News reports on Michael Schiavo's July 12 visit to Colorado in support of Democratic candidates failed to note his statement that he was motivated not only by legislation sponsored Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Fort Morgan) and other Republicans, but in particular by inaccurate statements that Musgrave made about his late wife, Terri, in support of that legislation.

Terri Schiavo was put on life support in 1990 after collapsing from an undetermined cause, which caused irreversible brain damage and left her in a permanent vegetative state, according to her doctors. Schiavo and his wife's parents were engaged in a bitter and widely publicized battle over continuing her life support. Terri Schiavo died March 31, 2005, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.

Musgrave made the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives on March 20, 2005, in support of legislation calling for a federal-court review of the decision allowing Terri Schiavo's feeding tube to be removed:

MUSGRAVE: When we talk about a permanent vegetative state, I am offended by that. Terri smiles and acknowledges the people that love her when they come to see her. She cries when they leave. How heartless are we to call somebody like Terri Schiavo a vegetable? What are we thinking?

The assertion that Terri Schiavo “acknowledge[d]” people around her proved to be untrue. As the Los Angeles Times reported in a June 16, 2005, article about Terri Schiavo's autopsy report: “During Terri Schiavo's final days, when her fervent supporters said she was alert, responsive and trying to speak, she was massively and irreversibly brain-damaged, blind and oblivious to what surrounded her, a medical examiner's findings revealed Wednesday.” The article further reported that independent experts “concurred that [the medical examiner's] findings were in line with the prevailing consensus among neurologists that Schiavo had fallen into a persistent vegetative state brought on by lack of oxygen, causing brain cells to die. Although the primitive parts of the brain that regulate breathing and sleeping continue to function, such patients lose their ability to interact with the world.”

On July 12, Michael Schiavo traveled with state Rep. Angie Paccione (D-Fort Collins) -- who is challenging Musgrave for her congressional seat -- to deliver a letter to Musgrave's office in Loveland. The letter specifically addressed Musgrave's incorrect claims about Terri Schiavo's medical condition.

From Michael Schiavo's July 12 letter to Musgrave:

Last year you said you were “offended” by discussion of Terri's state. Well, Ms. Musgrave, I'm offended by your lack of respect for my rights and my family's rights. On the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, you dared to render a medical opinion on Terri's condition, even though you had never met her, and despite your admitted ignorance of medical science and of the law. Ms. Musgrave, I am offended that you would attack others out of ignorance.

You ignored Terri's wishes, the expertise of countless doctors, the authority of the law, and the principles of our nation. I am offended by such indifference. I continue to believe that you took advantage of my family's situation for political gain without regard for who you hurt. While I sought only dignity for Terri, you played to the camera, and you played to a waiting crowd of political extremists.

Most news reports about Schiavo's visit did not point out the complaint he made in his letter about Musgrave's statement in the House, nor did they indicate that Musgrave's statement proved to be false.

A July 13 article by Denver Post staff writer Kieran Nicholson noted that with Musgrave's support, “Congress passed a bill last year attempting to overturn a court order that allowed Terri's life support to be turned off.” The Post reported that, at a July 12 press conference that Michael Schiavo held with Paccione, “Schiavo described the bill as 'the most intrusive and illegal government act we will ever see' and he labeled Musgrave as among the most grievous elected officials to support it.” The Post also quoted portions of Michael Schiavo's letter, but did not quote or refer to his criticism of Musgrave's speech on the House floor.

A July 13 article by Joe Garner in the Rocky Mountain News reported that Michael Schiavo “bashed U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave at a campaign event Wednesday for inserting herself in the wrenching national debate over the prolonged death of his wife, Terri Schiavo” and that he “lambaste[d] the two-term conservative Republican congresswoman for 'injecting herself and her values into the private lives of Americans.” While the story reported correctly that Terri Schiavo “had been in a persistent vegetative state after collapsing about 15 years earlier,” the News also failed to note Musgrave's inaccurate claims on the House floor or Michael Schiavo's criticism of them.

