Posted on 03/19/2005 11:41:00 AM PST by snowsislander
Behind the scenes, Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Mel Martinez enlisted conservatives' help to create a formidable lobbying force to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
BY FRANK DAVIES, ERIKA BOLSTAD AND MARC CAPUTO
ebolstad@herald.com
Less than 24 hours before Terri Schiavo had her feeding tube removed, Gov. Jeb Bush knew the effort to keep her alive was slipping away.
So the brother of the president -- and a prime mover of the 2003 legislation that prolonged Schiavo's life -- called Florida's newest U.S. senator, Mel Martinez, with an urgent plea.
''I'm not sure we can get it done here in Florida,'' Martinez quoted Bush as saying just after a new Schiavo measure stalled in the Florida Legislature. ``Do whatever you can federally.''
What transpired over the ensuing hours was a testament to the influence of the governor and religious conservatives, and will be remembered as one of the most extraordinary moves in the halls of U.S. Congress ever seen on behalf of a single person who, until recently, was little-known to many in the country.
Meeting in the dark of night, the C-SPAN cameras off, leaders in the House and Senate hit upon the idea to stall the court-ordered removal of her feeding tube by issuing congressional subpoenas to Schiavo herself, her husband and some of her doctors and caretakers.
GOP DISAPPOINTED
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Friday evening that they were disappointed with Friday's court decisions allowing the feeding tube to be removed, and they vowed to work through the weekend to prolong Schiavo's life.
The dizzying flurry of congressional activity is largely a response to a relentless push by conservative Christian groups -- using e-mail ''action alerts'' and persistent lobbying -- and the personal involvement of Frist and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
''I've never seen anything like this in Congress over an individual case,'' said Jayd Henricks, lobbyist for the Family Research Council, one of the groups battling to keep Schiavo alive by challenging state court orders.
Even as Congress struggled with the federal budget, Medicaid and other national issues, Republican leaders worked well into early morning Friday to intervene on behalf of the brain-damaged woman in a Florida hospice.
They passed bills, issued subpoenas, interrupted a debate on the annual budget, scheduled hearings and held press conferences, all designed to prevent the court-ordered removal of a feeding tube from Schiavo, who has been in a vegetative state for 15 years.
The unusual effort culminated early Friday. The House and Senate had passed different bills to give Schiavo rights in federal court, but most House members had left the capital before the differences could be reconciled.
Top GOP leaders scrambled ''quickly and creatively'' to find a way to block the removal of the tube from Schiavo without legislation, Henricks said.
A Senate staffer said ''the leaders and lawyers were looking at everything, trying to freeze the situation in place and buy time'' so legislation could be crafted and sent to President Bush in the next few days. What they devised -- the subpoena -- has generated new controversy about how Congress operates in a controversial case such as Schiavo's.
Schiavo's plight began dominating Congress at 2:59 p.m. Thursday, when the Florida Senate voted 21-16 to defeat an amendment designed to give Schiavo's parents another chance to delay the removal of the tube.
The previous night, The House had passed a broad bill that would make sweeping changes in federal law, giving federal courts jurisdiction in any case involving incapacitated people who have not given advanced instructions about whether they should be offered sustenance.
HOPE DWINDLES
But the Senate balked at the broader House bill, instead favoring a so-called ''private relief bill'' that would have applied exclusively to Schiavo and would have not have altered federal law in other cases.
Several senators objected to the House bill, which the Senate refused to take up, and passed their own narrowly focused bill Thursday afternoon.
The refusal to take up the Republican bill angered House GOP leaders: With differing bills, there was nothing for President Bush to sign to prolong Schiavo's life. The House and Senate convened a short time later.
Speaker Hastert and DeLay remained talking on the House floor.
''I did see the speaker and the House majority leader anguished, looking for ways for us to help,'' said U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, a Miami Republican.
They cooked up a deal: The House Government Reform Committee, which had just held 11 hours of hearings on the issue of steroids in baseball, would launch an inquiry into the case and issue subpoenas to doctors and hospice administrators to stop them from disconnecting Schiavo's tube. ''This inquiry should give hope to Terri, her parents and friends and the million of people praying for her,'' Hastert said. ``This fight is not over.''
