Tallahassee, Fla., Sep 27, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A pro-family, ecumenical organization decries the Florida Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Terri’s Law, “thus paving the way for the medical murder of Terri Schiavo,” says a press release.
The court ruled that Terri’s Law, which allowed Florida Governor Jeb Bush to order the reinsertion of the disabled woman’s feeding tubes, violated the constitutional separation of powers.
“It’s ironic when you consider that the judiciary violates the separation of powers – by usurping legislative authority – on a regular basis,” said Jean Heise, special advisor to The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society.
“That’s what the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court did when it ordered the state’s legislature to establish gay marriage. And that’s what this very court did in 2000, when it told the state to continue doing recounts, despite a 15-day deadline for finalizing the vote, established by the legislature,” she pointed out.
“Society should always give the benefit of the doubt to life,” she said. “And in Terri’s case, there is ample evidence that this is a life worth preserving.”
Terri Schiavo became disabled in 1990 when, under unexplained circumstances, oxygen to her brain was cut off for several minutes. In 2000, her husband won a court case to have her feeding tubes removed. Doctors had testified that Terri is in a persistent vegetative state.
But more than a dozen other medical experts agree with Terri’s parents that their daughter is alert, has a strong will to live and could be rehabilitated with therapy.
“It’s a sad state of affairs when the judiciary – which should be dedicated to vindicating the rights of the innocent – instead becomes the executioner of the most vulnerable among us,” said Heise.
The Howard Center for Family Religion and Society founded the World Congress of Families.
To read the center’s pro-family declaration, go to: http://worldcongress.org/WCF3/wcf3_dec.htm
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