St. Petersburg, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The family of Terri Schiavo and a leading national pro-life organization have announced a special day of remembrance to honor the memory of the disabled woman whose former husband killed her. March 31, the date of Terri's death, will become the "International Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Terri Schindler Schiavo."

The day is designed not only as a remembrance of Terri's painful 13-day starvation and dehydration death at the hands of her ex-husband Michael, but as a way to help the disabled.

Terri's family and Priests for Life hope the special day will foster education, prayer, and activism regarding discrimination against the disabled. They hope other people never have to face what she did.

"Those of us who were with Terri will never forget her life and her death," Father Frank Pavone, the director of Priests for Life, told LifeNews.com.

"For the sake of all the vulnerable, it is critically important that those who never knew Terri likewise remember the lessons that God taught us through her," he added.

Suzanne Vitadamo, Terri's sister, said that no family should ever have to watch as a loved one is starved to death.

"We want Terri's day to remind us all that persons with disabilities are never burdens and should be treated with nothing but our unconditional love and compassion," she told LifeNews.com.

In the early weeks of 2008, educational and prayer materials will be released that can be used by parishes, disability and pro-life groups and all communities to observe Terri's Day.

Priests for Life is co-sponsoring the day with the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, the organization the Schindler family set up to honor Terri and help disabled patients receive appropriate medical care.

Related web sites:
Priests for Life - http://www.priestsforlife.org
Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation - http://www.terrisfight.org