Eric McTavish
06-30-2005, 11:36 AM
intresting report...
found here (http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr006=rxyhwlaxb1.app1b&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=7433&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241)
Schiavo Autopsy Report Exposes Lies Of Religious Right, Says Americans United
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Florida Woman Had No Hope Of Recovery, Report Says
Results of an autopsy on Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman whose tragic condition sparked unprecedented governmental intervention by fundamentalist groups and their politician allies, debunk Religious Right claims by proving that her condition was irreversible.
In the weeks leading up to Schiavo's death, several Religious Right groups asserted that she could recover from the persistent vegetative state she had been in for 15 years. They claimed that Schiavo was responsive to her parents and insisted that removing her feeding tube would be murder.
The autopsy results, released today, showed that Schiavo suffered massive and irreversible brain damage and that she could not have been responsive to outsiders because she was blind. Doctors said what appeared to be responses were merely automatic reflexes.
"These Religious Right zealots owe the entire country an apology," said Barry W. Lynn, executive director for Americans United. "They intervened in a personal family matter, gave this poor woman's parents false hope, libeled her husband with unfounded accusations and turned a tragic situation into a political football. Have they no shame?"
Addressing a meeting of the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration in Washington April 17, David C. Gibbs III, the attorney for Schiavo's parents, implied that Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, had strangled her. The autopsy also found no evidence that Schiavo had been strangled or abused.
Lynn singled out Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, for special mention in the Religious Right Hall of Shame. During the controversy over Schiavo, Perkins repeatedly issued commentaries that referred to her husband as "estranged," despite the fact that Michael Schiavo was caring for her, and mentioning the "questionable circumstances" surrounding her collapse, clearly implying foul play.
At a closed-door FRC meeting in Washington March 18, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay compared his own ethical problems with Schiavo's situation, suggesting that both were victims of a plot by liberals against conservative Christians. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also addressed the FRC strategy session and worked with the group to pass legislation attempting to intervene in the Schiavo case. (Hear audio of the DeLay and Frist comments here: www.au.org/press_audio).
"I've worked in Washington a long time, but I've never seen anything as manipulative as what Perkins and the FRC did over Terri Schiavo," Lynn remarked. "They took a terminally ill woman and turned her into a political tool to gain leverage in Congress."
Concluded Lynn, "If this is an example of the FRC's holier-than-thou values, I'll pass."
found here (http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr006=rxyhwlaxb1.app1b&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=7433&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241)
Schiavo Autopsy Report Exposes Lies Of Religious Right, Says Americans United
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Florida Woman Had No Hope Of Recovery, Report Says
Results of an autopsy on Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman whose tragic condition sparked unprecedented governmental intervention by fundamentalist groups and their politician allies, debunk Religious Right claims by proving that her condition was irreversible.
In the weeks leading up to Schiavo's death, several Religious Right groups asserted that she could recover from the persistent vegetative state she had been in for 15 years. They claimed that Schiavo was responsive to her parents and insisted that removing her feeding tube would be murder.
The autopsy results, released today, showed that Schiavo suffered massive and irreversible brain damage and that she could not have been responsive to outsiders because she was blind. Doctors said what appeared to be responses were merely automatic reflexes.
"These Religious Right zealots owe the entire country an apology," said Barry W. Lynn, executive director for Americans United. "They intervened in a personal family matter, gave this poor woman's parents false hope, libeled her husband with unfounded accusations and turned a tragic situation into a political football. Have they no shame?"
Addressing a meeting of the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration in Washington April 17, David C. Gibbs III, the attorney for Schiavo's parents, implied that Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, had strangled her. The autopsy also found no evidence that Schiavo had been strangled or abused.
Lynn singled out Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, for special mention in the Religious Right Hall of Shame. During the controversy over Schiavo, Perkins repeatedly issued commentaries that referred to her husband as "estranged," despite the fact that Michael Schiavo was caring for her, and mentioning the "questionable circumstances" surrounding her collapse, clearly implying foul play.
At a closed-door FRC meeting in Washington March 18, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay compared his own ethical problems with Schiavo's situation, suggesting that both were victims of a plot by liberals against conservative Christians. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also addressed the FRC strategy session and worked with the group to pass legislation attempting to intervene in the Schiavo case. (Hear audio of the DeLay and Frist comments here: www.au.org/press_audio).
"I've worked in Washington a long time, but I've never seen anything as manipulative as what Perkins and the FRC did over Terri Schiavo," Lynn remarked. "They took a terminally ill woman and turned her into a political tool to gain leverage in Congress."
Concluded Lynn, "If this is an example of the FRC's holier-than-thou values, I'll pass."