March 23, 2005
Early on Wednesday Terri Schiavo's parents suffered another setback in their bid to save their daughter's life when a federal court panel issued a 2-1 ruling against them. On the brain-damaged woman's fifth day without a feeding tube, Bob and Mary Schindler and Terri's brother Bobby Schindler are vowing they will take their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida legislature.
In the latest ruling, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld the earlier decision by a judge in Tampa, claiming Bob and Mary Schindler had "failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims." Therefore, the court ruled, Terri Schiavo's feeding and hydration tube is not to be reconnected.
Judge Charles Wilson offered a dissenting opinion, noting that denying the Schindlers' request for an injunction frustrates the intent of Congress, which is to keep Terri alive until the federal courts have "a new and adequate opportunity to consider the constitutional issues raised by Plaintiffs." Wilson, a Clinton appointee, said he failed to see the harm in reinstating Terri's feeding tube.
On the other hand, the dissenting judge pointed out that the harm if the tube is not reconnected is both imminent and ultimate. If steps are not taken to prevent Terri's impending death by starvation and dehydration, Wilson noted, her imminent demise "effectively ends the litigation without a fair opportunity to fully consider the merits of Plaintiff's constitutional claims."
According to Cybercast News, Bob and Mary Schindler said yesterday that Terri is fading fast as the effects of being denied fluid and nourishment take their toll. Attorneys for the family say the Schindlers will be appealing this latest federal court ruling. However, their appeals process is nearly exhausted and, twice now, the Supreme Court of the United states has refused to intervene in the case.
Bringing Pro-life Pressure to Bear on the Powers That Be
Terri's parents are also looking to the Florida Senate in hopes that the lawmakers will act on a bill passed by the state House that prohibits the withholding of food or water from a person in a persistent vegetative state. Mary Schiavo made a heartfelt appeal to the state senators yesterday, saying, "For the love of God, I'm begging you, don't let my daughter die of thirst." Media reports say the senators may take up the legislation as early as Wednesday.
However, some members of the Florida Senate are expressing resentment over the pressure being placed on them in this extremely volatile and controversial matter. According to one Associated Press report, State Senator Larcenia Bullard was considering changing her vote to support a bill that could keep Terri Schiavo alive. But after being shouted at, insulted, and told to envision her own daughter in a coma, the senator says she changed her mind.
Bullard says she would like to ask some of these aggressive protesters whether they are serving the same God she serves. Meanwhile, another state senator told AP she questions the Christianity of protestors who wish an agonizing death on lawmakers who refused to support the legislation that might have saved Terri's life.
Emotions continue to run high as friends and supporters of the Schindler family, pro-family leaders and politicians, and pro-life and disability concerns advocates all weigh in on the complexities of a dramatic debate centering on the endangered life of one brain-injured Florida woman. One voice of concern comes from a woman who takes Terri's battle very much to heart, both for her own sake and the sake of the disabled community.
Joni Eareckson Tada is a Christian artist, author, and activist-spokesperson for the disabled who became a quadriplegic as a result of a 1967 diving accident. In a recent AP interview, she noted that she finds the latest events in the Schiavo case alarming -- especially since she herself was dependent on others for food and water not long ago while she was in the hospital undergoing treatment for pneumonia.
