I hope they all have excellent private health insurance….

June 19, 2005

The Terri Schiavo case and end-of-life issues grabbed the spotlight as about 1,000 abortion foes gathered Thursday for the National Right to Life Committee’s annual convention.

Sessions on euthanasia and other end-of-life dilemmas — such as “Can Grandma be starved against her will in your state?” — were sprinkled throughout the three-day conference, among perennial topics including testimonials on surviving unplanned pregnancies and strategies for more effective anti-abortion lobbying.

The movement against abortion has always connected abortion and euthanasia, but the Schiavo case pushed end-of-life issues much higher on the agenda.

“The Terry Schindler-Schiavo case has galvanized the grassroots,” said Burke Balch, director of a medical ethics center affiliated with the National Right to Life Committee.

O’Steen and Balch are urging people to make up living wills specifying that they want food, water and medical treatment if they wind up incapacitated. They’re also pushing for legislation in 40 states where they say hospitals can terminate treatment of patients who had specified their wishes for medical intervention and nourishment.

Minnesota is not among those states.

Abortion rights advocates said such end-of-life decisions should remain private and out of the realm of politics.

“This is a case of a very tragic family situation, and no politician should be involved in that family’s decision,” said Nancy Keen, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, who was in the Twin Cities to promote more sex education and access to birth control, which she said would reduce unplanned pregnancies and lead to fewer abortions.