A group of people take part in a candlelight vigil outside the Florida Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee, Florida in support of Terri Schiavo March 20, 2005. (REUTERS/Mark Wallheiser)
A group of people take part in a candlelight vigil outside the Florida Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee, Florida in support of Terri Schiavo March 20, 2005. (REUTERS/Mark Wallheiser)
Ginny Brown-Waite (Fla.), Mike Castle (Del.), Charles Dent (Penn.), David Reichert (Wash.), and Chris Shays (Conn.)
Candlelight vigil at Michael Schiavo and Jodi Centonze's home last night.
Congress passes bill allowing federal review of Terri Schiavo case
JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press
Posted on Mon, Mar. 21, 2005
WASHINGTON - Congress approved emergency legislation early Monday to let Terri Schiavo's parents ask a federal judge to prolong their daughter's life, capping days of emotional debate over who should decide life and death.
President Bush waited at the White House to sign the measure permitting a federal review of the case, which could trigger the reinsertion of feeding tubes needed to keep the brain-damaged Florida woman alive.
The House passed the bill on a 203-58 vote after calling lawmakers back for an emergency Sunday session for debate that stretched past midnight.
The Senate approved the bill Sunday by voice vote.
Republican supporters said the "Palm Sunday Compromise" seeks to protect the constitutional rights of a disabled person and rejected suggestions that political motives lay behind the last-minute maneuver.
"When a person's intentions regarding whether to receive lifesaving treatment are unclear, the responsibility of a compassionate nation is to affirm that person's right to life," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. "In our deeds and public actions, we must build a culture of life that welcomes and defends all human life."
Many Democrats who opposed the bill said the congressional vote placed lawmakers in the middle of issues best left to state courts and family members.
"Today, congressional leaders are trying to appoint Congress as a judge and jury," said Rep. Jim Davis, D-Fla. "If we do not draw the line in the sand today, there is no limit to what democratic principles this Congress will ignore or what liberties they may trample on next."
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. and others rejected the description of the brain-damaged woman as persisting in a "vegetative" state.
"She laughs, she cries and she smiles with those around her. She is aware of her surroundings and is responsive to them," he said. "This is a woman who deserves a chance at life and not a death sentence of starvation and dehydration."
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., rejected the notion that elected lawmakers could accurately diagnose her condition.
"The caption tonight ought to be: We're not doctors, we just play them on C-SPAN," he said.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/11189154.htm