When we hear the term pro-life our minds seemingly focus directly upon abortion and unborn children. Is protecting the lives of unborn children truly the only meaning of being pro-life?
If that is our understanding of being pro-life, we have utterly missed the mark. Advocating for life is much more than standing for the unborn child’s right to exist. Put simply, it encompasses protecting all innocent life.
Among the innocent we must ever strive to protect are those with cognitive disabilities. It is maddening that some individuals believe they should, with the snap of a finger, be able to end the lives of family members with such severe disabilities. Clearly, these unfortunate souls do not understand that all human life has intrinsic value.
Thankfully, a wonderful organization, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, fully appreciates the value of life. It is diligently working to aid the medically dependent, those with cognitive disabilities, and the incapacitated facing critical, and life-threatening, conditions.
Sadly, Terri Schiavo’s life was brought to an end on March 31, 2005—a little more than fifteen years after suffering massive brain damage caused by cardiac arrest. Her feeding tube was removed for the last time on March 18 at the behest of her husband, who claimed he was following what he thought she would want. His story was not helped by his not pursuing this course until eight years after Terri was left incapacitated.
Ultimately, the pro-life movement did a great deal to help Terri’s parents in their efforts to save the life of their daughter. Even so, we must admit that we were largely underprepared for such an endeavor. The fact that the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network has been filling this gap since 2001 is more than a little inspiring.
Just because this organization is doing an outstanding job protecting and supporting some of the most vulnerable among us, we are not relieved of our responsibility to take action. We have a chance to aid the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network by supporting its Second Annual Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert.
The concert will be held at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, OH on Sunday, June 12, 2011. Obviously, one would not want to miss an outstanding opportunity to further the mission of such a necessary organization. Likewise, one would not want to forgo a chance to be entertained by The Beach Boys and The Lettermen. Tickets are currently on sale.
Even if you cannot make it to the concert, please take the time to check out the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network and consider making a donation.
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