PRESS RELEASE
Family Life International, New Zealand

Friday March 1, 2005

PRESS RELEASE:

THE DEATH OF TERRI SCHIAVO MARKS A SAD DAY IN HUMAN HISTORY

Terri Schiavo's cruel, inhumane and public execution at the hands of the medical and judicial system marks the beginning of a frightening new chapter in our human history. If we are prepared to tolerate and endorse an act such as this then what will come next?

Terri Schiavo did not die as a result of her injuries or illness. Her life was taken from her by her husband and a judicial and medical establishment that has clearly demonstrated its disregard for human life.

It is alarming in our modern age of women's rights awareness that Terri Schiavo's life was viewed by the courts as being the property of her husband Michael and he was allowed to decide whether she should live or die.

Terri was not even afforded the basic human rights that convicted criminals on death row are allowed and her death was commissioned by a judge who acted upon the dubious verbal testimony of her husband Michael, who stood to benefit from her death.

The mainstream media in New Zealand and overseas, bar a small minority, have failed Terri Schiavo miserably by omitting important facts about her case, reporting only one side of the story and presenting major and glaring factual errors to the public as truth.

Our politicians have also failed Terri Schiavo. Our current Labour government has been bold in its statements regarding perceived human rights violations here and abroad and yet they have remained shamefully silent about the gross abuse of Terri Schiavo's right to life and her inhumane death.

Just like the American Roe Vs Wade court case in 1973 there is no doubt that "Schindler Vs Schiavo" in 2005 will be remembered as a dark turning point in legal precedent that will open the door for the killing of the elderly, infirm and disabled in our society.

In Germany before World War II this same course of action was implemented and deemed compassionate and enlightened, not by the Nazi's but by the educated elite of pre-war Germany.

Terri Schiavo has sadly been taken from us in a most brutal way but she will not be forgotten.

Her disability cost her, her life. We must continue to fight for the dignity of every human person, no matter there state in life. Euthanasia is a gross violation of the most fundamental human right - the right to life and for the sake of the most vulnerable members of our society we must never tolerate such an evil practise in New Zealand.

ENDS

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