janelle

S P E C I A L A L E R T
C E N T E R F O R R E C L A I M I N G A M E R I C A

Critical Action Items Below
Your Immediate Response Requested

3/10/2005

Marilyn,

The life of Terri Schiavo is literally hanging in the balance, and
Christians throughout the nation are rallying in a twelfth hour
effort to spare her life.

Will you join the 126,703 citizens who are standing on her
behalf by clicking here:

http://www.cfra.info/213/petition.asp?RID=7990607

+ + Florida lawmakers introduce life-saving legislation

Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL) and Senator Mel Martinez
(R-FL) have just introduced the "Incapacitated Persons Legal
Protection Act" (H.R. 1151, S. 539).

If passed into law, this bill would make an immediate impact toward
protecting the lives of people like Terri Schiavo by providing a
final avenue of review of these cases, insuring that a disabled
person's constitutional rights are not trampled, simply because
that person cannot speak for him- or herself.

With time running out for Terri, we must take immediate action to
create a groundswell of support for this legislation. By reaching
out to lawmakers and urging them to support this vital piece of
life-affirming legislation, we can fight for Terri's life.

After signing your name to our petition to save Terri, here are
three additional ways you can make a powerful difference in this
life and death battle:

+ + Action Item #1--Contact Your Kansas Senators!

Please call your Kansas senators and urge them to stand for
those who cannot speak for themselves by co-sponsoring the
"Incapacitated Persons Legal Protection Act" (S. 539).

Here's your contact information for:

Sen. Brownback (202) 224-6521
Sen. Roberts 202-224-4774

Remember, time is of the essence, so call as soon as possible!

+ + Action Item #2-- Contact Your Representative Today!

After contacting each of your senators, take a few extra moments
to contact your Kansas representative, urging him or her
to give full and immediate support to the "Incapacitated Persons
Legal Protection Act" (H.R. 1151). Make certain that your
representative understands this bill will benefit those
citizens who simply cannot fight for themselves.

If you do not know who your Kansas representative is, call
the Capitol Switchboard; they will connect you quickly.
Here is the number:

202-224-3121

You can also find your representative and his or her contact
information by clicking here:

http://www.reclaimamerica.org/contac...s.asp?lk=house

After you call, please let us know you took action
by clicking here:

http://www.cfra.info/r.asp?u=415

+ + Action Item #3--Thank Rep. Weldon and Sen. Martinez!

Finally, please thank Representative Weldon and Senator Martinez
for taking a courageous and principled stand on this issue! Too
often, elected officials hear only complaints from unhappy
constituents. It is essential that we support and praise our
representatives in Washington for doing the right thing!

Representative Dave Weldon: 202-225-3671
Senator Mel Martinez: 202-224-3041

+++ Center-Sponsored Rally For Terri Schiavo ++++

If possible, make plans now to attend the Center’s Rose Rally for Terri,
at 3 p.m., this Sunday, March 13, on the steps of the "Old" Florida
State Capitol, in the Capitol Courtyard, Tallahassee!

We are expecting a substantial turnout, and we would love for you
or your church group to attend this prayerful effort to build
support for saving Terri Schiavo's life.

For information on attending, please click here:

http://www.reclaimamerica.org

If you cannot make the trip to Tallahassee in support of Terri
this Sunday, we still desperately need for you to help us build
congressional support for the "Incapacitated Persons Legal
Protection Act" (H.R. 1151, S.539) by contacting your federal
elected officials.

Thank you in advance for doing your part to help save the
life of Terri Schiavo.

CENTER FOR RECLAIMING AMERICA

P.S. This is an important issue for every pro-life person in America.
Please, take time to forward this message to as many of your friends
and family as you can in the coming days. Encourage them to become
part of the growing effort to save Terri Schiavo's life by
clicking here:

http://www.cfra.info/213/petition.asp?RID=7990607

For more on the Terri Schiavo case:

http://www.reclaimamerica.org

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Let us know that you took action:

http://www.cfra.info/r.asp?u=415

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Read the text of S. 539/H.R. 1151:

http://www.reclaimamerica.org/pages/...asp?story=2518

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
The Center for Reclaiming America, established by Dr. D. James Kennedy,
is an outreach of Coral Ridge Ministries to inform the American public
and motivate Christians to defend and implement the biblical principles
on which our country was founded. The Center, led by Executive Director
Dr. Gary Cass, provides non-partisan, non-denominational information,
training, and support to all those interested in impacting the culture
and renewing the vision set forth by our Founding Fathers.

