Bobby Schindler is the president of the Terri Schiavo Life
& Hope Network, an organization dedicated to defending the vulnerable and
disabled from euthanasia.
He and his family had a tragic, first-hand experience with
euthanasia when they fought to preserve the life of his sister, Terri Schindler
Schiavo...
LN: What are you working on right now?
Schindler: Along with what seems to be daily phone calls the
Life & Hope Network receives asking for help, we are currently working on
several cases.
There is the remarkable situation involving Tabetha Long.
Tabetha had a cardiac episode in April. As a result, she experienced an anoxic
brain injury. Tabetha’s doctors were optimistic with her initial test results.
In fact, in the few weeks following her incident, she had varying degrees of
responsiveness. Consequently, she was considered to be a good candidate for
rehabilitation when she began to answer questions and track objects.
Incredibly, and what is still difficult to explain, her
mother, who was making her medical treatment decisions, decided to admit
Tabetha into hospice where, subsequently, her food and water were stopped.
After Tabetha’s boyfriend began asking questions, he
contacted our organization. We immediately put him in touch with an attorney.
After a June 8 emergency court hearing, Tabetha was appointed a guardian ad
litem, was removed from hospice, and her food and water were resumed after
almost two weeks. Tabetha is currently at a rehabilitation facility, but her case
is ongoing.
We are also involved in the tragic case of Kyle Dantzler,
who I published an article about on LifeNews.com.
In 2013, we were closely involved in the Jahi McMath
situation, and still make regular visits to spend time with Jahi and her parents,
Nailah and Marvin Winkfield.
LN: Do you think things are better or worse today for
vulnerable people like your sister?
Schindler: If we want to use the calls for help we are
receiving on our Crisis Lifeline as a barometer to measure the climate of our
health care system, then undoubtedly things are worse and in my opinion, will
continue to deteriorate.
LN: Can you tell us about the types of life-threatening
situations that you are hearing about at the network?
Schindler: Unbeknownst to most of the general public has
been the reclassification of food and water via feeding tubes, which used to be
considered basic and ordinary care.
Today, receiving food and water this way is considered
extraordinary care/medical treatment. Because of this change, it is now legal
in all 50 states to remove or deny feeding tubes to patients. Consequently,
this has placed countless medically vulnerable at risk of having their lives
prematurely ended by dehydration and starvation.
I believe that it’s just a matter of time before the same
“medical treatment” classification will be applied to food served on a tray for
a patient who is unable to feed themselves.
LN: California recently legalized assisted suicide, and
across the border, Canada just legalized euthanasia. Do you find that over the
past 10 years there has been a change in the public’s response to end of life
ethics?
Schindler: I believe that there has, and I also believe that
all of the life issues are connected. From abortion, situations like my
sister’s case, and assisted suicide – it is all connected and has had an
exceptionally harmful effect on our nation, not to mention globally. We are
more and more emotionally insensitive to the value of human life and, as a
result, we have accepting killing for almost any reason.
But it doesn’t mean we can stop doing the things necessary
to educate the public so they understand that killing is never the answer, and
providing compassion and love can never be substituted when it comes to caring
for our most vulnerable.
LN: What are some misconceptions people have regarding end
of life issues?
Schindler: Terri’s situation was and continues to be
described as “end of life.” It wasn’t. Terri was not dying, nor did she have a
terminal illness, and her brain injury was not going to lead to her death.
Terri’s life ended only after her basic care was denied and
she was inhumanly starved and dehydrated to death. There are countless others,
who, on a daily basis, are experiencing the same type of barbaric death and
none of them are “end of life” circumstances.
LN: Do you have a quote or saying that inspires you or gives
you hope?
Schindler: I’ve always liked Wesley J. Smith’s quote:
“Does every human life have equal and incalculable moral value
simply and merely because it is human? Answer yes, and we have a chance of
achieving a truly humane, free, and prosperous society. Answer no, and we are
just another animal in the forest.”
http://www.lifenews.com/2016/08/12/bobby-schindler-things-are-worse-now-for-patients-thank-when-terri-schiavo-was-killed/
See: http://childnervoussystem.blogspot.com/2015/04/ten-years-after-terri-schiavo-death.html
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