According to the Associated Press, the Democratic party will make Terri Schiavo an issue in upcoming elections. “This is going to be an issue in 2006 and its going to be an issue in 2008, because we’re going to have an ad with a picture of (House Majority Leader) Tom DeLay saying, ‘Do you want this guy to decide whether you die or not? Or is that going to be up to your loved ones?”’ stated Howard Dean, the Democratic party’s national chairman. Dean failed to explain why his statement appeared to exclude Terri’s parents and siblings as loved ones.
As noted by the Lakeland Ledger, “State investigators in Florida have found no clear evidence that Terri Schiavo was denied rehabilitation, neglected or otherwise abused, according to documents released Friday (April 15) by the state’s Department of Children and Families.” In reflecting upon this report, one is reminded of the following written by the popular internet satirist ScrappleFace.com: “First, it was women’s suffrage – the right to vote – then abortion, the right to privacy … Finally, a man has led the way in freeing (women) from the antiquated bigotry that has kept (their) former husbands from choosing a slow, painful death for (them) … What’s more, you’re free from the worry that your man will be prosecuted for your murder.”
According to BlogsForTerri.com, George Felos is taking his travelling death show on the road, with the help of the Roth Talent Associates. According to his bio posted to RTA’s website, “George Felos, America’s foremost right-to-die expert and attorney for Michael Schiavo … fought successfully in U.S. courts at every level – and overcame the Congress and both Governor Bush and President Bush – for Terri Schiavo’s right to die … At the podium, Felos electrifies audiences by using the Schiavo case as an illustration to explore the clash between fundamental liberties and how individual constitutional rights and ethics are eroding in today’s society.”
Also from BlogsForTerri.com: “The executive director of the Christian Medical Association today said a California bill to allow assisted suicide gives more power to the government – not to patients … Dr. Stevens noted, ‘The truth is that this bill establishes a dangerous right to privacy for the government. As in Oregon, the California assisted-suicide bill includes a state secrecy clause that prevents the public, the media or watchdog groups from reviewing the evidence.’”
Victory for right-to-life advocates. According to LaRaza, “By the intervention of the state of Illinois government, feeding was resumed for Clara Martinez, a Mexican woman in a vegetative state. She had been 30 days without food, per her husband’s decision.” The state’s intervention reportedly “resulted from pressure by the press and right-to-life organizations in the U.S.”
Another victory. The Daily Telegraph reported, “In a case that echoes the debate over the removal of a feeding tube from Terri Schiavo, Mrs Magouirk was starved and dehydrated for 10 days, in contravention of her written instructions, after her grand-daughter became her legal guardian and decided that Mrs Magouirk was ‘ready to go home with Jesus.’ Only after a legal battle waged by Mrs Magouirk’s brother and sister did a judge grant Mrs Magouirk a reprieve. She is now recovering at an Alabama hospital, where she was flown by emergency helicopter last week.”
– Pete Vere
