An excellent article by Mr. Wesley Smith - please, please see Terri Schiavo life & Hope Network @ www.lifeandhope.com.

Primary Menu National Review The Media Still Can’t Get Facts about Terri Schiavo Right Article Browser Tax: On the Road to Serfdom ‘This Land Is Their Land’ The View Hosts Issue Four Legal Notes in One Broadcast On the Climate Gravy Plane Free Speech: ‘Non-Crime’ Blotter The Corner Politics & Policy The Media Still Can’t Get Facts about Terri Schiavo Right Standing beside a picture of Terri, family members of Terri Schiavo listen to remarks during the launch of the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation in Washington, D.C., March 30, 2006.(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Share 128 By Wesley J. Smith November 23, 2024 4:13 PM 128 Comments Listen Terri Schiavo was cruelly dehydrated to death almost 20 years ago, and the media still can’t get the facts right. 00:33 07:48 Top Stories Why the Democrats Blew It Noah Rothman NRPLUS Musk vs. the Machine Michael Brendan Dougherty NRPLUS The Democrats Have a Woman Problem Christine Rosen NRPLUS Terri’s case has come up again in media stories discussing the nomination of former congressman Dr. David Weldon to head the CDC. As usual, there are misreporting and wrongful implications when Terri’s case is discussed. Thus, the Raw Story report stated: He is also well known for his role in the Terri Schiavo controversy, where after a Florida woman suffered brain death, Congress attempted to intervene against her husband’s right to terminate life support. Weldon in particular used his credentials as a doctor to dispute Schiavo’s diagnosis. Terri was never diagnosed as brain dead, which is legally deceased. She was either in a persistent or minimally conscious condition, which is very much alive. I’ll get to the legislation in a moment, which was not as controversial at the time as the story implies. Meanwhile, the Washington Post story also goes astray: Weldon, who served in Congress for 14 years from 1995 to 2009, attracted national attention for his involvement in the case of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose family’s attempts to remove her feeding tubes and end her life attracted national attention — and prompted interventions by congressional Republicans. The attempt to remove Schiavo’s feeding tubes was a “grave injustice,” Weldon said on the floor of Congress in 2003. He petitioned her family in 2005 to personally review her case. No, her family — siblings and parents — fought valiantly in the courts to keep her alive. Her estranged husband fought to hasten her death by removing her feeding tube. Why do I say estranged? At the time of the legal battle, he was living with a woman he called his “fiancé” (whom he later married), during which time she bore his two children. If that isn’t marital estrangement, I don’t know what is. At the very least, it created a profound personal conflict of interest between Michael and Terri that received far too little shrift. As to the supposedly controversial legislation and “intervention by House Republicans”: Weldon’s bill was among the most bipartisan laws passed during the George W. Bush presidency. In the House of Representatives, 45 percent of the House Democratic caucus who voted supported the bill. It received unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate, including from Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Tom Harkin (who was a prime mover in support of the bill), Harry Reid, and Dianne Feinstein, etc. If only one senator had objected, the bill would have failed, but none did. More on Ethics The Ethics Hysterics Are Back The Left’s Continuing Lies about the Terri Schiavo Case At Least 60 People with Eating Disorders Euthanized or Assisted in Suicide since 2012 The Terri Schiavo case was a tipping point in this country’s morality. Before her death, people couldn’t believe we dehydrate cognitively disabled people to death. Afterwards, majorities supported such actions. But that doesn’t remove the bite of injustice inflicted in the name of compassion on Terri and her blood family. If we are ever to a return to a more just society that cares for the most vulnerable among us rather than seeing their deaths as beneficent, it is important to keep the story straight. Author’s note: After this post published, the Washington Post edited its discussion on the Terri Schiavo case to accurately state that the husband wanted her feeding tube removed, rather than the family, as originally reported in the story and criticized by me as inaccurate. The paper did so without acknowledging the change, i.e., a stealth edit. Journalism dies in darkness. Next Post DOJ Housecleaning! 2020 Election Investigations! Talk, Talk, Talk . . . Back to The Corner Share 128 Comments Wesley J. Smith Wesley J. Smith is an author and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. @theWesleyJSmith The Latest Thanksgiving Costs Drop Slightly, but Americans Still ‘Exhausted’ by Years of Inflation, Survey Finds Alex Welz California Will Offer Electric Vehicle Rebates if Trump Ends Federal Tax Credit, Newsom Says Haley Strack Biden’s Ukraine Strategy Has Little to Do with Ukraine Noah Rothman DEI Training Material Increases Perception of Nonexistent Prejudice, Agreement with Hitler Rhetoric, Study Finds Abigail Anthony Majority of Americans Satisfied With Trump’s Handling of Presidential Transition: Poll Haley Strack Mike DeWine Should Sign the Ohio Transgender Bathroom Bill The Editors Most Popular Why the Democrats Blew It Noah Rothman Yes, You Do Have to Hand It to Trump Jeffrey Blehar The Democrats Have a Woman Problem Christine Rosen View More Login © 2024 National Review Donate FAQS Sections Magazine Most Popular Latest Articles News The Corner Capital Matters Bench Memos Books, Arts & Manners Authors A-Z Podcasts Topics Politics & Policy Culture Education Elections U.S. World Immigration Economy & Business Newsletters The Morning Jolt The Week Breaking News NR Daily The Horse Race Capital Letter More Advertise Games Photos Privacy Policy Submissions Submit a Tip Terms of Service Videos Wine Club Subscribe About NRPLUS Subscription Options Gift Subscriptions A percentage of affiliate-program purchases made on this site (e.g., Bookshop.org) go to support NR’s quality conservative journalism. 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