North Country Gazette

Threat Of Euthanasia Topic Of Schiavo Sister

Posted on Wednesday, 24 of October , 2007 at 10:49 am

CROMWELL, CT—Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo, sister of Terri Schindler Schiavo, will speak in Cromwell Saturday, Oct. 27, about her family’s struggle to care for her disabled sister and the growing threat of euthanasia at the annual Connecticut Right to Life convention at the Courtyard by Marriott at Exit 21 of I-91.

The first speaker at 1:30 p.m. will be Georgette Forney, president for Anglicans for Life followed by Suzanne Schindler Vitadarmo at 3 p.m. A workshop will follow. 

The banquet will begin at about 6 p.m. when the main speaker, Father Tadeusz (Tad) Pacholezyk, will speak about stem cell research.

Registrations can be made by contacting Janet Sayles at 203-878-4097.  More information can be obtained by e-mailing Bill O’Brien. Connecticut RTL president,  at billboru@yahoo.comTerri Schindler Schiavo, incapacitated by a brain injury,  died by way of court-ordered dehydration and starvation at a Pinellas County hospice on March 31, 2005. Suzanne and her family continue to wage a battle to save other people with disabilities through the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, established by the Schindler family in 2000 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Foundation seeks to establish a network of attorneys, doctors and other professionals to try to assist medically dependent families in crisis and ensure that they have a fighting chance at life.

“For almost two weeks, my family was forced to watch my sister suffer through the very real and very grisly effects of terminal dehydration”, Vitadamo says.  “With each passing day, Terri appeared more weakened, thinner, and so very frightened. I listened to the proponents for the so-called right to die movement defiantly deceive news audiences that what my sister endured was a gentle, peaceful and euphoric demise. I sat on the corner of her bed trying so hard to understand that what I was witnessing was actually real”.

Vitadamo says in growing up, her immediate family was extremely close, always looking after each other. “We were raised as faithful Catholics, and took our faith very seriously, attending parochial elementary and high school, and going to mass every Sunday, and all Holy Days of Obligation. In fact, Terri attended mass with my parents the night before she collapsed”.

“Terri could be pretty bashful around new people. At home, however, she was a joker. When Terri and Bobby were small, Bobby accidentally locked Terri in a suitcase. Well, Terri thought it was funny to retaliate by pushing Bobby down the stairs! My mom said it was a good thing she had just had carpet put in! She loved to sketch, adored animals and had such a sweet spot in her heart for them. She was a really unassuming, agreeable person who tried to find the good in others”.

“Contrary to what the media writes, Terri was very alive, responsive and able to interact with her family and friends. All you have to do is watch the videos of my sister, review the more than 40 doctors’ affidavits submitted to the court, fully read the autopsy report or simply believe the testimony of my family to understand that Terri was not only responsive, but that labeling her as having been in this dehumanizing, unscientific and lethal “vegetative” state was also erroneous.

“The most important thing for me to point out is that we knew Terri had severe brain injury, that was nothing new to my family, and whether or not she would get better didn’t and shouldn’t matter. She was a human being who loved and was deeply loved by her family. For that reason alone she deserved every protection.

“Even though we are constantly told that what we did was heroic for protecting Terri’s life, my family never thought of it that way, rather we were only doing what we believed we are called to do as humans and what any family would do if faced with the same circumstances. “Every reason Michael Schiavo used to justify killing my sister is every reason we should be using to care for and love people like my sister. Terri was disabled. Why should we look at or treat her any differently than those who are not disabled. In fact, they need our love and protection the most. I thank God every day that my parents never gave up on Terri and because what my parents did, they showed the world what it means to love someone unconditionally”.

“How are we better off as a society by killing Terri or anyone with a brain injury?” Vitadamo asks. “There are a lot of Terris out there.”   10-24-07