Minnesota religious brothers focus prayers on brain-damaged woman

Published: 2004-10-25

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- After 12 years of caring for their late founder, Brother Michael Gaworski, after an illness left him severely brain damaged, the Franciscan Brothers of Peace in St. Paul have now turned their attention to Terri Schindler Schiavo. She is the 40-year-old Clearwater, Fla., brain-damaged woman whose case they say is the "Roe vs. Wade of the euthanasia movement in the United States," referring to the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion virtually on demand. Schiavo has been impaired for the past 14 years and lives in a nursing home. She can breathe on her own but requires nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube. Her husband, Michael, who now has two children by another woman, says his wife would want the feeding tube removed. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, say that she would want to live, in part because of her Catholic beliefs. The brothers believe the outcome of the Schiavo case could set a precedent for future euthanasia cases in the United States.

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