Thread by GonzoII.
Groups Mark ‘Terri’s Day' - Advance Awareness of Assisted Suicide
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.”
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