February 11, 2005

Dear Friends,

Just the other day I visited with Terri Schiavo. My column below talks about her
situation and what you can do.

On another subject, I'm leaving our online poll question up just a little bit longer,
so please give us your opinion at www.priestsforlife.org

Priests for Life Mass cards are in stock and going out the door in great numbers.
You (or your parish or pro-life group) can stock up on our Mass cards (free of
charge) and just make the offering when you use them to enroll departed friends
and loved ones. Contact orders@priestsforlife.org and let us know how many you
want and where we should send them.

Finally, if you are one of our donors (or want to become one), keep in mind our
online method of donations: www.priestsforlife.org/donate

You are in my prayers!
Fr. Frank Pavone

Terri Schiavo
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

She is not dying. She has no terminal illness. She is not in a coma. She is not on life-
support equipment. She is not alone, but rather has loving parents and siblings ready to
care for her for the rest of her life. She has not requested death.

Yet a battle rages regarding whether Terri Schindler-Schiavo should be starved. She has
sustained brain injuries and cannot speak or eat normally. Nevertheless, the only tube
attached to her is a small, simple, painless feeding tube that provides her nourishment
directly to her digestive system.

Her legal guardian is her husband, who already has another woman -- by whom he also
has children. He wants Terri's feeding tube removed. Of course, he could simply allow
her to be cared for by her parents and siblings, and get on with his life, but he refuses.

I have had two opportunities to visit Terri, most recently on the first Sunday of February.
I have been able to talk to her, to listen to her struggle to speak, to watch her focus her
eyes and smile and attempt to kiss her parents. I have prayed with her, blessed her, and
assured her that she has many friends around the country and around the world, who love
her and want her to enjoy the same protections we all enjoy, even when we're wounded.

News articles have recently characterized Terri's situation by saying that some want to
"keep her alive against her husband's wishes." But Terri is not dying. What does "keeping
her alive" mean, if not the same thing as keeping you and me alive -- that is, by giving us
adequate food, shelter, and care?

Some say that Terri's family should "let her go." But this is not a matter of "letting her
go," because she isn't "going" anywhere. If, however, she is deprived of nourishment,
then she would slowly die in the same way that any of us would slowly die if we were
deprived of nourishment. It is called starvation.

If the courts permit that to happen, then why should that permission apply only in Terri's
case? There would be no way to limit it to her case alone. Countless others would follow,
and their deaths would be described as "letting them die" instead of "killing them."
Where, indeed, does the state get the authority to starve people? Court decisions
permitting this lack all authority, as Pope John Paul II teaches in "The Gospel of Life"
(section 72). These decisions cannot be obeyed, because they are not binding on the
conscience and are in fact acts of violence.

At the present time, there are two simple things you can do. Educate your neighbors
about this situation. Visit our website, www.priestsforlife.org, and click on the "Terri
Schiavo" link. Second, contact anyone you know in Florida and ask them to encourage
their Governor and state legislators to continue doing everything possible to save Terri's
life.

For more information on this crucial case, visit our website, www.priestsforlife.org. If
you want educational cards on Terri's situation, contact our orders department at
orders@priestsforlife.org, or by calling 888-PFL-3448, ext. 237, or by writing Orders
Department, Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314.

This column can be found online at
http://www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2005/05-01-31schiavo.htm

Please remember to support our work at www.priestsforlife.org/donate

Comments on this column? Email us at mail@priestsforlife.org, Priests for Life, PO Box
141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-
6515; web: www.priestsforlife.org


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