Michael Schiavo, who fought for and won his wife Terri’s right to die in court last year, showed up in Hartford on Friday to oppose U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman’s bid for re-election. Incidentally, he also was there to support Democratic challenger Ned Lamont.With the state Supreme Court in the background, Schiavo stood with Lamont on the lawn of the state Capitol on Friday to pledge the support of TerriPAC, a political action committee he founded to support candidates that advocate for the right to die. Ned Lamont is one of those candidates, Schiavo said. TerriPAC also has supported candidates in Florida and Colorado.While on the first day of his 10-day bus tour Friday, Lieberman was asked to comment on Schiavo’s visit to the state.
“All I can say about that is, I wish politicians would let Terri Schiavo rest in peace,” Lieberman said. “I think it’s wrong to bring the heartbreak of that woman and that family into a political campaign.“But Schiavo said he wasn’t the one who made his wife’s plight a political issue last year. He added that Lieberman was the one who joined conservative Republicans making the rounds on the Sunday morning talk shows, and that it was Lieberman who said he “knew what was best for Terri” in an attempt to justify congressional involvement in her right to die. Lieberman was against pulling her feeding tube, as was President Bush, who interrupted his vacation and flew back to Washington from Crawford, Texas to lobby Congress to pass a bill to intervene in the Schiavo decision. Even Bush’s brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, got involved when he tried to reopen the police investigation into the collapse from an eating disorder more than 15 years ago that led to Schiavo’s vegetative condition. But Jeb Bush’s attempt to become involved led to no change in law enforcement’s findings, and Congress voted against the legislation.“Terri is at peace. She’s where she wanted to be,” Schiavo said Friday.Lamont said Terri’s case was one of the reasons he is running against Lieberman. It’s about “where you want your government,” he said. “It’s an issue that again brings us back to a woman’s right to choose, illegal wiretaps, and stem cell research.“With less than two weeks left until the Aug. 8 primary Lamont said he applauds Lieberman’s attempt to get back in touch with voters by going on a bus tour. However, Lamont said, it may be too little too late.
