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It is often said by abortion supporters that a fetus is not a baby until it can survive independently outside the mother's womb. This is of course a specious argument since this 'survival' is not possible without the care and nourishment of others, either pre or post birth.

This is true not only of infants and children but of the sick, disabled and elderly as well. But if certain right-to-death groups get their way this week, you can add Terri Schiavo's name to the growing list of disposables for whom the simple act of feeding would make her life otherwise viable.

We live in a society where multi-billion dollar projects are cancelled or altered in order to protect certain animal habitats, and one that engages in Herculean labors to spare the lives of confessed serial rapists and killers like Michael Ross. Yet a family who wishes nothing more than to take home and care for their daughter--a woman guilty of nothing except maybe her fatal choice of a husband--may yet lose their battle for her life.

For those not familiar with Terri's case, in 1990 Terri Schindler-Schiavo collapsed in her home and suffered a ten minute loss of oxygen due to causes unknown. Her husband of six years, Michael Schiavo, although he reportedly knew CPR did not perform it and his wife suffered severe brain damage which left her badly handicapped.

Two years later, when Michael won a malpractice suit against Terri's doctors, he claimed he needed the million dollar-plus settlement to care for her for the rest of her life. This caring ended less than five years later when, in 1998, Michael suddenly remembered that Terri had indicated to him shortly after their marriage that she would reject any life support should it someday become necessary.

Even though Terri never signed any living will-type document the Florida courts believed Michael's story and granted him guardianship of Terri even though he'd been living for three years with a woman with whom he was to have two children.

In 2001, Judge George Greer, a man who has reported conflicts of interest in this case, ordered Terri's feeding tube disconnected. This action prompted the Schindler family to begin their own round of legal proceedings and in the course of one, they discovered new evidence. A report of a medical exam done shortly after Terri's collapse seemed to suggest she might have been the victim of violence.

No matter what evidence the Schindler family has presented, Michael Schiavo, Judge Greer and noted euthanasia lawyer George Felos are determined that Terri must die for her own good. This despite numerous reports by nurses and others that she is a vital and responsive young woman of forty-one who smiles at and recognizes her family; regardless of the fact that her feeding tube is only inserted at mealtimes and she needs no other life support; even though she is a Catholic whose religion forbids euthanasia.

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