Dear John,
After almost 10 days of intentional starvation, the Courts finally acted! Was the victim of this cruel and unusual torture a hardened terrorist in the Guantanamo Prison Facility?
No! It was Janet Rivera, a 46 year-old mother who miraculously survived her savage treatment at the hands of a Fresno County Public Guardian.
Mrs. Rivera has been in a cognitively disabled state since she suffered a heart attack two years ago. She has been lovingly cared for by her husband, Jesus Rivera.
After Mr. Rivera experienced some medical problems of his own, Fresno County appointed a public guardian for Janet. Against the wishes of her entire family, including her husband, the public guardian ordered Janet to be deprived of food and water.
When we heard about her circumstances, the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation immediately sprang into action. We helped the family find the right legal counsel and after days of hard work and persistence, the Court finally intervened and stopped this terrible travesty.
Your generous support is what makes important victories like this possible.
What makes these circumstances so important is that, unlike my sister Terri, where we were fighting a husband who didn't care, Janet Rivera's husband wanted her to live. So did her entire family.
To the public guardian, however, that didn't make any difference. The guardian made the medical decision to dehydrate Janet to death in spite of the outcry from her family. We thank God the court removed the public guardian and spared Janet's life, but the clear message here is chilling.
If the courts give the public guardian the right to make decisions against the expressed desires of the family, including the husband, then anyone who does not have an advanced legal directive can be killed by dehydration regardless of the wishes of the family.
That's why it's so important the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation is poised and ready to respond whenever the most helpless members of our society are threatened. And that's why your generous and prayerful financial support is so vital.
I know the mainstream press and many of our politicians will say there is no hope for people like Janet. They insist killing Janet, like my sister Terri, is the "merciful" thing to do.
After all, they will never recover – so it is claimed.
Of course, tell that to 25 year old Brenden Flynn. Brenden suffered a traumatic brain injury in a horrible car accident. According to the doctors, Brenden had no chance of ANY meaningful recovery. Yet, Brenden's mother, an RN for 22 years, refused to quit.
Not long ago, I interviewed both Brenden and his mother. That's right! He's fully recovered!
People like Brenden, Janet, and my sister Terri are why the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation exists. When families face the tragedy of traumatic brain injury, like Terri had, we are there to help them protect the life of their loved one.
And because of your support, we've been successful in saving innocent lives and assisting grieving families.Every day we fight to demonstrate that having a disability of any kind does nothing to diminish a person's value and worth!
Every day calls come into Terri's Foundation from desperate families frantically trying to save the lives of their disabled love ones. And every day we immediately connect the concerned family members with needed legal assistance and medical support.
We are making a difference – but we cannot do so without you! It is your generous contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500, or even $1,000 that enables us to help these precious families in their struggle to protect the lives and dignity of their loved ones.
We depend entirely on gifts from friends like you who care about human life and human dignity. Please help us help these desperate families.
Your gift of $25, $50, $100, $500, even $1,000 supports efforts like our assistance to the Riveras. To make your tax-deductible contribution, please click here!
I know not everyone can give a gift right now. Perhaps some of you can make an even larger gift of $2,000, $3,000 or $5,000 to help offset those who cannot contribute.
Whatever you can do is greatly appreciated. Thank you for standing up for life.
Sincerely,
Bobby Schindler
PS: Please take a moment right now and send your gift of $25, $50, $100, $500 or even $1,000. By doing so, you are helping us preserve and protect the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.
