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Religious Leaders, Pro-Lifers Rip Into Judges for Allowing Terri's Death

by Jody Brown
April 1, 2005

(AgapePress) - While Terri Schiavo's family mourns her court-ordered death, many of those who intervened on her behalf -- in both the physical and spiritual realm -- are voicing harsh criticism of the nation's judicial system. They say she suffered a death that was cruel, inhumane, and in many ways an execution that could have been avoided by those on the bench.

In a statement read at a Thursday afternoon (March 31) press conference, Terri Schiavo's brother and sister thanked everyone who shared the struggle to save her life -- supporters and volunteers, doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, government officials, and the media.

"As you are aware, Terri is now with God and she has been released from all earthly burdens," Suzanne Vitadamo told reporters. "After these recent years of neglect at the hands of those who were supposed to protect and care for her,' she is finally at peace with God for eternity."

Schiavo's brother, echoing Jesus' words from the cross, said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Then Bobby Schindler added: "Our family seeks forgiveness for anything that we have done in standing for Terri's life that has not demonstrated the love and compassion required of us by our faith."

Terri's dilemma, they said, "awakened [the nation] to the plight of thousands of voiceless people with disabilities that were previously unnoticed." That is why, they continued, her family intends to stand up for other "Terri's" in America and to "do all that we can to change the law so others won't face the same fate that has befallen you."

They concluded their statement by sharing that they have asked themselves this question in these circumstances: "What would the Lord Jesus ask us to do in a moment like this?" They take their response from the Bible. "In John's Gospel, Jesus responded to the questions of the rabbis, who asked why a man had been born blind. He said: 'It is so that the works of God might be made manifest through him.'"

'A Judicial Execution'
Reaction to Terri Schiavo's court-ordered starvation and dehydration continues to pour in from religious leaders and pro-family and pro-life advocates. Associated Press says the Vatican is denouncing what it calls the "arbitrarily hastened" death of Terri Schiavo as a violation of the principles of Christianity and civilization.

Cardinal Renato Martino described the starvation and dehydration following the removal of the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube as a "death sentence executed through a cruel method." Another leading Vatican official said of Schiavo's death, "An attack against life is an attack against God, who is the author of life."

Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family includes judges at the state and federal levels among those who attacked life as well. He says Terri's family was forced to watch her "waste away" since her feeding tube was removed on March 18 -- "under not only the approval of the courts, but under their direct order."

Dobson has strong words for those sitting on the bench. "Every Florida and federal judge who failed to act to spare this precious woman from the torment she was forced to endure is guilty not only of judicial malfeasance -- but of the cold-blooded, cold-hearted extermination of an innocent human life," he says in a press release. He adds that "under the guise of law and 'mercy,'" and for being guilty of nothing more than the inability to speak for herself, the 41-year-old brain-damaged women was "executed."

"I grieve for the Schindlers ... and I fear for the future of our nation," Dobson concludes.

Like Dobson, Judie Brown of American Life League views Terri's death as little more than an unjust, court-ordered execution. "Despite what was played out in the news media," Brown says, "Terri Schiavo was not a 'vegetable,' nor was she 'terminally ill.' [She] simply received her nutrition and hydration by different means than most people."

And those differences, the ALL president maintains, did not warrant the treatment forced upon her. "Terri's human rights were trampled as she was forced to die in a manner deemed inhumane for even an animal," she adds. "The entire chain of events was deplorable and avoidable."

Pat Robertson, the founder and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, says Terri's death was "a judicial execution." On The 700 Club, Robertson said Schiavo was "an innocent woman who was starved to death by the order of a judge who claimed to be a Christian." Robertson said he's "outraged," and told viewers that something has to be done "to take power away from the runaway judiciary."

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council agrees. He calls the entire situation a "tragic and unfortunate event" that should show Americans there are problems in the U.S. court system. "We should remember that her death is a symptom of a greater problem: that the courts no longer respect human life," Perkins says. "In Terri's case the courts have shown that they are suffering from a persistent state of arrogance."

Adding to the long list of those highly critical of how Terri's case was handled by the judicial system is Alan Sears of the Alliance Defense Fund, which was among the legal groups battling for the young woman's life.

"[Terri Schiavo] endured a merciless death with the blessings of black-robed magistrates who once again demonstrated the disconnect between law and justice in our nation's legal system," Sears says. "The culture of death has claimed another victim."

The president of The Justice Foundation echoes Sears' comments. Allen Parker says those who cried out on Terri's behalf for justice, compassion, and mercy were essentially trampled by the courts. Justices at the state level and the federal level, he says, ignored every legal effort expended to save Terri's life.

"Our justices have turned justice to injustice," Parker states. "How can a nation...allow a person to be so cruelly killed? How can a nation take the life of a daughter whose parents wanted her and vowed to care for her? We must seek answers -- and we must not be silent."

The Justice Foundation leader says attorneys like himself condemn themselves if they choose to neither care for nor protect those who, like Terri was, are among the "weakest and most vulnerable."
Associated Press contributed to this story.

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