House Calling Emergency Session to Vote on Schiavo Legislation; Senate Passes Bill First

AP ^ | 3/20/05 | Jim Abrams

[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

[TIElniff]

>>In a special session Sunday afternoon, Democrats refused to allow the bill to be passed without a roll call vote.<<

Yeah, let's get them on "on the record" concerning this issue--are they for preserving life or not? are they for doing whatever is necessary to preserve life or are they willing to obfuscate the issues so as not to have to commit themselves?


What I can't figure out if why they would want to be on the record. You'd think those who oppose would want to hide behind a voice vote, like the Senators did.

[mjtobias]

"I chose life as well."

That's very selfish of you, almost egomaniacal. You chose life for yourself but would like to see it denied to sister Terri, of course.

may y_hweh have mercy on you.

[CyberAnt]

I agree - it will not look good in campaign slogans.

[Sandy]

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.

This doesn't make sense to me. Who exactly are Teri's parents going to sue? Not a private party, since the feds have no constitutional authority to authorize such a suit. The state can't be sued, and the judge has qualified immunity. So what exactly is the point here? Who would be the target in such a suit?

Any lawyers care to help me here?

[PFKEY]

You have not. :o)

Here is the fact.

The simple fact that she is now being starved to death.

Why is she being starved to death? Becasue she has been diagnosed as being PVS. The state agrees with this diagnosis and the law allows for the removal of her feeding tubes under this diagnosis.

If this is not the case then why do you suppose she is being starved to death.

What part of that fact supports your agrument that she is not PVS?

[Republican Wildcat]

This is a reversal for the Senate to get something done and the House to be successfully obstructed.

[nicmarlo]

My point is that these doctors diagnosis do not appear to carry any weight in this case so they are merly medical opinions with no weight.

By whom, Greer? He's not a doctor, nor has he even gone to see Terri. The "tie breaking" doctor to say that Terri was in PVS was appointed by Greer and is Felos friend's brother.

[Brad’s Gramma]

BTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mjtobias]

"You must not have read any of my posts that say I want Terri to live."

I haven't seen those posts. But, have seen plenty of posts of yours where you wish and hope that our Terri is killed.

If you truly want Terri to live, why don't you advocate so?
It seems to me, though, that you're just another fictitious, pseudo and phony I-want-to-see-Terri-live troll.

I wonder why you put so much effort in this thread? You're an anachronism, so, please, leave those of us who love and want to see Terri live alone.

Free Terri! Free her NOW! Jail the rest!

[PFKEY]

Euthanasia lawyer Felos and HINO, MS, refused because it would have shown that our Christian sister, Terri, is NOT, in fact, in a PVS state.

They don't have the authority to say what is and isn't admissible in a court of law.

I think you are letting your emotions cloud your understanding of how the judicial system works.

[freedomdefender]

The GOP is losing votes over this in Fl.

I suspect that the folks who want Terri dead are either already Democrats, or moderate Republicans who won't make this their deciding issue as to how to vote. The pro-Terri people, on the other hand, would hold it against the GOP if it abandoned its role as the party of life. This is how Peggy Noonan analyzed things. Also, apparently Democrat Bob Beckel said on Fox News that it's the Democrats who are in trouble over this case.

[reformedliberal]

I am not a physician, but I work with medical staff. Physicians practice what is known as "the prognosis of least regret", meaning, they almost automatically tell patients and family the worst outcome, so as not to give false hope. Many physicians will admit that the human body and mind are incredibly tough and resilient. Often, patients will react to a poor prognosis with an attitude of "I'll show them'. These patients often live longer and with better quality of life than any trained medical person would have predicted.

32 years ago, I was married to a man who became a quadriplegic due to a motorcycle loosing an encounter with a Dodge Maxi Van. After a time in intensive care, he was transferred to a nursing home while we waited for a bed in a rehab center. My husband kept telling the staff he had feeling and he proved it. The attending physician (not his personal doc) conducted some simple cutaneous perception tests, which showed that the patient was telling the truth. The physician was furious, since this was *impossible* and stated to us that "this is a very intelligent man and he is reading cues of some sort"....even though a screening sheet was interposed between his eyes and the body parts being tested.

