Posted on 03/20/2005 2:52:24 PM PST by Jean S
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate passed a bill that could prolong Terri Schiavo's life while a federal court considers her case while House Republicans, stymied by Democrats, scrambled to bring enough lawmakers back to the Capitol for an emergency vote early Monday.
GOP leaders planned a House vote just past midnight, hours after the Senate approved the bill by voice vote. President Bush rushed back from his Texas for a chance to sign the measure.
The plan had been for the House to act first and then the Senate to pass the House version. But with Democrats forcing a delay in the House, the Senate went ahead and passed its own, identical, version by unrecorded voice vote.
That means the House will be acting on the Senate-passed bill, still enabling the legislation to be hurried to Bush for signature into law.
The White House said the president would act as soon as the measure reaches him.
"We ought to err on the side of life in a case like this," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. Asked about a bill that would cover a single person, he said, "I think most people recognize that this case involves some extraordinary circumstances."
Lawmakers who left Washington on Friday for the two-week Easter recess had to make abrupt changes in plans, backtracking for a dramatic and politically contentious vote.
Democrats expressed sympathy for the severely brain-damaged Florida woman and for the plight of her family. But they also accused Republicans of ramming through constitutionally questionable legislation to satisfy the agenda of their conservative allies.
In a special session Sunday afternoon, Democrats refused to allow the bill to be passed without a roll call vote.
Under House rules, such a vote could not occur until Monday, thus the plans for a vote at 12:01 a.m. Monday at which at least 218 of the 435-member House must appear. Also, because it was an expedited vote, the measure needed votes from two-thirds of those present for passage.
The House has 232 Republicans, 202 Democrats and one independent.
The legislation would give Schiavo's parents the right to file suit in federal court over the withdrawal of food and medical treatment needed to sustain the life of their daughter.
It says the court, after determining the merits of the suit, "shall issue such declaratory and injunctive relief as may be necessary to protect the rights" of the woman. Injunctive relief in this case could mean the reinserting of feeding tubes.
"It gives Terri Schiavo another chance," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said after the late-afternoon voice vote in a near-empty Senate chamber. "It guarantees a process to help Terri, but does not guarantee a particular outcome."
Frist also noted that the bill, responding to some Democratic objections, does not affect state assisted suicide laws or serve as a precedent for future legislation.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said members scattered across the globe were being summoned back to Washington by aides to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
Blunt's office sent a notice to members on their handheld computers Friday to be prepared to return to Washington on Sunday, said spokeswoman Burson Taylor.
In emergencies, when that does not work, the whip's office activates a phone tree, where one member is charged with calling the next. "We do anticipate a quorum," she said.
Smith added, "It should come as no surprise to any members reading a newspaper or watching TV. Smith canceled an official trip to Albania to escort Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler, to Capitol Hill press conferences Sunday.
The Democratic whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said his office was informing members of the vote and not discouraging them from returning to the capital. But he said the party was not counting votes and was telling members to vote their conscience on the issue.
Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years. Her feeding tubes were removed Friday afternoon at the request of her husband, who says that his wife expressed to him before she fell ill that she did not want to be kept alive under such circumstances.
House and Senate committees at the end of the week issued subpoenas seeking to force the continuation of treatment, but that move was rejected by a Florida court.
Schiavo could linger for one or two weeks if the tube is not reinserted, as has happened twice before.
Republicans defined their extraordinary efforts in the context of the sanctity of life: "A society is judged by the way that it treats its most vulnerable citizens," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.
"No person in America should be deprived of the right to life without due process of law and Terri Schiavo is no different," Pence said.
But Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., spoke of "the manifestation of a constitutional crisis" where Congress, for ideological reasons, was ignoring the separations of power written into the Constitution.
Republicans distanced themselves from a memo suggesting GOP lawmakers could use the case to appeal to Christian conservative voters and to force Democrats into a difficult vote.
"I hope we're not ... making this human tragedy a political issue," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told ABC's "This Week." "We've got plenty of other issues that are political in nature for us to fight about."
AP-ES-03-20-05 1721EST
This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBPGFETJ6E.html
Time is really, really running out...every time I refresh the page; I expect to read of Terri's passing.
"That means the House will be acting on the Senate-passed bill, still enabling the legislation to be hurried to Bush for signature into law."
Yee-Haw! I would've hated for Dubya to come back to Washington for naught...or for Terri's funeral. (Not that there would be one with her Godless husband at the helm.)
Democrat Party=Party of Death
Yeah, like steroids in baseball. You jackass.
AP repeating the same old lies about her condition. Fox had an audio tape of her earlier today trying to speak in response to her dad's talking to her. A person in a PVS does not react that way.
This is not the answer. Who knows if they will reinsert the tube when Bush signs it. Greer just may rule they have no jurisdiction. Plus the Federal Courts may agree with Greer.
I also caught the clip of her appreciative mother advising politicians not to use this issue to further their political career.
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TERRI = Breathes, Eats, Speaks / MICHAEL = "When is the B-TCH gonna die?" ..per Nurses
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1366750/posts
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This is a LIE perpetrated by the euthanasia and pro-death squad to make people believe this lie by repeating it by the "old media" enough times thinking it will become fact through repetition. She has NEVER been in a vegetative state. She has always been in a semi-conscious state, able to respond to stimuli around her. Many videos of her has made this indisputable. But pro-death crowds won't let the truth get in their way. They have an agenda of killing people who are uncomfortable to them, and that's the bottom line. How is Terri making them uncomfortable? The fact that she is a Bible believing Christian, which TO THEM, is the worst kind of human being there is.
We don't know that he hasn't.
This case is grieving me greatly. I have lost all faith in my government.
Bob Beckel said the democrats are going to pay a price for this. Since Bob never says anything harsh about the dems - I'm wondering if Bob is right or not.
I think he's right about this one. How great of a campaign slogan can "I helped kill Terri Schiavo" be?
He might harvest her organs first, avaricious little creep that he is. And yes, I agree with your conclusion. All murderers like to at least try to cover their tracks.
I commend our government and President for taking time off their vacations to care for the rights of a single human being. This is the way God works, he cares about even the smallest, weakest creature. No one should be angry for our government acting humanely and doing what God would do. God would feed Terri and not let her suffer like this. If you were in the Schindler's shoes you would feel the same way. It is easy for someone who isn't in that situation to criticize. Believe me, this is a case of extraordinary circumstances and that is why the congress is involved and rightly so!
What a waste of the Senate's time. This matter has no business being in court the 20th time!!! Terri is brain dead and her husband has established in court her medical perogatives. The parents are upset they didn't get a share of her medical settlement and now hastily crafted bills with G-d knows what secondary consequences, are comming to us now. All this will do is increase the number of lawsuits in similar situations by letting peple file endless lawsuits in multiple venues. The Repubs. need to stop pandering to the pro-life crowd and end this circus that is trampeling states rights. I live less than 2 miles from where all this is happening and I can tell you that the mood of the voters I know who are conservative will not support the republicans again and on this will cause the Republicans to lose their majorities in both houses during the next election cycle.
I'm just about there too. Since some Rats (an appropriate word to use here) blocked unamimous consent, they will take a vote at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow. However, a congressional quorum must be present and two-thirds of those present (hopefully not two-thirds of the total House) must be in favor for it to pass.
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