WASHINGTON, Mar. 14 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in a recent speech at Georgetown University, criticized the efforts of lawmakers last year to save the life of Terri Schiavo, and complained about harsh criticism of the courts. She even suggested the legal efforts constituted the beginnings of dictatorship.

In response, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and one who was at Terri Schiavo’s bedside in her final hours and moments, declared, “Justice O’Connor has it backwards. Dictatorships begin with the idea that government can deprive people of their fundamental rights. That’s what happened to Terri, who was neither terminally ill, nor comatose, nor on life support.” Fr. Pavone added, “When Supreme Court Justices get such fundamental points wrong, we’ve got a problem, and they deserve all the criticism we can muster.”

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.