inserting Terri's feeding tube. In fact, on one talk show, Jesse Jackson was arguing the pro-life position on Terri's behalf against a Dominican priest arguing for removal of her feeding tube!!! (Outrageous, but not surprising given the weak "support" Terri has received from her own bishop.)

And today, BlogsforTerri reports that Jesse Jackson is to visit Terri's hospice to meet with the Schindlers.

Reverend Jackson, I can go back to disagreeing with you on just about every issue after Terri's ordeal is over. But for now, thank you (and Ralph Nader and Senator Tom Harkin and countless other liberals) for your leadership on her behalf, and for proving that it isn't just "radical right-wingers" who are against dehydrating and starving to death one of Jesus's "least of these".

Good Friday - Part II

Chesterton on Terri from The Dawn Patrol:

"The comparisons you posted between the actual events of the last week of Jesus' life and the events of what will probably turn out be the last week of Terri's life are indeed striking. But what has been haunting me all this week is the similarity in the "backdrop," so to speak--the state of the world that led to both events. All this week, I've had a strange, dreamy feeling that I'm living through something very big that's happened before. I don't have any illusions that the death of Terri is going to change the world like Christ's death on the cross. But I feel as though something very deliberate is happening here, as if God were saying, "Now, watch carefully. You've seen this before, and you know what it means."'

"This is what I find most troubling about this whole matter: not that it is happening, but that it is happening HERE, to US. If we were reading a story about Iranian mullahs or Pakistani villagers forcing a woman to starve to death, we'd shake our heads and deplore it, but we'd also secretly think that such abuses are bound to happen among such benighted people. But America today is like Rome was then - the best and highest accomplishment of human beings, and yet it's still not enough. It's failing the test, and in the same way that Rome failed. If 'the confident sanity of the conquerors of the world' is not a fair description of America, I don't know what is, and yet this is where it has brought us. We know what came after Rome; what can come after America, I don't know, but I do think that THIS America is not one that can resist the avalanche that's just started under its feet."

Dear President Bush & Governor Bush:

Below is the text of an email I sent today to the President of the United States and to the Governor of the State of Florida regarding the starvation and dehydration of Terri Schiavo (NOTE: I borrowed heavily from Mark Shea, who has sent out the clarion call for supporters of Terri Schiavo to send similar emails to these 2 chief executives):

Dear President Bush & Governor Bush:

I don't know if either of you noticed, but this week a judicial coup took place in America. This week our courts made it clear that THEY are sovereign. That they are NOT a co-equal branch of government along with the Legislative and Executive; but rather that their power exceeds and is above that of both the legislative and executive branches COMBINED. They have thumbed their collective noses at the express intent of both Congress and the President in how they have chosen to "apply" a law written and signed to protect a defenseless American citizen who has been left to die.

We have reached a watershed moment when it will be the obligation of the Executive to stop the insanity of an out-of-control judiciary. Now that Judge Greer refuses to grant Governor Bush protective custody, I challenge you before Almighty God to say, "Judge Greer has made his decision. Now let him enforce it." Then, take protective custody of her anyway.

I know I am merely a mayor, not a Governor or President. And at that, I'm merely the mayor of the smallest town in my state. But as a chief executive, and as a lawyer - knowing the constitutional, legal, and political fallout that would occur, I nevertheless would use my executive power to do whatever was necessary and to do what was right to protect the life of this innocent child of God. For the sake of our Lord whose Passion we mark tomorrow, don't play the role of Pilate and wash your hands of this poor woman's life.

Enough is enough! The state has no right to starve an innocent person to death. An unjust law is no law at all.

Sincerely,

James T. (Jay) Anderson
Mayor, Town of Columbia
Columbia, Virginia 23038
email: columbia_mayor@hotmail.com
personal weblog: http://proecclesia.blogspot.com

Archbishop Chaput calls Schiavo’s starvation an "attack on the sanctity of human life"

Catholic News Agency reports:

Denver, Mar. 23, 2005 (CNA) - Yesterday, in the wake of Florida Federal Judge James Whittemore’s decision not to reinsert brain-damaged Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube, which has been absent since Friday, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver added his voice to the fight for Schiavo’s life.

He said that, "The bishops and lay faithful of Florida have the task of leading American Catholics in the Terri Schiavo case. They're working hard to provide that leadership. Our job, outside Florida, is to support Ms. Schiavo and all those concerned for her well being with our prayers.”
***
"For disabled persons not in imminent danger of death and able to breathe on their own, starvation and dehydration to provoke death amount, in effect, to a form of murder. Such actions attack the sanctity of human life. They reject any redemptive meaning to suffering. They can never be justified."

Yet another voice from the Church hierarchy speaks out with authority to condemn the starvation and dehydration of Terri Schiavo. But who's voice seems to be missing? Why, that of Terri's own Bishop Robert Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. While I admire Archbishop Chaput probably as much or more than any other American bishop, I have to take issue with his claim that the bishops of Florida are working hard to provide leadership on this issue, when any clear statement of authority from Bishop Lynch has been so noticeably absent.

I promised myself when I began this blog a few weeks ago that, trying to keep this site faithfully Catholic, I would refrain from bishop-bashing. To the extent that I have bashed Bishop Lynch in this post with respect to my comments about his lack of leadership on the Schiavo issue, such bashing begins and ends here.