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Releases Releases
to the National Press | 3/21/05 
National
Clergy Council Executive Member Rev. Pat Mahoney (left, foreground) leads prayer
with NCC president Rev. Rob Rob Schenck (center, left) on Friday at Pinellas Park,
Florida in front of the hospice where Terri Schiavo lives. Terri's life is now
in the hands of U.S. District Judge James Whittemore, who will decide if Terri's
feeding tube will be reinserted. What
a turn around! Florida Democratic Rep. Jim Davis, opponent of the bill to save
the life of Terri Schiavo, stated yesterday that it is the courts that should
decide “the will of God” and not the Congress! Congressman Davis represents
the very same people who just twelve months ago insisted that the Chief Justice
of Alabama be removed from office for acknowledging God in his courtroom. Now,
they want the court to enforce a directive to kill Terri by starvation and dehydration.
The Prophet Isaiah declared about the evildoers of his day – 15
For you said, "We have cut a deal with Death,
and we have made an agreement
with Sheol;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through, (A)
it will
not touch us,
because we have made falsehood our refuge
and have hidden
behind treachery." Isaiah
28:15 This past week, in Pinellas Park, Florida, and here in the
Nation’s Capital of Washington, D.C., an epic drama demonstrating the intensity
of the conflict between the Culture of Life and the culture of death. The culture
of death has been fully embraced by those who approve of and practice abortion,
assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, and now, euthanasia - the deliberate
killing of the incapacitated and disabled. Dr. Paul Schenck, Chairman
of Faith and Action and Executive Director of The National Pro-Life Action Center
on Capitol Hill, was present early this morning when the U.S. House of Representatives
passed legislation that attempts to save the life of Terri Schiavo in Florida.
The legislation takes Terri’s case out of the Florida state court and puts
it in the hands of a federal court. It is assumed that a reasonable judge will
issue a stay – directing that Terri be fed and hydrated again. Food and water
was taken away from Terri Schiavo on Friday when a Florida state court ignored
subpoenas issued by Congress in the case. Last week, the Congress demanded that
the parties concerned come to Washington for a hearing on whether Terri’s
Constitutional rights have been violated. The judge on the case directed that
Congress be ignored. Opponents of the bill, led by Massachusetts’
Congressman Barney Franks, an avowed homosexual, insisted that Terri die, and
that she is “brain dead”, “unable to breathe on her own”,
and should “be allowed to die.” One Florida Congresswoman said that
she just made the decision to “withdraw nutritional sustenance” from
her aunt. When asked if “nutritional sustenance” means “food and
water”, she admitted that it did. Senate leader Bill Frist,
who is a physician, said this is an extraordinary case all about “the sanctity
of life”. He denied that Terri is unable to breathe, “she is not in
a coma, she is not on a respirator, she is not terminal” he said on the floor
of the Senate in an impromptu impassioned speech in support of the legislation.
It is astounding how insistent the state court judge, George Greer, is
upon starving Terri to death. When the Congress issued the subpoenas protecting
Terri as a federal witness, Greer dismissed them, saying he saw no reason to observe
them. He personally notified the nursing home where Terri has been kept that they
had to remove her feeding and hydration tube. President Bush returned
from his Easter vacation in Texas to Washington so that he would be on hand to
sign the new "Terri’s Law”. However, even with this legislation,
there is no guarantee that Terri will live. It is now up to a federal judge to
decide whether her food should be reinstated. That is by no means certain –
since we have seen too many out-of-control federal judges ruling with the culture
of death. Faith and Action, the National Pro-Life Action Center
and their allies – Christian Defense Coalition, Priests for Life and Catholics
United for Life – are working tirelessly around the clock to support the
efforts to save Terri’s life and all those like her. Rev.
Rob Schenck, President of Faith and Action, was in Pinellas Park, Florida where
Terri has been kept, leading prayer services, rallies and vigils for hundreds
of supporters. He appeared Saturday on the covers of the Washington Post and Philadelphia
Inquirer earnestly praying for a reversal of the court’s ruling.
Paul Schenck spent twelve hours in the U.S. Capitol keeping vigil during
the debates, deliberations, and final votes. He spent time in prayer in the Chaplain’s
office and in both the House and Senate chambers, and ministered to members of
the Senate staff. He even intervened in a security event outside when a troubled
woman, unrelated to Terri’s case, attempted to enter the Senate.
Rev. Rob and Paul Schenck are both members of the U.S. Senate Chaplain’s
Pastoral Ministry Emergency Response Team. Pray for them as they continue to encourage,
work for and defend policies that will protect dependent and vulnerable persons.
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