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The Terri Schiavo Case

Groups for disabled side with Schiavo

Seventeen advocacy organizations file a brief asking the Florida Supreme Court to uphold "Terri's Law."

By Times Staff Writer
Published July 14, 2004

ST. PETERSBURG - A coalition of 17 disability rights groups has filed a friend of the court brief to the Florida Supreme Court in the Terri Schiavo case, urging the court to find "Terri's Law" constitutional.

The groups describe themselves as the nation's leading civil rights organizations representing people with disabilities.

Max Lapertosa, attorney for the groups, said, "This case reflects whether our society and legal system value the lives of people with disabilities equally to those without disabilities."

In a press release, the groups said the issues in the Schiavo case also could apply to many people with disabilities who "cannot readily articulate their own views and must rely on third parties as substitute decisionmakers."

The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the Schiavo case for Aug. 31.

Mrs. Schiavo, 40, has been in what her doctors call a vegetative state for 14 years after suffering cardiac arrest and extensive brain damage. Her husband has sought through the courts to remove her feeding tube, saying she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means.

Her parents disagree and have tried to stop him through the courts. Last October, Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube was removed for six days before state lawmakers passed "Terri's Law," which allowed Gov. Jeb Bush to order doctors to reinsert it.

The 17 organizations involved in the filing are: Not Dead Yet; ADAPT; Arc of the United States (formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens); Center on Self-Determination; Center on Human Policy at Syracuse University; Disability Rights Center; Freedom Clearinghouse; Hospice Patients Alliance; Mouth Magazine; National Council on Independent Living; National Disabled Students Union; National Spinal Cord Injury Association; Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered; Society for Disability Studies; TASH (formerly the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps); World Association of Persons with Disabilities; and World Institute on Disability.

[Last modified July 14, 2004, 01:00:43]