Schiavo Autopsy Changes Nothing for Pro-Lifers
by Mary Rettig and Jody Brown
June 16, 2005
(AgapePress) - The autopsy of Terri Schindler-Schiavo has yielded results that appear to back her husband's claim that she was in a persistent vegetative state, as well as severely and irreversibly brain-damaged and blind. However, a pro-life advocate with the American Life League says the court-ordered death of the disabled Florida woman was morally unacceptable, no matter what her autopsy found.ALL's Jim Sedlak says Wednesday's autopsy results reaffirmed that Schiavo was a severely disabled woman but also proved that her condition was not going to kill her. "The autopsy clearly says that she died of dehydration," Sedlak notes, "which means they took the food and water away from her, and that's what caused her death." The results of Schiavo's post-mortem medical examination, released on June 15, proved the brain-injured woman was definitely not dying; therefore, he asserts, she could have continued to survive if not for the forced dehydration and starvation that was imposed upon her.
"That is a tragedy here in America," Sedlak contends, "that a disabled woman, even though she was severely disabled, should be intentionally put to death by the courts because someone didn't think her quality of life was good enough."
This fact should be a wakeup call to every American, the ALL spokesman insists. He believes what happened to Terri Schiavo should prompt all Americans to protect themselves by having the proper documents filled out and on file to establish their end-of-life wishes.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the release of the autopsy results has not changed President Bush's position that Schiavo's feeding tube should not have been disconnected. The president had signed a bill, rushed through by Congress in March, in an effort to have the disabled woman's feeding tube reattached.
Meanwhile, Rev. Patrick Mahoney with the Christian Defense Coalition says he upset that the doctor who signed the autopsy report has refused to list the cause and manner of Terri's death.
"It is unconscionable for Dr. Thogmorton to certify the manner of Terri's death as 'undetermined,'" Mahoney states. "There is no doubt that [she] died from dehydration."
To omit those findings from the official autopsy report, he says, reflects "a betrayal of medical integrity" as well as an "attempted whitewash of the core issues" of the case. Mahoney says his group will work to ensure that the true manner of death is certified in the report.
"This [report] is an attempt to cover up the real manner and cause of death -- that is, the dehydration of a severely disabled women by court order," the pro-life activist says. With the cause of death being listed as "undetermined," Mahoney maintains the report is nothing but a "disgrace" and "charade."