Questions? cfra@coralridge.org

Jolie Rouge

3/11/2005

Schiavo turns down $1M offer

TAMPA (AP) — A man fighting to have a feeding tube removed from his brain-damaged wife on Friday rejected a California businessman's offer to pay him $1 million to give up his right to decide her medical treatment.

Michael Schiavo contends he had once promised his wife he would not keep her alive by artificial means. -- AP file

Thursday's offer, which the husband's attorney labeled "offensive," came hours after a judge refused to let the state's social services agency intervene — a move that would have delayed next week's scheduled removal of the tube.

Other such offers, including one for $10 million, had already been made and rejected by Michael Schiavo, said his attorney, George Felos.

Terri Schiavo's parents are trying to keep her alive, but Michael Schiavo contends he had once promised his wife he would not keep her alive by artificial means before she suffered a heart attack 15 years ago. Now 41, she has lived since then in what court-appointed doctors call a persistent vegetative state.

Even if the husband did walk away, Felos said, there is still a court order requiring removal of the tube at 1 p.m. next Friday. A judge ordered that the feedings be stopped after finding "clear and convincing" evidence that she would not want to be kept alive in her current state.

Judge George Greer denied a request by the state Department of Children & Families to delay that order for 60 days so it can investigate allegations of abuse and neglect against Michael Schiavo.

The judge said the allegations had already been investigated and found to be groundless. He said the agency was apparently trying to pull an end run around the court by getting involved at this late stage.

The case has drawn international attention, particularly among religious conservatives, who are supporting the woman's parents.

San Diego businessman Robert Herring, who founded an electronics company and later a cable and satellite channel, said he felt "compelled" to try to have the husband transfer the legal right to decide his wife's medical treatment to the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. "I believe very strongly that there are medical advances happening around the globe that very shortly could have a positive impact on Terri's condition," Herring said.

Herring's offer is valid until Monday, according to a statement from his attorney, Gloria Allred. The money has been deposited into a trust account at Allred's Los Angeles law firm, the statement said.

Felos said his client would not consider any such proposals. "Michael has said over and over again that this case is not about money for him," Felos said. "It's about carrying out his wife's wishes. There is no amount of money anyone can offer that will cause him to turn his back on his wife."

The Schindlers still have two issues before the state's 2nd District Court of Appeal, which has said it will rule next week. They also are looking to the Legislature and perhaps Congress for help; both have bills in the works that lawmakers say could save Terri Schiavo's life.

The Schindlers doubt their daughter had end-of-life wishes and have fought their son-in-law in court for nearly seven years to save her life. They also dispute that she is in a vegetative state, saying she laughs, cries, interacts with them and tries to speak.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...M_Exclude=Juno

