If you’re one of the pro-life crowd that donated money to help the Schindler’s in their legal fight to keep their daughter alive at any cost then you can look forward to an increase in spam mail of all kinds as a result. Bob Schindler has agreed to allow the list of financial supporters to be sold by a direct-mail marketing company so they can make some money off of your generosity. It’s just his way of saying, “Thanks.”
“These compassionate pro-lifers donated toward Bob Schindler’s legal battle to keep Terri’s estranged husband from removing the feeding tube from Terri,” says a description of the list on the Web site of the firm, Response Unlimited, which is asking $150 a month for 6,000 names and $500 a month for 4,000 e-mail addresses of people who responded last month to an e-mail plea from Ms. Schiavo’s father. “These individuals are passionate about the way they value human life, adamantly oppose euthanasia and are pro-life in every sense of the word!”
Privacy experts said the sale of the list was legal and even predictable, if ghoulish.
“I think it’s amusing,” said Robert Gellman, a privacy and information policy consultant. “I think it’s absolutely classic America. Everything is for sale in America, every type of personal information.”
Executives of Response Unlimited declined to comment. Gary McCullough, director of the Christian Communication Network and a spokesman for Ms. Schiavo’s parents, confirmed that Mr. Schindler had agreed to let Response Unlimited rent out the list as part of a deal for the firm to send an e-mail solicitation raising money on the family’s behalf.
I suppose in some way it’s a fair price to pay for sticking your nose where it really didn’t belong in the first place, but then I’m sure some of you will be happy to receive the pleas for more of your cash for the next fight that comes along. The folks at Response Unlimited certainly look set to make a handsome profit off of this whole fiasco. Not that they’re likely to be the only ones. I’m surprised there haven’t been any announcements of book deals with any of the major players in this drama yet. Usually those happen pretty quickly.



















Whoever buys that list could make a fortune selling Scent O’ Jeebus candles.