SCOTUS Refuses Appeal to Save Terri; Supporters Turn to Executive Branch
by Jenni Parker and Bill Fancher
March 24, 2005
(AgapePress) - The Supreme Court of the United States has turned down a desperate request from Bob and Mary Schindler, the parents of Terri Schiavo, who had appealed to the justices to order their disabled daughter's feeding tube reinserted. Meanwhile, pro-life clergy have gathered outside the White House and are demanding executive action to save the brain-injured woman's life.Terri Schindler Schiavo is in her sixth day without the tube that has for years supplied her with fluid and nutrients, and the high court's refusal to countermand her court-ordered starvation appears to mark the end of the Schindlers' hopes for relief from the federal court system. The justices' rejection of this last-ditch appeal from the Florida woman's parents marks at least the fifth time the Supreme Court has refused to intervene in the lengthy legal battle. The judges gave no explanation for their ruling, which was issued in a one-page order.
Meanwhile, as the effects of forced starvation and dehydration take their toll ongoing toll during what could be the final days of Terri's life, a coalition of supporters is calling on those with the power and authority to act on the dying woman's behalf to do so. A group of such supporters gathered in Washington, DC, on Wednesday to rally at the White House.
Reverend Paul Schenck, executive director of the National Pro-Life Action Center, spoke for the 13 groups that make up "The Eleventh Hour Coalition," urging President George W. Bush and Florida's Governor Jeb Bush to use their executive powers to save Terri Schiavo from a court-ordered death by starvation.
At a news conference across from the White House, Schenck made an impassioned plea, begging, "For God's sake, take pity, have mercy, save Terri Schiavo's life, and do it now." He urged the state and national leaders to "deploy the police services at your disposal to protect Terri Schiavo, to restore her food and water, and to threaten arrest of anyone who fails to comply."
In its coverage of the rally and the news conference, Associated Press quoted Schenck as saying that everyone has failed the vulnerable, incapacitated woman. "Our instinct ought to be to rush to the side of an ailing, dying fellow human being," he said. "We should be willing to sacrifice to provide her aid and comfort, but instead we debate, litigate and posture. Shame on us ... all of us."
The minister and pro-life activist noted that Terri Schiavo's death is imminent unless officials intervene to save her, and said if those who have the power to intervene continue to withhold their influence, "then indeed, they have made a beautiful martyr."
Executive Powers Under Increasing Pressure
According to AP, President Bush suggested yesterday that Congress and the White House had done all they could to keep the brain-injured 41-year-old alive. But the National Pro-Life Action Center spokesman insisted that more could be done and that sending in police to save Terri's life would not be an illegal use of executive authority. "No branch or agency of government that steps in to protect an innocent individual from harm -- and in this case, killing -- has ever overstepped its bounds," the minister said.
In response to those pro-lifers and supporters who are demanding the re-insertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, Governor Jeb Bush is asking the protesters to keep their demonstrations level-headed and non-violent. The Florida governor says people of faith who are desperate to save the disabled woman's life must not resort to force or violence, and even though "we may disagree with the courts, there's no justification for violent acts."
AP reports that Governor Bush announced the filing of a petition to take custody of Schiavo, and assured those anxious to save her that their "prayers and petitions are working." He suggested that he may have the authority to intervene in the matter regardless of the outcome of court appeals, but he expressed concerns about reports that some people were making threats about what they might do "if this process doesn't go their way."
A new CBS News poll has found that most self-identified Evangelicals say they disapprove of the recent intervention by Congress and President Bush in the Terri Schiavo case. According to the survey, the vast majority of evangelical and non-evangelical Christians on both sides of the issue have intense feelings about the Schiavo case; but a majority of Catholics and Protestants said they oppose re-insertion of the incapacitated woman's feeding tube. (See related commentary)
Nevertheless, a number of Christian and pro-life leaders, including the members of the Eleventh Hour Coalition and the Constitution Party's 2004 U.S. presidential candidate Michael Peroutka, feel strongly that government intervention is warranted in this case -- and that executive action should be taken if that is what it takes to save an innocent and vulnerable citizen's life.