He lived for 13 years. He then entered a coma as the result of a bladder infection (Pseudomonas). This is commonly called *toxic shock*. We were told this was the end. He came out of the coma, but had lost the hearing in one ear. He was able to tell us what was going on in the room while he was in coma, whether the blinds had been open or shut and what we had been saying. He also reported having vivid, physically active dreams that seemed very real at the time. He went in and out of coma over a three week period. Finally, the toxins from the bacteria overwhelmed the antibiotics and his immune system and he died.

I used to believe that I did not want to live if I was cognitively disabled. Now, we have the technology to watch the electrical impulses in a person's brain and so to tell whether or not they are truly vegetative. The area of the brain that is active can be correlated with whatever the person is doing. These tests have to be done over time, as cognitively disabled people have disturbed circadian rhythms and it isn't always possible to discern if they are sleeping or awake. Terri at least deserves these tests.

My present husband and I have decided that unless we have flatlined, cerebrally, and have to be on a respirator, we do not want to be terminated. In order to spare my son the agony of making this sort of decision, should we both be injured in an accident, we will be updating our living wills ASAP to include these directions.

Up until the advent of advanced ultra-sound scans, no one realized just how human a baby is, even at 7 weeks of gestation. Technology has changed my mind totally about abortion and about cognitive disability. These are decisions too awesome for any human to be expected to make.

Serial killers and cold-blooded murderers get judicial review and a final appeal. Those who cannot speak for themselves, but who are innocent of any criminal action, deserve a guardian ad litem who should be capable of reviewing every advanced medical image that is possible and those tests should be mandatory.

[TAdams8591]

You couldn't be more wrong. Most grassroot conservatives understand this story. ALL conservative leaders and spokes people get it. Your lust for euthanasia seems to be impeding your comprehension.

[PFKEY]

That's very selfish of you, almost egomaniacal. You chose life for yourself but would like to see it denied to sister Terri, of course.

may y_hweh have mercy on you.

You will have to quote and reference by post number where I said I wanted Terri to die or be denied life.

I think you need to step back from the keyboard because you are not capable of reading and understanding or your emotions has so clouded you senses that you are begining to hallucinate.

[TAdams8591]

Terri's parents and siblings, all polite and well spoken, seem genuine and sincere.

[Howlin]

You couldn't be more wrong. Most grassroot conservatives understand this story. ALL conservative leaders and spokes people get it.

Not all of them; some believe this is a huge mistake for the GOP.

Your lust for euthanasia seems to be impeding your comprehension.

And your lust for your one agenda, using this case to ride to Congress, is going to cost you the one thing you have now: a party in power that can actually DO something about this.

This is going to destroy the GOP.

[CyberAnt]

"most ... don't want congress involved."

I don't agree! And .. I haven't seen any polls. If 58% of America is against abortion - then at least that many are against euthanasia.

If murderers are entitled to a "federal review" of their STATE convictions, then surely a disabled person is too.

I think it's interesting that the democrats are screaming about states rights in this issue with Terri .. but are the ones who want everything brought to the USSC. Such hypocrisy is stunning.

[bvw]

Great post!

[topher]

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.

One of the really stupid things about this case is that the parents in the early process legal process -- many, many, many years ago -- was given very bad legal advice to concede that her daughter was in PVS. But even if parents concede this, they are not doctors and medical conditions [but not the stupidity of the Mainstream Media].

Someone has said that the appeals court automatically assume Terri is PVS, which is something broken in our legal system -- among many things...

[TAdams8591]

PVS is not factual either.

Terri is neither braindead, pvs or comatose and NEVER has been. I have taken care of people in such states and they don't respond. Terri responds. She has been in a semi-conscious state since the night she "collapsed."