A July 13 article by Emma Schmautz in the Greeley Tribune titled “Musgrave receives letter from widower” reported that in his letter to Musgrave, Michael Schiavo “stated his great offense to the remarks Musgrave made about his wife on the House floor.” The Tribune did not note, however, that Musgrave had incorrectly asserted that Terri Schiavo was responsive to visitors in her hospice room. The article also contained unrebutted condemnation from Bob Martinez, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, who in a written statement said, “I can't help but believe that the majority of Coloradoans were appalled to learn that Michael Schiavo is helping political candidates profit off his wife's death. This definitely highlights how hypocritical Democrats are.”

By contrast, an article by Kevin Darst in the July 13 edition of the Fort Collins Coloradoan included a quote from Musgrave's March 20, 2005, speech in which “Musgrave said she was 'offended' others were calling Terri Schiavo a vegetable, adding Schiavo was smiling at visitors and crying when they left.” Darst also noted that on July 12, “Michael Schiavo said Musgrave 'had no clue' about Terri Schiavo's medical condition, noting that his wife's autopsy showed her brain was half the size of a normal woman her age.”

From the article “Schiavo spouse delivers note faulting Musgrave” in the July 13 edition of The Denver Post:

Schiavo said Wednesday that Musgrave and other politicians interfered in his private affairs when Congress passed a bill last year attempting to overturn a court order that allowed Terri's life support to be turned off.

At a Denver news conference held before he delivered the letter, Schiavo described the bill as “the most intrusive and illegal government act we will ever see” and he labeled Musgrave as among the most grievous elected officials to support it.

“Your outspoken and misguided attempts to have Congress overrule the legal courts and overturn the private medical decisions made by my family and my wife, Terri, were entirely inappropriate,” Schiavo wrote in the letter.

From the article “Schiavo blasts Musgrave” in the July 13 edition of the Rocky Mountain News:

Michael Schiavo bashed U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave at a campaign event Wednesday for inserting herself in the wrenching national debate over the prolonged death of his wife, Terri Schiavo.

Appearing alongside state Rep. Angie Paccione, D-Fort Collins, who is challenging Musgrave in the 4th Congressional District, Schiavo accused Musgrave of overstepping her bounds by intruding in the prolonged right-to-die case that engulfed the courts, Congress and the White House, and divided the country.

“Who gave her the right to speak about Terri?” Schiavo asked rhetorically, lambasting the two-term conservative Republican congresswoman for “injecting herself and her values into the private lives of Americans.”

[...]

In a letter to Musgrave, Schiavo said her “outspoken and misguided attempts to have Congress overrule the legal courts and overturn the private medical decisions made by my family and my wife, Terri, were entirely inappropriate.”

From the article “Musgrave receives letter from widower” in the July 13 edition of the Greeley Tribune:

Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband who fought for seven years to end his wife's life after a 1990 brain injury left her in a vegetative state, presented a letter Wednesday afternoon to Colorado Republican congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave's Loveland office.

Schiavo was accompanied by Angie Paccione, Democratic candidate from Colorado's 4th Congressional District who is a state representative out of Fort Collins.

The letter stated his great offense to the remarks Musgrave made about his wife on the House floor and his opposition to her interference in his private life.

“I continue to believe that you took advantage of my family's situation for political gain without regard for who you hurt,” Schiavo wrote. “While I sought only dignity for Terri, you played to the camera, and you played to a waiting crowd of political extremists.”

Musgrave was one of Congress' strongest supporters of keeping Terri Schiavo alive and championed President Bush's bill to prevent doctors from removing her feeding tubes.

[...]

State Republican Chairman Bob Martinez made a written statement against the Democratic candidates who have appeared with Schiavo at fundraising events.

“I can't help but believe that the majority of Coloradoans were appalled to learn that Michael Schiavo is helping political candidates profit off his wife's death,” Martinez said. “This definitely highlights how hypocritical Democrats are.”