Terri Schavo's National Legacy

Joni Eareckson Tada wrote this article. Joni lost the use of
her arms and legs as a result of a swimming incident. About
a dozen years ago she started an organization called
Joni and Friends that provides support and encouragement
to handicapped and disabled people.



Terri Schiavo's National Legacy
Thursday, March 31, 2005 - Joni Eareckson Tada

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AGOURA HILLS, March 31, 2005 - With the death of Terri Schiavo, we at Joni
and Friends extend our deepest sympathy to her family and friends who
labored tirelessly, yet unsuccessfully, to save her life. Terri did not
die in vain, however. We are grateful to God for Terri¹s life and we now
pray for His glory to be revealed out of this tragic situation. We
adamantly believe God will use the example of Terri Schiavo to stave off
the culture of death, and thus build a culture of life in our country.

President Bush stated shortly after Terri¹s death that ³The essence of
civilization is that the strong should protect the weak... and we need to
continue to work to build a culture of life.²

This is why Joni and Friends is committed to extending the culture of life
to families affected by disability through our ministry¹s various
programs. We also are working with other national disability organizations
to prevent the sad plight of Terri Schiavo from happening again. First, we
call on all Christians to pray. Next, we believe there should be a federal
review in state cases where there are contested decisions to withhold
feeding tubes from significantly disabled people. We also believe there
should be a state-by-state reform of guardianship and health-care decision
laws to safeguard the involuntary euthanasia of disabled people.

To uphold the God-given dignity of life ­ especially those whose lives are
impacted by significant disabilities ­ we are asking society to stop using
the term ³persistent vegetative state.² Too many people with severe
disabilities have been called ³vegetables² ­ this is not only demeaning,
but dehumanizing. When severely disabled people are stripped of
life-dignity, the discussion too easily turns to death or the warehousing
of that individual in a hospice.

Joni and Friends is calling for a moratorium on the dehydration and
starvation of significantly disabled persons. We believe there should be a
³cognitive assessment review² as a minimal standard before a feeding tube
is removed. When a person¹s wishes are not documented, we should err on
the side of life; we should assume that living is preferable over dying.

We have observed that media discussions have centered around whether or
not a severely disabled person is ³going to get better some day² as though
that fact is a criterion for life. However, for millions of Americans,
disability is a fact of life; many will ³never get better² by society¹s
standards. We assert that the quality of one¹s life should never be a
criteria to put them to death. Life is the most irreplaceable and
fundamental condition of what it means to be human and it is an express
gift of God, the Author of life.

Disabled people have the right to life. The moral fabric of our country
will be strengthened as we support the right of all disabled people to
humane treatment, rehabilitative therapy, and most of all, the right to
life.

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