Colorado Committee Rejects Proposal for Terri Schiavo Anniversary Date 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 13, 2006
Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) — A Colorado legislative panel has rejected an idea to create an official date to remember the painful euthanasia death Terri Schiavo suffered. Supporters said the date would be a good way to honor her memory and point out the need to care for disabled patients and those dealing with end-of-life issues.
The Senate State Affairs Committee rejected Senate Joint Resolution 25 on a 3-2 vote late Wednesday.
Critics of the measure said it was enveloped in politics rather than being a holiday that all Colorado residents would embrace.
Senator John Evans, a Republican from the Denver area, said he sponsored the measure to remind state residents about living wills without getting into the controversy that surrounding Terri.
"She teaches us that what we have to do is provide for the Terri Schiavos of the world," he told KUSA-TV.
"It’s better that what we do is we respect life. I think that’s what Terri Schiavo is about and the message I want to take to the committee," he said before the vote.
"You can’t say with a straight face that by using Terri Schiavo’s name, you don’t intend to make a political statement considering what this nation went through," Rep. Terrance Carroll, a Denver Democrat, countered.
"I think if her name was not attached and it purely focused on encouraging people to do living wills and help their friends and families make the correct end-of-life decisions, it would be a good resolution," he said, according to the KUSA-TV report.
Terri Schiavo died on March 31, 2005, 13 days after courts allowed her former husband Michael to starve her to death by denying her food and water. her death followed a years-long legal battle between Michael and Terri’s parents, who fought to spare her euthanasia death.
The resolution would "designate March 31 as an annual recognition of Terri’s Day of Remembrance and Celebration of the Culture of Life." It would have urged Colorado residents to support the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, founded by Terri’s family to support other disabled people.
Related web sites:
Colorado State Legislature – https://www.leg.state.co.us
Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation – https://www.terrisfight.org
