Contact: Rebecca S. Jones of Concerned Women for America, 202-488-7000 ext. 126
WASHINGTON, March 8 /Christian Wire Service/ — Concerned Women for America (CWA) commends Rep. Dave Weldon (R- Florida) and Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Florida) for introducing the Incapacitated Persons Legal Protection Act (HR 1151, S 539) in an effort to save the life of Terri Schiavo, whose husband intends to begin starving her to death on March 18 by removing her feeding tube.
This Incapacitated Persons Legal Protection Act will provide the same protection for disabled individuals like Terri as the law extends to convicted felons the right to independent counsel and effective legal representation. It also recognizes the due process protection of habeas corpus appeals for disabled individuals who are the subject of a court order to affect their death by removal of nutrition, hydration or medical treatment. Hopefully, this law will enable Terri’s parents to have standing as their daughter’s “next friend” to file a habeas corpus petition on Terri’s behalf.
“It is shameful that Terri Schiavo’s vulnerable physical condition has left her with less legal protection than a convicted felon,” said Lanier Swann, CWA’s director of government relations. “Anyone whose motives are as highly questionable as Michael Schiavo’s should not be granted the legal right to determine if someone else’s life is worth preserving. Michael Schiavo’s long-term adulterous relationship with a woman by whom he has fathered two children since Terri’s accident 15 years ago forfeited his right to advocate on his wife’s behalf. Michael’s only interest in Terri’s life appears to rest in the financial benefits he will reap when she dies.
“It is imperative that Congress acts quickly, as this bill could give Terri the legal avenue she needs in order to avoid death at the hands of her husband,” concluded Swann.
