Terri Schiavo Foundation Changes Name, Reorganizes to Better Help Disabled Patients
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 17, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The family members of Terri Schiavo, who set out to form a foundation following her death to help disabled patients facing similar situations where their lives may be threatened, have changed the name of it to better focus on their mission. The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation has changed its name to the "Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network."
Schiavo was a minimally conscious Florida resident whose former husband subjected her to a painful 14-day starvation and dehydration death after winning numerous court battles against the rest of her family, who attempted to provide her the care and rehabilitative treatment he denied.
The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation was originally founded in 2000 by Terri’s parents and siblings and its mission was working towards protecting the lives of patients like her with profound cognitive disabilities.
"This new name better reflects the purpose of our organization — to continue to develop and update our network to help families protect their loved ones from a very aggressive anti-life agenda taking control of our nation," say Suzanne Vitadamo, Terri’s sister.
Following Schiavo’s death, her surviving family reorganized their Foundation, started in her name, to assist the families and loved-ones of other significantly disabled people. Their goal was to create a network of professionals and volunteers who could provide support as well as resources. In partnership with attorneys and physicians along with tens of thousands of supporters across the country, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network offers counsel, legal guidance and critical support providing the tools for families to protect their loved ones, never forgetting that all life has value and dignity.
The additional work carried out by the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is primarily to raise awareness of the challenges facing people who have become vulnerable because of physical and cognitive disabilities, chronic illness and advanced age.
Terri’s Network provides valuable education, resources and outreach for families, loved-ones and caregivers of vulnerable citizens. It is the mission of the Network to challenge the notion that some lives are not worth living and to protect the inherent life and liberty interests of those most at risk.
Schiavo relied on a feeding tube to provide her with nutrition and hydration following a significant brain injury in 1990. Her husband sought out Florida’s circuit court for the authority to remove her food and water in order to cause her death. His bid was successful and ended in Terri Schiavo’s death by marked dehydration on March 31, 2005.
The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation was established by the surviving family members of Terri Schiavo to protect the rights of people with disabilities. It has communicated and supported with more than 1,000 families, and has been involved in hundreds of cases since Terri’s Death — families who have loved one’s living with brain injuries.
The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network includes a new logo and new website that can be seen at the same web address: www.terrisfight.org.
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