At 3 p.m. today, in solidarity with Terri Schiavo, I and a group of Harvard students (who have signed with me below) began a hunger strike that will last until Terri’s feeding tube is reinserted or until the hour she dies by sanction of the U.S. courts at the behest of her husband Michael Schiavo and his lawyers. So far we have been joined by a student from Weston Jesuit School of Theology and we welcome others to join with us as well. We have been inspired in this effort by the example of Terri Schiavo’s sister, Suzanne Vitadamo, and of a number of other concerned individuals mentioned in the news.
We are eating no food but are consuming basic liquids (something Terri herself is not permitted as she is dying on her hospital bed). Any suffering we experience will be offered in a spirit of solidarity to Terri and to her grieving family and friends who, cruelly, are being kept even from comforting her during her last hours by the harsh hand of the law.
We hope that Terri’s husband, Michael Schiavo, and those medical professionals and law enforcement officials presently responsible for her life will come to acknowledge that Terri has as much dignity and value as every other human person and that she should be protected, cared for, and loved despite her unfortunate condition — not left to die at their hands.
If you have any questions or wish to join with our effort, please contact me; my information is below.
Signed,
Bronwen Catherine McShea
Harvard Divinity School MTS ‘05
[email protected]
Michael F. Lorelli
Harvard Law School JD ‘05
Kristin H. Williams
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences G2
Ryan Hecker
Harvard Law School JD ‘05
James E. Maschoff
Harvard Law School JD ‘06
Luisa Lara
Harvard College BA ‘07
Christopher Collins, S.J.
Weston Jesuit School of Theology (student)