How sincerely, utterly, and perfectly vile.
Videotape of Terri Schiavo blinking at her parents has inspired donations from people around the country to the foundation set up to help pay for the family's legal battle. But many other groups are soliciting donations in her name as well, some for a much broader agenda.
"Help Save Terri Schiavo's Life!" says the Web site of the Traditional Values Coalition, a Christian conservative group best known for its campaigns against gay rights. Next to a link to the Web site of her parents' foundation is a pitch to "become an active supporter of the Traditional Values Coalition by pledging a monthly gift."
"What this issue has done is it has galvanized people the way nothing could have done in an off-election year," said Rev. Lou Sheldon, the founder of the group, acknowledging that the case of Ms. Schiavo, a severely brain-damaged Florida woman, had moved many to open up their checkbooks. "That is what I see as the blessing that dear Terri's life is offering to the conservative Christian movement in America." [...] Voice for Terri, a coalition of anti-abortion and Christian conservative groups, is one of several organizations that has sent e-mail messages and set up Web sites pointedly criticizing Ms. Schiavo's husband, Michael, who has fought for years to have his wife's feeding tube removed over the objections of her parents. Troy Newman, the president of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and a spokesman for Voice for Terri, said the coalition was spending the money it raised to cover the costs of rallies, of hotel rooms and of rental cars for organizers of protests in Florida, and of e-mail and letter-writing campaigns. [...] Ms. Schiavo's parents invited Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, who is estranged from the group, to help organize rallies and protests for their cause. Mr. Terry, in turn, asked his friends and fellow conservative activists, William Greene and Philip Sheldon - the son of Lou Sheldon of Traditional Values - to help raise money through their organization RightMarch.com...
This despite the fact that, as far as can be determined in various admittedly quite flawed polls, the conservative Christians of this country don't particularly approve of the various interventions into this case. (Mind, they're not especially fond of her husband, either.)
For some reason, this case is being seen by many as both a proxy for and an inderect way to legislate against abortion. If laws can be passed preventing the euthanasia (for such this is) of people in persistent vegetative states, then perhaps the definition of such a person can be left loose enough that someone could bring a suit saying, "Look, this definition of a person could apply equally well to a fetus." Mind, in most cases, the record of legislative intent would be enough to doom that approach, but somewhere, there would be a judge who would be willing to agree with them. And we'd be off to the legal races once more.
Posted by iain at March 25, 2005 11:16 AM