__________________
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

YankeeMary

This should go to show that it isn't about the money I would think?!? She DID have an eating disorder that brought this all on, monies were awarded for her and the jest of it WAS spent on HER medical care. The point about spousal support was brought up if there was a divorce and it is a great point, but he is already paying way more then what a judge would order, and I do not mean financially. Just thinking about 15 years of this wow is it really worth a million dollars to fight over something for that long? A million dollars does not go to far today, especially when you consider her medical costs and attorney/court fees, etc...I truly do not believe it is about the money nor his new "family". It would be different if the "new" woman appeared immediatly after she was placed in the hospital.
As for comparing Teri's story to those born with disabilities IMO is wrong. They are 2 completely different scenerios. No one is suing Catrina to have her son put to death, doctors might have told you his "life quality" isn't there but you were allowed to keep him alive without a court order. Your son was born like this, not fair to compare him to someone whom put themselves in this condition. Your son is home and happy. She is in a personal care home in a bed 24/7. Huge difference in my opinion. You were Blessed with one of God's chosen children. Teri (according to her husband) said she would never want to live like this. I can see where you would be so upset over this, but it isn't about someone born in this state, its about someone being born "normal" (if there is a normal) expressing not to live in a "veg" state and still being kept alive by artifical means. After 15 years she has remained relatively in the same way no improvement, just doesn't seem right that everyone is against her wishes. Catrina please do not take this as an attack, I know how much this upsets you, but I just was trying to make you see that this isn't about your minor son, but about an adult married woman with a wish not to live like this.
I think if eveyone that is able to walk, talk, think, run, jump, sit, stand would consider if something happened and you were to end up in the state Teri is in, I truly do not think any one of us would want to live the way she is living. Just one day you were in a car wreck, would you want to remain in a hospital bed forever, with people coming in and proding on you, taking pics, pittying you, not ever being able to stand to shower or to wash yourself, or to comb your hair, do your make-up, taste chocolate. In Teri's earlier pics (before hospitalization) she was beautiful. Her hair and make-up done, huge smile. Now no one even does her hair or make-up (not even her mom or dad that want to keep her like this). In my heart I believe she would be greatly upset to know that this is what has become of her. I know if it were me I would be devestated.

__________________
The more you complain, the longer God makes you live.

ntgsmommy

Posted on Mon, Mar. 14, 2005



R E L A T E D C O N T E N T

Steve Cannon
Cheryl Winn attends the Rose Rally for Terri Schiavo on Sunday March 13, 2005, in Tallahassee, Fla. Schiavo has been in a coma for 15 years and the Circuit Court has given permission to remove her feeding tube on March 18, 2005.


R E L A T E D L I N K S
• More Local news




Tears, hope fill rally for Schiavo

Court order causes hundreds to gather

By Aetna Smith and Diane Hirth

DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITERS


Hundreds gathered Sunday at the steps of the state's old Capitol to rally against a Pinellas County court order to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday.

Some held placards with the words "Rose Rally for Terri" during a blustery, yet sunny, afternoon. Others cried during the event attended by Schiavo's family - parents Bob and Mary Schindler and brother Bob Jr. - and hosted by 12 state-level and national groups including Coral Ridge Ministries, the Center for Reclaiming America and Florida Right to Life.

Gary Cass, the executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America, told a group of more than 500 that the "eyes of the world are watching us." The center, an outreach organization of Coral Ridge Ministries, advocates for pro-life and religious-freedom issues.

"The world is watching how we treat the weak, the disabled, and it will reflect on the consciousness of our nation," he said. "We need to do the right thing. We're here to save Terri's life, but it's not just life for Terri, it's also for people like her."

Members of the 12 groups also are in Tallahassee to deliver long-stemmed roses to state legislators Tuesday. They plan to ask for support of a bill moving through the Florida House that would apply generally to all cases of incapacitated persons being kept alive through water and nutrition tubes. The bill would prohibit removing the tubes unless the person left clear written instructions to the contrary.

John Stemberger, the president and general counsel of the Florida Family Council based in Orlando, said the event was not a protest. Audience members and media came from areas of Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, among other states.

"We have a governor who will do everything necessary to save Terri," he said. "The House is creating a bill to intervene. So what do we have to protest here in Tallahassee?"

The bill Stemberger referred to could affect thousands of individuals in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes. The bill (HB 701) by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, reflects the wishes of House Speaker Allan Bense and Senate President Tom Lee not to pass another bill tailored only to the circumstances of Terri Schiavo.

"Terri's Law," hurriedly passed in fall 2003, gave Gov. Jeb Bush the power to have Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted after it had been removed based on a court order. The Florida Supreme Court later overturned the law, and Bense and Lee said they prefer to take a more deliberative, broader approach to such highly emotional life-and-death cases.

"I certainly hope that whatever error I make is on the side of allowing someone to live rather than to die," Baxley said last week.

