TAMPA BAY, October 15, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The parents of Terri Schiavo, Bob and Mary Schindler, have risked their freedom in order to save their 39-year-old daughter from euthanasia by starvation and dehydration. In a dramatic crescendo to a 10-year legal battle to fight the attempts of Terri’s estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, to have her nutrition and hydration tube removed, the Schindler’s released a video tape of Terri interacting with her mother. Far from the “vegetative state” claimed by her husband, Terri is seen in the video with eyes wide open, sitting up and even attempting to speak with her mother through frustrated that words cannot be formed. Michael Schiavo’s lawyers threatened early yesterday to refuse to allow the Schindler’s to visit their daughter if they released the video tape to the media. That threat materialized after the release of the video with another letter barring Terri’s parents from visiting their daughter in the hospice where she was scheduled to have her feeding tube removed at 2pm Wednesday. As LifeSite has reported earlier, a massive round-the-clock demonstration continues outside the hospice, with famed disability activist Joni Erikson-Tada accompanying the crowd. Pro-life groups throughout the United States have mobilized asking for their supporters to concentrate their efforts on saving Terri’s life.
Despite the fact that her starvation order goes into effect Wednesday, Terri may live for as long as ten days before her death, so pro-lifers are urged to keep up the fight to save her life. A former order to remove her feeding tube was reversed after she went sixty hours without food or water. The parents are hoping that the video will demonstrate to Governor Bush that he must intervene in the case to protect the life of one of the citizens of the state of Texas from the illegal act of euthanasia. Earlier in the week they released the following heartfelt plea: “We love our daughter very much and we want her home. Over the last 13 years, Terri has laughed with us, cried with us, talked with us, and even tried to get out of her chair. The accusations that Terri is in a coma or is a ‘vegetable’ are a lie. We beg Michael Schiavo, and those working with him to end our daughter’s life, to let her come home to her family. We will sign any agreement you want, giving you all monies related to Terri’s collapse and any insurance money that may be forthcoming. You take the money. We just want our daughter.” The latest message from Terri’s parents notes that today “is also the Feast of St. Teresa - Terri’s name-sake.”
See Schindler family website for details on how to take action: http://www.terrisfight.org