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
My goodness that is quite a statement. I have listened to the parents interviewed quite a bit on Catholic Radio over the past month.
You could not be further from the truth.
These parents see a daughter who very much wants to live, and they know she can be rehabilitated. I applaud the parents for fighting for the life of their daughter.
Hey RATs! STFU! We're sick to death of your playground bullying tactics.
thanks :o)
It's not over yet.
once it is signed into law, the FEDS can then slap an injunction and temporary restraining order on Judge Greer and Schiavo so fast it will make their F'n heads spin....
You certainly went quickly from your innocent "I don't know anything about this case" to your current opinion. Interesting. Keep in mind that you'll run into the same people on these threads.
Bumpimg for our Terri.
Correction - I used brain dead as a non technical term. She is in a permanent vegetative state. Sorry for the confusion.
and the Parties.
feel same here.
Why are you repeating the MSM's lies?
Is someone trolling today????
Which is the whole point. "Prove" she's PVS and set a precedent. Not reading much anymore, are you.
True enough, but these were done years ago by Michael's hired doctors and she needs to be retested using current technology. Just as some convicted murderers are being cleared years later by use of DNA tests, so shouldn't Terri be given a chance to live by giving her MRI brain scans which never were administered. Doesn't an innocent woman deserve the same rights and consideration as current society gives a convicted murderer?
Re: #19 by doc30
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS AND ADVOCATES OF THE CULTURE OF DEATH.
Not really sure I follow what you are saying about my opinion.
Did you mean for this post to go to someone else?
The RATS should get off their whiny little butts. It's not about what side of the aisle they're on, it's about a human's life!
I know many people here are quite heart felt in their opinion on Terri's case and my opinion runs counter to those. I do not belive the parents or the video tape alleging she is not vegetative. There was a reason it was not introduced in the previous trials - it was a few, edited seconds of tape from several hours.
I firmly believe, however, it is not the roll of congress to address what is clearly a family matter that belongs in the state courts. Especially when such a bill is rushed through the legislature!
Geez, here we go again. A reporter this idiot is not. Get the facts straight, dude. It's the lying lazy media who's to blame for much of what's happening today. If they'd only bothered themselves to print the truth, Terri would be home with her parents right now and hino would be behind bars.
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