Terri Schiavo – Lest we forget!

Media Release 3 April 2025

Right to Life believes that we should never forget the lessons to be learnt from the judicial ordered killing of Terri Schiavo who was painfully starved to death over 13 excruciating days in a Tampa area nursing home in Florida USA.

It is 20 years since Terri Schiavo was deprived of her life, following an order from Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer in Florida USA in March 2005, to have her feeding tubes removed. She was not dying of any illness or disease, but was deemed to be not worthy of life and so she starved to death. The decision was referred to the Supreme Court, to President George W. Bush and the United States Congress.

Terri had been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years since 1990, when she was 26 years of age. This was the first time in the history of the United States that a Federal Court Judge had ordered the death of an innocent, brain-injured American citizen, and where such an act was seen as appropriate for other defenceless patients.

Gallop polls revealed that a majority - 61% of those polled, opposed the removal of her feeding tubes. A Zogby poll revealed that 80% opposed the removal of the feeding tubes.

Terri was 26 years of age when she collapsed with a cardiac arrest in 1990, while home alone with her husband, Michael Schiavo. The incident left her with a severe brain injury that impaired her ability to swallow, necessitating a feeding tube for food and hydration.

Terri’s husband had power of attorney and was initially supportive of his wife’s being kept alive with feeding tubes. The Schindler family trusted him to factor in Terri’s best interests, especially after a nearly million-dollar medical trust was established in 1993 to provide for Terri’s care. In 1993 Michael Schiavo, who was now living with another woman, changed his mind about his wife, and decided to end Terri’s life, in breach of his wedding vows. The Catholic Church in the Vatican pleaded with him not to kill his wife.

Terri’s family are still in grief, may their grief, 20 years on, inspire us to listen, to act, and to honour the sanctity of every life, especially the weak and defenceless —however they are lived.

20 years ago, after a 15-year struggle to keep their daughter and sister alive, the Schindler family watched helplessly, as she was starved and dehydrated over 13 agonizing days, following a judge’s ruling to remove her feeding tube. This anniversary is to mourn Terri and a moving call from her family to ensure that Terri’s suffering—and their loss—is a spur to action to protect others in our community from being deprived of life.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life New Zealand Inc