The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, a non-profit organization, has expressed its appreciation towards actor Kevin James. The organization resonated with James’s recent remarks in his Amazon Prime stand-up comedy special “Irregardless,” where he advocated that decisions about life’s end should be left in divine hands.
Bobby Schindler, Terri’s brother and the President of the Life & Hope Network, lauded James for his daring stand in a society heavily tinted by the lens of pro-death sentiments. He admired James’s courage to voice out and affirm the dignity of medically vulnerable individuals, including those with brain injuries like Terri. Schindler said that James’s statement amid a highly-charged political environment is commendable and deserving of society’s praise.
In his comedy special, Kevin James deftly broached the sensitives issues surrounding life’s termination in medically frail situations. He prominently dwelled on the story of a comatose mother whose life improved after support removal, mocking the hasty decision taken by her family. James cast doubts on the often-used reasons such as “quality of life” or “who would want to live that way” used to expedite the end of lives in apparently hopeless circumstances. He underlined his strong preference for leaving such decisions up to fate.
Terri Schiavo’s story was a tragic one of suffering a brain injury due to a lack of oxygen caused by an unknown accident at home. Despite living without any life support machines and not in a coma, she had trouble swallowing and needed a feeding tube for nourishment. Sadly, less than two years into her care, her husband Michael began a relationship with another woman and petitioned a court, using false information that tragically allowed Terri’s feeding tube to be removed. She faced a painful, lingering death from dehydration that lasted for almost two weeks.