What is happening to our medically vulnerable United States Senator Robert Menendez? Let's try to improve the Health Care System!

   
                               7/1/15

     I'd received this letter a few days ago from the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.  For more information write them at P.O. Box 521, Narberth, PA 19072, or call them at 855-300-4673, or go to the website www.lifeandhope.com.

     This is posted free of charge.  Posted for no financial consideration whatsoever.

Dear Kenneth,

It's been a busy month for us here at the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.  We have been working hard on so many different projects.

To start, I want to share with you some of the new challenges we are up against.

     The longer I work for the right-to-life, advocating for the medically vulnerable, the more shocked I am at the extremes to which our opponents will go in their disregard for human life.

     -   A British woman decided to take matters into her own hands when she helped a friend to commit suicide, ordering gas online and having it delivered to her friend - who had a history of depression and self-harm.  Instead of condemning her atrocious act, her prosecutors are calling it "misguided loyalty" ... because in today's culture of death, "loyalty" somehow can be confused with out right murder.

     -   A recent survey of Dutch general practitioners showed that many would kill cancer patients, and 1/3 would be willing to euthanize the mentally ill.  When killing is accepted as an appropriate response to human suffering, there is no stopping point.

     -   Canada's Supreme Court recently imposed euthanasia across the country, including for "psychological pain" resulting from a diagnosable medical condition - and doctors may not be able to opt out.  The Canadian Medical Association wants doctors protected, but the Ontario and Saskatchewan Colleges of Doctors and Surgeons want to force doctors to refer patients for euthanasia.

Medical professionals should protect and value human life more than anyone - after all, saving lives is their job!

Instead, most doctors in the Netherlands are more than happy to prescribe euthanasia to their patients - or should we say their victims? - while Canadian doctors may not have any choice in the matter.

So many politicians and medical professionals have made it clear that they hold human life to be cheap and expendable.

They see you and me as backwards, outdated, and uncompassionate.

          You and I know that nothing could be further from the truth.

This is why the work we do is so important.

In the face of a culture that increasingly supports killing as the only answer to suffering, pain, misery, and handicaps of any kind, the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network continues to argue  that all human life is valuable and precious.

We could not continue to fight this critical battle without your prayers and support.

I have had the opportunity to make our case not just in the United States but also around the world, to other countries that desperately need to hear our message of life and hope.

         Just this month I completed a speaking tour across Australia.

First I spoke at the Cherish Life Quennsland's "Hope For the Future" Conference in Brisbane.  Then I traveled to the Bundaberg and Mackay branches of Cherish Life Queensland.  And finally I visited with the Family Council of Victoria.

In each of these cities, I shared my sister Terri's devastating story.

        I also testified to the lifesaving work we are doing here at the Terri Sciavo Life and Hope Network.


It was an unforgettable experience to visit with our brothers and sisters "down under" who are fighting the same battles that you and I are fighting.

        It was also an occasion for encouragement and solidarity.

It's clear that the culture of death continues to grow stronger, with increasing support from people in power.

        Yet the work that you and I are engaged in continues to bear fruit, and we can see clear signs of hope.

Every day we read new stories of how life and hope triumph over the culture of death.  Let me share a sampling of such stories that have been in the news lately, in case you missed them:


     -   When Hannah and Michael Boland found out their unborn son, Stephen, had a rare brain abnormality and would not live very long, their doctors pressured them to have an abortion.  One physician even suggested that Hannah and Michael should let their baby starve to death.  Instead, the Bolands persevered through the pregnancy and let their baby live.  They were able to enjoy 47 precious hours with their son before he died, and experience that Hannah has written about in her book, 47 Hours with a Prince.

     -   An East Tennessee woman whose baby was born while she wa in a coma is now awake!  Sharista Giles was on her way home from a concert in Nashville with friends in early December when the driver of her car fell asleep at the wheel, crashing into a concrete barrier - leaving Giles in a coma.  Her baby was born prematurely in January and Giles was taken to a care and rehab center.  In April the center called her family to tell them Sharista was awake!


     -   19-year-old Lauren Hill was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  Instead of promoting the message that suffering is a good reason for assisted suicide - the message that a lot of people in our culture want to hear - Lauren advocated for living with dignity and told the world that hospice helped her to continue living with terminal ilness.  She received far more subdued news coverage than did Brittany Maynard, who advocated for "death with dignity", but Lauren inspires us with her example and gave an unmistakable witness of the dignity of every human life.

     -   A neurosurgeon told Noah Conley's mother that her son might never recover from his traumatic brain injury.  The boy was on life support and in a coma for six days.  But now, two years later, Noah not only woke up from his coma but also returned to school and he will graduate high school this month with plans to attend college in the fall and study medicine.

     Don't these stories fill you with hope?

 Thanks to brave and determined family members who stood up to the medicalprofession, each of these lives was saved or allowed to come to a natural end.

And thanks to your generous support of the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network. we can make more stories like this possible every day.


     Won't you consider renewing your support today?


You see, when we talk about the "culture of life," we are talking about individuals: people like Sharista, Lauren, and Noah.  Each of these people is irreplaceable in the lives of their families and friends.

Each of these people has infinite worth.

       This is who we are fighting for.

Despite the culture of death that continues to encroach, we have made incredible gains and won resounding victories.

Will you continue to stand with us and fight for the right of every human person?

        Thank you, as always, for your prayers and support.  You give us the strength to continue this fight and we remain incredibly grateful.

Sincerely,



Bobby Schindler
Executive Director


P.S. People like Noah, Sharista, and Lauren are our brothers and sisters.  There are thousands like them who need the life-saving resources and support of the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.

With your assistance, we're ready to provide that help.  I hope I can count on you to renew your support today.


end of letter ...

