Schiavo Case Prompts Florida Campaign By Hemlock Society
By: Administrative Account | Source: WESH - TV 2, Orlando
December 10, 2003 5:34PM EST
TAMPA, Fla. -- Spurred by the Terri Schiavo case, a national right-to-die group launched a public relations blitz in Florida this week to raise awareness of end-of-life choices, including the importance of living wills.
The $60,000 campaign by the Denver-based End of Life Choices -- formerly the Hemlock Society -- includes newspaper ads in Tallahassee, Orlando, Tampa and Miami, and speeches throughout the state this week by organization officials.
"As we sit back and take a look at this tragic tug of war over Terri Schiavo, we have definitely detected there is what we call a teachable moment for Floridians and the rest of the country," the group's CEO, David Brand, said Tuesday.
Brand said the case of the severely brain-damaged woman should serve as a "wake-up call" for those who do not have advance directives and are not aware of the laws governing end-of-life decisions in their states.
He hopes the Schiavo case and the ad campaign will get people talking about the subject.
"Today's headlines are full of the pain of unspoken wishes," one newspaper ad says. "Save your loved ones the anguish of making a difficult decision when you are unable to speak for yourself." Schiavo is at the center of a fierce court battle between her husband and her parents over whether her feeding tube should be removed so she can die.
She was left in what doctors call a persistent vegetative state after her heart stopped suddenly in 1990. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, convinced a judge that she once stated her wishes not to be kept alive artificially.
Terri Schiavo left no advance directive, and her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, dispute that she had any such end-of-life wishes. They also believe her condition could improve with therapy.
Florida courts have repeatedly affirmed Michael Schiavo's legal right to remove the feeding tube, and he did so Oct. 15. Six days later the Florida Legislature intervened, hastily passing a law allowing Gov. Jeb Bush to order the tube reinserted -- a move Michael Schiavo contends was unconstitutional.
Brand said his group opposes the state's intervention in the Schiavo case and believes the courts are best suited to make end-of-life decisions when there is no advance directive.
"The notion that someone outside of the court system via the Legislature would impose their own morality on a situation like this is intolerable to us and incomprehensible," he said.
Pat Anderson, attorney for the Schindlers, accused the group of using the Schiavo case to play on people's fears.
"Floridians need to know that this is the Hemlock Society with a new name, and they are trying to hide their pro-euthanasia agenda," Anderson said. "They are using Terri Schiavo to promote euthanasia."
Brand denies that. He said the group changed its name last summer to be more specific about its mission. He noted that the group has taken no position on whether Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed.
"What we simply want to do is allow for every individual the right to have choices and have their choices known and honored," he said.
Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said the governor agrees that everyone should have a living will. But he defended Bush's intervention in a case where there was no written directive and some doubt exists regarding her wishes and medical condition. "We should err on the side of life, and that's what the governor is doing," DiPietre said.
End of Life Choices, funded by donations and membership dues, has about 34,000 members in 90 chapters nationwide, including 11 in Florida.
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