Michael Schiavo's statements make best case for Terri's Day movement

By Kevin Fobbs

Michael Schiavo attempted to appear pious as he answered NBC Matt Lauer's question on what was Terri's wishes on end of life on Dateline Sunday evening. It was pure theater but what many viewers may have missed was the essence of Michael Schiavo's answer when he claimed Terri did not want to be a "burden" to anyone. Being a burden is why the court allowed her to be killed. Being a burden is now a mortal crime punishable by death.

Didn't America hear the argument that Terri did not want to be a burden? Was this not the crux of the argument that Terri's parents had presented to Michael, the courts and the nation that Terri was not a burden to them she was a beloved daughter and sister. Not, as Michael referred in the NBC interview, a "football" to be passed back and forth.

Michael's "wife in waiting" claimed in the Sunday evening NBC interview that their relationship had been more than ten years and two children in the making, and it seemed that her new husband Michael had not only moved on with his life, but he had made his decision about his disabled wife Terri's intention about being kept alive. Timing was everything, and with a recent court settlement from a malpractice lawsuit, he had to move Terri on permanently.

Sure this may only be conjecture on the part of most of us who speculate how a man who had given the appearance of being so deeply devoted to his wife could have changed 180 degrees from fighting for her lifetime of justified rehabilitation dollars to after the settlement having a new-found mental note concerning Terri's last wishes. Now comes Michael with his soon-to-be fianc้ Jodi Centonze in tow to claim Terri's desire to not be a burden and his "Did I say that?" spiel almost as if it were a line taken from the 80s sitcom "Family Matters." And guess what? The court brought it.

Michael's interview showed his complete disdain for the Schindler family and a reserved special "hate" for Terri's brother Bobby, who had pleaded to be at his sister's dying bedside but was denied — not because of Michael Schiavo's love for his wife but because of his hatred for Bobby. Did America pick up on this dark side of this attempted "choir boy" act? The jury is still out on that, but what is clear is that this charade was not for America's benefit but more of a get-even with Terri's family interview.

Perhaps the pettiness which dripped from his mouth when he talked about the Schindlers, the family which Terri was not going to be a burden to, and whom Michael claimed he knew Terri better than they was an alarming act of spite. What Michael's true possible "burden" was that Terri's mortal existence was presenting Michael with a burden because his long suffering fianc้ and two out-of-wedlock children could not go forward with their lives as long as Terri had hers. So Michael began his journey down the pathway of the Culture of Death — that way of life that embodies the circumvention of God's decision to give someone life or to take it away to a more arbitrary mortal decision of what is or is not "quality of life."

Was Michael's action presenting America with the best argument to support the Culture of Life? I would say absolutely. Think about it. He claimed Terri being taken off a feeding tube and being starved to death was really quite common, because after all it is being done "every day all over this nation."

In effect what he was stating as clearly as any Culture of Death medical professional could claim: if you starve a wife, parent or child to death...society embraces you as a humanitarian. Of course, many of these same people believe if you starve a pet dog or cat to death you should be labeled a monster. Michael Schiavo didn't seem to see any real difference between the two except that if he had done the latter instead of the former, Michael's new wife, Jodi, would possibly be visiting him in his prison jumpsuit in a Florida penitentiary visitor's area instead of in a comfortable network interview.

Michael's was not an argument about too much pain to Terri. His argument was not based upon her quality of life, as some have imagined the circumstance would be if they were in Michael's shoes, but simply that she would not want to be a burden.

So if the Schindlers — the family of Terri's birth — had made the same offer that perhaps your family would make if presented with the same potential end-of-life challenge, would they act in the same almost inhumane manner that Michael did? I would hope your family would react the same as mine — that they would work to save your life because your life is precious to them.

As America keeps watch, it is hopeful that she will begin to mull over the consequences of the Michael Schiavos of the nation. Consequences that include the slippery slope of those who claim that because there is no living will, no legal document, no real indication of what a living human being truly wanted, that being a "burden" is reason enough to starve that "loved one" to death.

I would hope for the nearly 300 million Americans who will all be confronted with a death decision one day — some more challenging than others — this "Terri's Day" offers an opportunity to bring not only clarity but comfort to what may be a difficult decision.

In America there are millions who should this week and every week until May 12, sign a pledge to support a Resolution making March 31st Terri's Day of remembrance and a celebration of the Culture of Life. What's more, use this as an opportunity to discuss your own life's final direction. Perhaps you have your own story or a neighbor or friend's story that could bring clarity to some other family in America. Let me know about it — send your comments to Kevin@kevinfobbs.com. This is part of the true meaning of an official Terri's Day. It is not about finding hate or placing blame. It is and should be about finding the core of our American values for the celebration of the Culture of Life.

Terri's Fight organization is launching a new direction this week and I believe all of us can find a way to help this very noble and selfless act. Go to www.terrisfight.org or www.kevinfobbs.com to find out more information about how you can get involved in signing the pledge to support "Terri's Day" in your community and in your state.

As our nation heads toward the height of the holy season, our attention should turn to reflection and perhaps to the words Pope John Paul II said about the need to reaffirm the "Culture of Life." He made those statements ten years ago, and in many ways the "Culture of Death" which he spoke out against — the same Culture of Death that Dr. Death Jack Kevorkian launched in Michigan and that Michael Schiavo seemed so easily to embrace — can only end with you.

America should not let Michael Schiavo's words of hate or of getting even with Terri's family for daring to care too much for their sister and daughter blind us from the true nature of a Michael Schiavo. Unfortunately, his actions give even more weight to Pope John Paul's words of warning.

The countdown for our nation's future has begun. If our children, our children's children and we are going to inherit a Culture of Life, then it is up to us to raise the banner and rally. Terri's Day and your individual pledge or your family's pledge insures that America's second revolutionary war will not be lost because we decided our nation's future was worth saving.

© Kevin Fobbs