Stemberger also spoke against what he called the misleading information propagated by the media. He said Schiavo is not brain-dead, comatose or in a persistent vegetative state.

"She can laugh, cry, interact," he said. "She is not on artificial life support. She is fed from a tube. There is nothing dignified about death by dehydration or starvation."

Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, told the crowd that he was overwhelmed by their concern for his daughter.

"As Friday approaches, the question we keep being asked is 'How do you feel?' We have faith," he said, his voice cracking. "God is in charge. We're being supported by you people. We're so appreciative of what you're doing. "

His wife Mary said she's been trying to teach her daughter to say "I love you."

"She can say the 'I,' but she's having trouble with the 'love you,'" she said. "She's doing OK. She's a strong lady."

Schiavo did not leave a "living will" stating her wishes in case of incapacity. Since a stroke 15 years ago, she has been declared to be severely brain-damaged and in a vegetative state. Her husband and legal guardian Michael Schiavo said letting her die follows what she told him she would want in such circumstances, but the woman's parents have been fighting to keep their daughter alive. They believe she could benefit from rehabilitation.

The Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition asked the audience to attend a vigil at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Upper Waller Park near the Capitol. Then supporters of the bill will visit legislators with roses.

"The roses are a reminder that if we don't feed and water roses, their beauty will fade," he said. "Likewise, if Terri is denied food and water, she'll fade."

Cheryl Winn and her family traveled from Jacksonville to attend the rally. She identifies with the Schindler family because after her brother's stroke, his insurance company refused to pay for rehabilitative therapy. He died in a nursing home three years ago.

"They said it was too much money to rehabilitate him and that they couldn't do it," she said. "People need to know about this problem. Allowing (Terri) to die is not right. She needs to be with the people who love her."

Meanwhile, last Wednesday's House Health Care Regulation Committee 7-4 vote for the bill split along party lines, as Democrats suggested the proposal was unwarranted government intrusion into families' private lives.

"I believe in life," said Rep. Yolly Roberson, D-Miami. "But I don't believe I have the right to tell someone to hold on or to let go."



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AT THE CAPITOL >


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Contact reporter Aetna Smith at (850) 599-2382 or arsmith@tallahassee.com.

__________________
freebies are like potato chips....you can't have just one!!

janelle

"I believe in life," said Rep. Yolly Roberson, D-Miami. "But I don't believe I have the right to tell someone to hold on or to let go."

I also don't believe anyone has that right so why are they by removing her feeding tube? Let God tell her when it's time. We do everything we can to help people live and then leave it up to God.

Hospice is getting more like this everyday. Talking terminally ill people into have their tube pulled. Why make them die faster? Money of course. They are no longer useful to us and hospice will be out some money so tell them to starve to death.

Jolie Rouge

An audit of the funds show that more money has been spent trying to have her life ended than having medical treatment & therapy for Terri.

I beleive the "new" woman was in his life BEFORE Terri's episode ... how old are the children with this person ?


The scenerio is that "quality of life" as a qualifier for euthansia - with the person acting as the executor being the same person as will inheirit. Something of a conflict of interest, don' you think ?

__________________
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

Jaxx

well her feeding tube is coming out on Friday
i think that they could have come up with a more
humane way of doing it...after all she will starve to death.
I couldn't do this to my own animals much less a person

__________________
So many freebies....so little time

Njean31

this statement makes absolutely no sense to me. if hospice is pushing people into a faster death, how would hospice benefit? hospice gets paid by taking care of a living person, when they die the money stops. hospice does not benefit from a death.

YNKYH8R

They'll probably give her morphine, that's what they did for my grand mother.

__________________
ARMPIT

Njean31

i doubt they will give her morphine, that's reserved for severe pain which I don't think she is in. if she is truly in a vegetative state then she shouldl not suffer from the dehydration and starvation that will take her life. BUT from what i've read, she has responded in the past (i don't know about recently) and if so........i don't understand how they are doing this

YNKYH8R

Morphine also takes away hunger pains and feeling.

__________________
ARMPIT