Welcome to the fall of Rome
I haven’t been paying much attention to the Terry Schiavo circus. For one thing, it’s horrifyingly sad. Plus, the grandstanding of DeLay and Frist make me sick to my stomach (can someone please take Frist’s license away? A heart surgeon delivering a diagnosis on brain activity based on a videotape has to be malpractice, doesn’t it? At the very least, it’s ethically… well, “suspect” doesn’t even tell the half of it. It’s reprehensible behavior.)
Anyway, I had heard something about Bush signing some law that would let the case go before federal court. But I didn’t know the details. Then I read this in The New York Times.
…supporters of Ms. Schiavo's parents, particularly members of the religious
right, leaned heavily on Congress and the White House to step in. They did so
yesterday with the new law, which gives "any parent of Theresa Marie Schiavo"
standing to sue in federal court to keep her alive.
This narrow focus is
offensive. The founders believed in a nation in which, as Justice Robert Jackson
once wrote, we would "submit ourselves to rulers only if under rules." There is
no place in such a system for a special law creating rights for only one family.
The White House insists that the law will not be a precedent. But that means
that the right to bring such claims in federal court is reserved for people with
enough political pull to get a law passed that names them in the text.
This is hideous. We’re losing the essence of our legal system to these dirtbags.
Rob
5 comments:
The law is called the Texas Futile Care Law. It gives hospitala the right to remove a patient from life support OVER THE FAMILY'S OBJECTIONS if there is NO MONEY to pay for care. B/c the law allows a family 10 days to find another facility---highly unlikely--W calls the law "compassionate." (He signed it in 1999 as governor of Texas.) Last Thursday a 6 month old baby was removed from life support and died despite the mother's protests. Yes, they were poor and balck.
Cecilia
As I said over on Andrew's blog, this whole fiasco really drives home how important it is for all adults to have an advanced medical directive (living will). Over there I posted a link to a site that links you to the appropriate free forms for all 50 states.
Exercise your civil rights or God knows who you may be handing power over to.
Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) on this, 3/20/05:
“Mr. Speaker, we are turning a sad family tragedy into a grotesque legislative travesty. It is a tragedy. But what we are talking about tonight is nothing other than inserting our judgment for the courts. Today every day in every county in America, families, doctors, hospital chaplains are making life-and-death decisions, tough decisions and tender decisions. Each one has its own circumstance, and Congress cannot reasonably understand each and should not be involved. For 215 years it has been a solid principle of this country that Congress is not involved in issues like this. ... This evening I had dinner with a family, my own relatives who yesterday and today had visited the hospital where the family decided to remove the feeding tube from a loved one. They came out of the hospital to find, to their dismay, that Congress is second guessing their decision. Imagine how they feel. Why should they believe that Congress will stay out of their personal affairs?
By the way, why are we debating this case? I do not want to be too cynical, but could it be that the TV cameras are rolling?"
(Papagoose, you are SO VERY right. Every adult in America should have documented thier wishes!!)
The specifics of this case are a horrible example of political grandstanding, in an attempt to get the government to intrude where it doesn't belong. But while that's horrible in and of itself, what worries me most is the precedent of quickie laws naming an individual to be eligible (or ineligible) for some sort of special treatment under the law. This is such a bad idea -- it can't be constitutional, for one thing. These people don't have any respect for the law -- it exists mearely as a way to get the outcomes they want.
Does anyone wonder why, at 63, I'm a life-long Democrat, have raised my children to be Democrats (and they married Democrats), and, rather than becoming more conservative as I get older, I'm becoming more radical?
Cecilia
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