Men Controlling Women's Lives?  Judges Above the Law?

 

PROGRESSIVES: TERRI SCHIAVO IS YOUR ISSUE!

 

Don't believe the hype that this is just another Right-Left battle over "life" versus "choice."  Terri Schiavo is above all a disabled woman who cannot speak for herself.  If you believe in disability rights; if you believe in women's rights; and if you believe in the basic right of habeas corpus, you should be cheering for what Congress is set to do: interrupt the starvation now being executed by an estranged husband and a prejudiced judge.  She will be granted the right of habeas corpus in federal court, the same right held by capital criminals.  Please support Senator Tom Harkin in his effort to extend this right to all vulnerable populations.  Help make this issue a progressive one!

 

Disability rights advocates  are now calling for a thorough investigation of the guardianship system, which grants individuals carte blanche to starve and dehydrate people with conditions like brain injury, birth defects and Alzheimers.  Here are

 

Some Facts about Terri Schiavo:

 

  • No machines have sustained Terri for the last 13 years.  Just a simple, gravity-fed feeding tube.  It is no more a "medical intervention" than is a spoon or fork. 
  • Terri’s condition is not terminal, nor are her bodily systems failing.
  • Starvation would be as painful for Terri as it would be for any healthy person.
  • Terri's supposed diagnosis, "persistent vegetative state," was recently shown in the journal Neurology to be inaccurate 30-43% of the time.  Like anyone in her condition, she deserves a diagnosis under the new testing protocols.
  • Terri's family loves her and wants to care for her, but is blocked by her "husband."

 

Some Facts about the Schiavo Case:

 

  • In 1993, "husband" Michael Schiavo won $750,000 to care for Terri by promising to bring her home and care for her.  "She's my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I believe in my marriage vows." He lives openly with a fiancé of nine years, and has fathered two children by her.
  • After this malpractice award, Schiavo refused to allow even the most basic rehabilitation.
  • In 1998, Schiavo requested court authorization to starve her to death.  The court-appointed guardian ad litem found that Schiavo had a conflict of interest, since he would inherit the money intended for her care.  Upon Schiavo's request, the judge dismissed the guardian and never appointed another!  Terri Schiavo has had no representation ever since.
  • At the 2000 trial, Schiavo suddenly remembered that Terri would not want "to live like that."  Despite conflicting testimony, the judge authorized her starvation.
  • Over $500,000 of the money intended for Terri's care has been spent on lawyer fees trying to have her killed.  $400,000 has gone to the traveling "better dead than disabled" lawyer George Felos.

 

Disability Rights is a progressive cause in the tradition of civil rights movements.  Educate yourself! Please see the back for more information.

Join Tom Harkin in Supporting Disability Rights

"It is my belief that people with disabilities and those who are incapacitated deserve the utmost dignity and respect."

The Democratic Senator from Iowa, perhaps more than any other member of Congress, has worked diligently for disability rights over the decades, and seems to have no problem understanding that the matter of Terri Schiavo is nothing so much as a disability rights issue.

"The more I looked at the Schiavo case, the more I thought, 'Wait a minute. There are a lot of people in similar situations -- maybe not in her specific situation -- but because of a disability cannot express themselves or cannot in any way make their desires known,'" he told reporters yesterday. "So it seems to me like this would be an appropriate area for us to take a look at."

His understanding is unusual among politicians, and is entirely lost in the save-Terri-Schiavo political free-for-all that this issue has become in recent days, with the likes of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) hopping in front of the cameras at every opportunity to intone about "sanctity of life."

Sen. Harkin told reporters, "There are a lot of people in the shadows, all over this country, who are incapacitated because of a disability, and many times there is no one to speak for them, and it is hard to determine what their wishes really are or were. So I think there ought to be a broader type of a proceeding that would apply to people in similar circumstances who are incapacitated."

We hope that you agree with Senator Harkin that the Civil Rights of severely disabled citizens must be defended. Contact your representative here. http://www.house.gov/writerep/ - Acting now could save the life of Terri and many disabled people. Please tell your senators that you want their support.

Edward Kennedy  (D - MA)  317 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-4543; Web Form: kennedy.senate.gov/contact.html

John Kerry (D - MA)  304 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-2742; Web Form: kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/contact/email.html

Not Dead Yet is the national Disability Right group that leads the disability community's oposition and concern around legalization of assisted suicide, euthanasia and other forms of medicalized killing.  Read more at http://www.notdeadyet.org/

the ragged edge online is the leading online journal of the disability rights movement.  Find it at http://www.ragged-edge-mag.com/

neighborhood access group is a local group committed to ensuring street-level access for everyone.  Web site coming soon http://www.neighborhoodaccess.org/