Washington, DC: In response to the latest denial of the Federal courts to save the life of Terri Schiavo, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, issued the following statement: "No court, either in the United States or anywhere else, has the authority to authorize the starvation of a human being. Exactly ten years ago today, Pope John Paul II issued the following words in his document "The Gospel of Life": ' Laws which authorize and promote …euthanasia are … completely lacking in authentic juridical validity. …A civil law authorizing … euthanasia ceases by that very fact to be a true, morally binding civil law' (#72).

"The Terri Schiavo case has demonstrated that we are being governed by unelected judges, and that the legislative and executive branches of government lack the will to stand up to them when they authorize acts of violence. The matter, therefore, now rests with the people. When government fails to protect life, the people must do so directly. Today must mark the beginning of a new era of civil disobedience and conscientious objection, with simultaneous, determined efforts to curb the authority of the courts and restore government to the people through their elected representatives."