     Please find out more about Terri Schiavo - see www.lifeandhope.com


                         







                                 7/1/15

     I'd revceived this letter a few days ago from the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.  For more information write them at P.O. Box 521, Narberth, PA 19072, or call them at 855-300-4673, or go to the website www.lifeandhope.com.

     This is posted free of charge.  Posted for no financial consideration whatsoever.

Dear Kenneth,

It's been a busy month for us here at the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.  We have been working hard on so many different projects.

To start, I want to share with you some of the new challenges we are up against.

     The longer I work for the right-to-life, advocating for the medically vulnerable, the more shocked I am at the extrememes to which our opponents will go in their disregard for human life.

     -   A British woman decided to take matters into her own hands when she helped a friend to commit suicide, ordering gas online and having it delivered to her friend - who had a history of depression and self-harm.  Instead of condemning her atrocious act, her prosecutors are calling it "misguided loyalty" ... because in today's culture of death, "loyalty" somehow can be confused with out right murder.

     -   A recent survey of Dutch general practitioners showed that many would kill cancer patients, and 1/3 would be willing to euthanize the mentally ill.  When killing is accepted as an appropriate response to human suffering, there is no stopping point.

     -   Canada's Supreme Court recently imposed euthanasia across the country, including for "psychological pain" resulting from a diagnosable medical condition - and doctors may not be able to opt out.  The Canadian Medical Association wants doctors protected, but the Ontario and Saskatchewan Colleges of Doctors and Surgeons want to force doctors to refer patients for euthanasia.

Medical professionals should protect and value human life more than anyone - after all, saving lives is their job!

Instead, most doctors in the Netherlands are more than happy to prescribe euthanasia to their patients - or should we say their victims? - while Canadian doctors may not have any choice in the matter.

So many politicians and medical professionals have made it clear that they hold human life to be cheap and expendable.

They see you and me as backwards, outdated, and uncompassionate.

          You and I know that nothing could be further from the truth.

This is why the work we do is so important.

In the face of a culture that increasingly supports killing as the only answer to suffering, pain, misery, and handicaps of any kind, the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network continues to argue  that all human life is valuable and precious.

We could not continue to fight this critical battle without your prayers and support.

I have had the opportunity to make our case not just in the United States but also around the world, to other countries that desperately need to hear our message of life and hope.

         Just this month I completed a speaking tour across Australia.

First I spoke at the Cherish Life Quennsland's "Hope For the Future" Conference in Brisbane.  Then I traveled to the Bundaberg and Mackay branches of Cherish Life Queensland.  And finally I visited with the Family Council of Victoria.

In each of these cities, I shared my sister Terri's devastating story.

        I also testified to the lifesaving work we are doing here at the Terri Sciavo Life and Hope Network.


It was an unforgettable experience to visit with our brothers and sisters "down under" who are fighting the same battles that you and I are fighting.

        It was also an occassion for encouragement and solidarity.

It's clear that the culture of death continues to grow stronger, with increasing support from people in power.

        Yet the work that you and I are engaged in continues to bear fruit, and we can see clear signs of hope.

Every day we read new stories of how life and hope triumph over the culkture of death.  Let me share a sampling of such stories that have been in the news lately, in case you missed them:


     -   When Hannah and Michael Boland found out their unborn son, Stephen, had a rare brain abnormality and would not live very long, their doctors pressured them to have an abortion.  One physician even suggested that Hannah and Michael should let their baby starve to death.  Instead, the Bolands persevered through the pregnancy and let their baby live.  They were able to enjoy 47 precious hours with their son before he died, and experience that Hannah has written about in her book, 47 Hours with a Prince.

     -   An East Tennessee woman whose baby was born while she wa in a coma is now awake!  Sharista Giles was on her way home from a concert in Nashville with friends in early December when the driver of her car fell asleep at the wheel, crashing into a concrete barrier - leaving Giles in a coma.  Her baby was born prematurely in January and Giles was taken to a care and rehab center.  In April the center called her family to tell them Sharista was awake!


     -   19-year-old Lauren Hill was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  Instead of promoting the message that suffering is a good reason for assisted suicide - the message that a lot of people in our culture want to hear - Lauren advocated for living with dignity and told the world that hospice helped her to continue living with terminal ilness.  She received far more subdued news coverage than did Brittany Maynard, who advocated for "death with dignity", but Lauren inspires us with her example and gave an unmistakable witness of the dignity of every human life.

     -   A neurosurgeon told Noah Conley's mother that her son might never recover from his traumatic brain injury.  The boy was on life support and in a coma for six days.  But now, two years later, Noah not only woke up from his coma but also returned to school and he will graduate high school this month with plans to attend college in the fall and study medicine.

     Don't these stories fill you with hope?

 Thanks to brave and determined family members who stood up to the medicalprofession, each of these lives was saved or allowed to come to a natural end.

And thanks to your generous support of the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network. we can make more stories like this possible every day.


     Won't you consider renewing your support today?


You see, when we talk about the "culture of life," we are talking about individuals: people like Sharista, Lauren, and Noah.  Each of these people is irreplaceable in the lives of their families and friends.

Each of these people has infinite worth.

       This is who we are fighting for.

Despite the culture of death that continues to encroach, we have made incredible gains and won resounding victories.

Will you continue to stand with us and fight for the right of every human person?

        Thank you, as always, for your prayers and support.  You give us the strength to continue this fight and we remain incredibly grateful.

Sincerely,



Bobby Schindler
Executive Director


P.S. People like Noah, Sharista, and Lauren are our brothers and sisters.  There are thousands like them who need the life-saving resources and support of the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.

With your assistance, we're ready to provide that help.  I hope I can count on you to renew your support today.


end of letter ...

     Please find out more about Terri Schiavo - see www.lifeandhope.com