'Sad day for America': Schiavo dies in Pinellas Park hospice, 2 weeks after feeding tube pulled

Mar 31, 2005
By STAFF

Related Coverage:

UPDATED: Mar 31, 1:15 PM EST

PINELLAS PARK (FBW/BP)--Terri Schiavo, the 41-year-old disabled woman at the center of a nationwide life-and-death debate, died Thursday morning in her Florida hospice -- nearly two weeks after her feeding tube was pulled.

Her case captured the nation's attention in recent weeks, as Congress and President Bush intervened in an attempt to save her life. But in the end, Schiavo's parents failed to convince federal courts to re-insert her feeding tube.

Her death by starvation and dehydration brought together both sides of the ideological spectrum. Sen. Rick Santorum, R.-Pa., one of the nation's foremost pro-lifers, visited with her parents, as did Rev. Jesse Jackson, a former Democratic presidential candidate who has clashed with religious conservatives on multiple issues.

Reactions to Schiavo’s death have expressed concern for both Terri and her family, and for the circumstances that led to her death.

President Bush said Thursday morning he and First Lady Laura Bush extend their condolences to Schiavo's family.

"I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life, where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected -- especially those who live at the mercy of others," Bush said. "The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life."

Gov. Jeb Bush issued the following statement:

“After an extraordinarily difficult and tragic journey, Terri Schiavo is at rest. Columba and I offer our condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Schindler, Bobby Schindler, Suzanne Vitadamo and to all those who offered their prayers and support to Terri’s family over these past weeks, months and years. These prayers were not in vain.

“Many across our state and around the world are deeply grieved by the way Terri died. I feel that grief very sharply as well. I remain convinced, however, that Terri’s death is a window through which we can see the many issues left unresolved in our families and in our society. For that, we can be thankful for all that the life of Terri Schiavo has taught us.

“I still firmly believe that human life is a gift and a mystery, and that its mystery is most evident at its beginning and ending. May all of us whose hearts were moved during the life of Terri Schiavo grow in wisdom at its ending.”

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, called Schiavo's passing a "sad day for America."

"It’s a particularly sad day for anyone who is physically or mentally handicapped, or seriously and debilitatingly ill, and those who love them," Land said. "The judiciary at the state and federal level condemned Terri Schiavo to death by dehydration and malnutrition on the hearsay evidence of a husband who is cohabiting with another woman whom he introduces as his fiancé and with whom he has produced two children.

"This was done in spite of the heart-wrenching pleas of Terri’s parents, who have loved and nurtured her throughout her life and have repeatedly volunteered to take over responsibility for her care. It’s really hard for millions of American parents to accept the fact that the judicial system in the United States of America has told a mom and a dad they cannot feed their child."

Meanwhile, William E. Rice, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Clearwater, issued a statement to Florida Baptist Witness in response to Terri’s passing.

“An innocent woman died today,” said Rice who was until recently pastor to Pinellas-Pasco Judge George Greer, who presided over much of the litigation regarding Michael Schivo’s ultimately successful efforts to have his wife’s feeding tube removed.

Rice continued, “She was starved to death while the courts that are supposed to protect the most basic liberties of its citizens stood by and did nothing. It is a sad day for America and a sad day for people who love righteousness. What happened here was wrong and ten thousand judges standing arm and arm from Clearwater to Washington screaming that this is right will never make it so. It was wrong.”

Greer withdrew his membership from Calvary recently after Rice sent him a letter in response to Greer’s admission in a March 6 St. Petersburg Times article that he stopped attending the church in the fall of 2003 in reaction to editorials in Florida Baptist Witness that criticized his rulings in the Schiavo case.

Greer said he had other unspecified criticisms of the church, but since the church supported the Witness by distributing the weekly newspaper to its members, he decided to stop attending and contributing to Calvary. Greer told the Times, “If I don't like what the St. Pete Times writes about me, my only recourse is to cancel my subscription.”

In a statement to Baptist Press, Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch said about Terri’s passing, "[A]merica should be hanging its head in shame because of its complicity in the horrible death of Terri Schiavo, a woman’s whose body committed no crime"

The pastor of First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, continued, "No matter what the laws of our land may say concerning euthanasia, and no matter that America slouches toward a culture of selfishness even in death, God is the ultimate authority over life and death."

Ken Connor, one of the legal advisers to the Schindler family, said the case of Terri Schiavo revealed much about America. Connor, chairman of the Center for a Just Society, also represented Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the Schiavo matter.

“Our society abandoned Terri Schiavo and I believe that we will all suffer as a consequence," he told BP. "As the poet John Donne said, ‘Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.’ We are all diminished by Terri’s death and all bear responsibility for what has happened to her.

“The character of any culture is judged by the way we treat the weakest and most vulnerable among us. It’s not judged by how we treat kings, princes and presidents or the rich and powerful; it’s easy to honor those. Our Lord personally identified Himself with the weak and the downtrodden. That’s why He said, ‘Inasmuch as you’ve done it to the least of these my brethren, you’ve done it unto Me.’”

With reporting by Michael Foust, Art Toalston, James A. Smith Sr. & Tom Strode.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This story will be updated throughout the day.]

Related Coverage:

Terri Schiavo: A life at stake

Email this Article Print this page

Login ID:
Password:	Forgot password?