Committee members from both parties said they were not aware of the subpoenas until they were notified Friday morning.
''This all happened so fast, even the committee staff did not know,'' said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla. ``This has just been thrown at the entire committee and Congress.''
Lobbying congress? How about congress cut off federal funding to Florida until Gov. Bush reigns in the DCF?!?!
Amazing how the same people who are usually running around like ants in a panic to save the life of a convicted murderer facing execution are mute about this outrage, except to "Die, Terry! Die!"
I have people at candle light vigils for convicted murderers shed tears when they are informed the these animals are sent to Hell, yet not a one of them will cry for Terry Schiavo.
Indeed. A lot of them want her dead besides.
I think this is misleading and a dangerous idea to spread around. Plenty of people who are not "religious conservatives" don't want to see people murdered for no reason at all. You wouldn't have to believe in God to detest abortion and euthanasia. I must write to the Miami Herald immediately.
I have people at candle light vigils for convicted murderers shed tears when they are informed the these animals are sent to Hell, yet not a one of them will cry for Terry Schiavo.
Indeed it is.
The judge is even now willing to chance being in criminal contempt of Congress and to feloniously obstruct an investigation of the Congress rather than simply hold up this execution.
Sad to say, that even if she did suddenly sit up in bed, the world would still go on as it does. Atheists would not fall on their knees. Remember the story that Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus who was in Abraham's bosom? Remember how he begged to come back from the dead so that he might warn his brothers because surely they would believe? It is found in Luke 16:19-31. This was the answer Jesus gave in the story to the dead man's request:
But Abraham said, `They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "But he said, `No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' 31 "But he said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.' "
So, sad to say, even if Terry miraculously by His Hand would regain her mental and/or physical abilities, as much as we want to think that this would make all bow at the name of the Lord, it simply won't happen. Jesus Himself said this is true. If not, then all the world would follow Him at the miraculous sign of His resurrection, much less all the other miracles He performed. But like you, I would also love to see this happen.
The post A.D. 33 world has Moses, the Prophets, and One who is Risen from the dead.
What is our excuse?
Hi there. Would you mind spelling out DCF, for acronym-challenged people like me? Thanks ...
I know those anti-death penalty people you're talking about. They're like that nun whose story was told in "Dead Man Walking," so much compassion for the perp and none for the victims.
What a shame that Congress was wasting time on steroids in baseball. They could have acted sooner and more effectively for Terri, if they had not been involved in that totally useless exercise.
How about sending in the Marines and quit fooling around!!!!!
Can't help being suspicious of why the "husband" refused to divorce her...
if Terri was black there would be 100,000 around that hospis, whites don't take care of there own (ò¿ó)
and that's sad!
Strange isn't it?
Any explanation in your opinion?
Has it always been this way?
(sigh)
Just to make things clear, gettingbored's comment in #17 is actually addressed to the author of #16, count_chichagof, and not to myself.
Well, where are the FReepers who were knocking Jeb last night for "doing nothing?"
The previous night, The House had passed a broad bill that would make sweeping changes in federal law, giving federal courts jurisdiction in any case involving incapacitated people who have not given advanced instructions about whether they should be offered sustenance.
But the Senate balked at the broader House bill, instead favoring a so-called ''private relief bill'' that would have applied exclusively to Schiavo and would have not have altered federal law in other cases.
In this case, I would have favored the Senate's approach on a one-case basis. I disagree with the House bill giving more power to the judiciary.
For the long term, (believe it or not) NYT's David Brooks last night spoke the best suggestion I've heard: Establish a law that favors "presumption towards life" when an incapacitated person (the patient) has not previously signed an advance directive (living will) choosing to NOT be placed on life support or a feeding tube, and the patient is not able to definitively indicate this choice.
Establishing such a law would be far preferable than placing the matter on a case by case basis at the discretion of the judiciary.
What say you, snowy?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.