|
IF YOU'RE FROM FLORIDA, HERE'S
HOW YOU CAN HELP TO SAVE TERRI!
Contact your Florida state senator and representative to sponsor and support
legislation to protect Terri Shindler-Sciavo and those with disabilities
like hers from starvation and dehydration.
The Florida Supreme Court threw out Terri's Law 1 because it said it dealt
only with her case and therefore violated the separation of powers. But a
law that covers not only Terri, but also others in similar situations, COULD
be upheld.
The exact language of the best practical bill to
protect Terri’s life is still being worked out, and the Schindler family and their counsel
are in consultation with members of the legislature. But that is no reason
to wait to contact your Florida legislators. SB2128
and HB701, bills that would
protect Terri and others like her, have been introduced, and could later be
amended with the final language. For now, Florida
Senators and Representatives should
be asked to co-sponsor and support
the Florida Starvation and Dehydration of Persons with Disabilities
Prevention Act, SB 2128 in the Senate and HB701 in the
House. For
more information on the bills click
here.
A massive outpouring from their constituents is necessary to get Florida
legislators to sponsor and support a protective law to save the lives of
Terri and others like her. You can get contact information for your state
senator and representative
here.
ACT NOW!
More things that each of us can do to help save
Terri Schindler-Schiavo:
1)
Pray for Terri, for her family and for those who have dedicated their
time and talents to helping her plight.
2)
If you have relatives or friends who live in Florida, contact them
ASAP and ask them to write or call their legislators.
3)
Monitor your local media coverage of Terri’s case to
ensure that the press reports her condition accurately. Due to media
distortions on Terri’s condition, many people think that Terri Schiavo is in
a coma, when in fact, Terri appears alert and aware and she responds to her
family. If you come across an inaccuracy, please take the time to call or
email the media outlet and ask them to issue a correction.
--Inaccuracies in your local media to respond to:
MYTH: Terri Schiavo is in a coma or in a comatose-state.
FACT: Some claim that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent-vegetative
state, while many doctors and medical professional disagree and believe that
Terri is very aware of her surroundings. No doctors or medical
professionals claim that Terri is in a coma.
MYTH: Terri Schiavo is dying and her family refuses to “let her go.”
FACT: Terri is not “dying.” In fact, she is
a healthy woman who happens to have a disability. Terri is brain-damaged
but she is not dying of any terminal illness and is not being sustained
through a respirator. She breathes on her own and merely receives her food
and hydration through a feeding tube. Terri’s family is asking to be given
legal guardianship so that they may love and care for her.
MYTH: Death by starvation and dehydration is painless.
FACT: It is upsetting to note that Florida law does not allow a dog
to be subjected to a death by starvation so why would should Terri, a
human being be sentenced to such a death?
St. Louis neurologist William Burke said:
"A conscious [cognitively disabled] person
would feel it just as you or I would. They will go into seizures. Their skin
cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack. They may have nosebleeds
because of the drying of the mucus membranes, and heaving and vomiting might
ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining. They feel the pangs
of hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without a glass of water! Death
by dehydration takes ten to fourteen days. It is an extremely agonizing
death."
Once you’ve acted to
save Terri ...
Realize that
your own family could be at the same risk of being starved to death –
so download a Will to Live and get
everyone you can among your family and friends to fill it out.
|
