INJUSTICE

Mar 29, 12:50 PM (ET)

By RON WORD

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - The parents of Terri Schiavo met and prayed Tuesday with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who called her impending death "an injustice."

Joining the conservatives who have rallied to the parents' cause, the liberal Jackson said he would call state senators who opposed legislation that would have reinserted Schiavo's feeding tube and ask them to reconsider.

Terri Schiavo was in her 12th day without food and water. Her husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo, has insisted that he was carrying out her wishes by having her feeding tube pulled. His lawyer said Monday that an autopsy was planned to show the extent of Terri Schiavo's brain damage.

Jackson's arrival Tuesday was greeted by some applause and cries of "This is about civil rights."

"I feel so passionate about this injustice being done, how unnecessary it is to deny her a feeding tube, water, not even ice to be used for her parched lips," said Jackson, who has run for president as a Democrat. "This is a moral issue and it transcends politics and family disputes.""

I wanted the Reverend Jackson here for moral support," said Mary Schindler, Terri Schiavo's mother. "I feel good with him here. Very strong. He gives me strength."

University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus said Jackson's appearance shows that the life-and-death issues surrounding their daughter resonate beyond white, Christian conservatives.

"A person of faith, and not just a white, conservative person of faith will be seen as a welcomed change," MacManus said.

Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, said he visited his daughter Tuesday and said she was "failing."
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As Jackson said, this is a moral issue.

It strikes at the very core of the values of American society.

Withholding food and water was a tactic employed in Nazi death camps. For a hospice in America to allow a woman to linger for twelve days without nutrition and hydration is unconscionable. It is barbaric.

Felos tells us that Terri is beautiful, clutching a stuffed cat, surrounded by flowers, soft music playing.

Sorry, Felos. Your fairy tale imagery cannot disguise the fact that a slow-motion execution is underway.