Terri Schiavo’s Family Calls for Observance of Terri’s Day to Honor Disabled Woman 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 31, 2008
St. Petersburg, FL (LifeNews.com) — Terri Schiavo’s family and a leading pro-life group are calling on people to honor the disabled woman whose husband took her life in a painful euthanasia death. Together with Priests for Life, the Schindler family has established the observance of “Terri’s Day” each March 31.
That’s the day Terri succumbed to a 13-day starvation and dehydration death at the hand of Michael Schiavo, her former husband who won a court order to take her life.
“This third anniversary should be an occasion for all of us to both remember the injustice done to Terri, and reach out to others with prayer and concrete action when they need the kind of help Terri needed," Terri’s brother Bobby Schindler told LifeNews.com on Monday.
Suzanne Vitadamo, Terri’s sister, added that Terri’s Day is also a way for her family to encourage others to take better care of the elderly and disabled.
“Our family continues to be consoled and uplifted by the many ways in which people honor my sister, learn from her story, and grow in compassion for all the disabled," she said.
During the days leading up to Terri’s death, Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life brought comfort and peace to the Schindler family.
Father Pavone was present for the final prayer Terri participated in before her death. He also saw the manipulative ways Michael tried to prevent the Schindler family from caring for her or being present with her during the starvation and dehydration.
“Terri’s death was not the end of her fight," he told LifeNews.com. "It was the beginning of a new chapter in the pro-life movement."
"I call upon all those who were moved by Terri’s death to continue their courageous activism in the cause of life, and never to be silent," he said.
Together, Priests for Life and the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation encourage churches, families, organizations and individuals to observe Terri’s Day with prayers, memorial services, educational activities and community outreach.
Related web sites:
Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation – https://www.terrisfight.org
Priests for Life – https://www.priestsforlife.org
