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
Apperently it has already been proven otherwise she would not be in the situation she is in.
I'm not a doctor so it would be rather difficult to prove one way or the other but it has been proven legally and medically to the satisfaction of the laws of the state of Florida.
If that where not the true then how do you explain that her feeding tube has been removed not once but three times now and no one is or has been arrested let alone tried for her attempted murder.
No. It's not proven. Just a court approved diagnosis.
I agree.
I guess the lesson we should all take from this is to have our wishes in writting.
I wonder how many people having followed this case have done so after seeing all the pain and anguish this case has caused.
You're hopelessly influenced by the MSM.
Brain dead doesnt mean following people with her eyes. Brain Dead does not mean attempting to speak.
Last time I checked, Brain Dead doesn't mean knowing what having your feeding tube removed means to you.
Brain death is a term defined with legal implications. Your casual and erroneous use of the term in reference to Terri Schiavo reflects negligence and cripples any hope for credibility in your arguments.
He knows there's a chance the doctors doing the retrieval might, just might, be curious enough to do a little investigation on their own and oops, there's the prove in the report or at least everyone in the OR would know the truth. No, his only chance is to turn all evidence to ashes immediately.
Well this diagnosis is sufficient to have her starved to death.
This case has been heard again and again and again throught the court system. What I will say is that many friends and colleagues who are republican and/or conservative do not support dragging this case on and on and on. Judge Greer was re-elected with 65% of the votes in his jurisdiction - right where I live. This was after his opponents attacked him viciously regarding Terri's case. He still won. That's a good indication of how the people local to the case feel about it and after living with it for the last 10 years.
I watched my mom die a few years ago. Different circumstances altogether, of course. But I'll tell you -- the human body is a remarkable piece of machinery. The will to live is a strong, strong thing. It was amazing to see what she went through (with cancer) and how much longer she lived, way beyond what we expected. You could see the life force just not stopping; it is how we are created.
I have great hope for Terri, in the face of the many tremendous odds she faces. And I believe, as well, that Michael Schiavo and those others who are responsible for this will, in the end, be seen in Truth for the scum they are. Do not despair.
Nope.
I've just started reading the posts on this particular thread and am confident by the end others will have torn you to shreds. Bu-bye.
On the basis of two doctors chosen by the husband and an openly pro-euthenasia doctor chosen by the court, who investigated Terri for less than an hour each, IIRC.
How about letting Terri be examined for a week by someone who doesn't want her dead and can ensure that she's not being drugged?
I'm a proud member of the pro-life crowd. So, I guess by your comments, you are the opposite....pro-death? Interesting.
Hitler was elected by the majority of his people too.
"If Gov. Bush decides to send in the National Guard to settle this matter, he has the power to do so."
Yes, he does, but will he? I hope so. Time is fast running out. I fear that this time around Terri may not live beyond the expected.
The credibility that is lacking is in your arguement.
Whether using the term brain dead or PVS, which I think is the accurate medical term, you are on the losing side of this arguement.
I don't want to see Terri killed die and I'm sure doc30 doesn't either but it looks like that is what's going to happen.
If not this time then maybe the fourth time around.
Only in Pinellas county Fla. The home of Scientology. Have you read about them? NOT nice people.
The proposed FLorida bill was worse. People with living wills would have to amend them. Also, people deliberately not eating or drinking due to terminal illness can leagally refuse noutrition and make this known to their family and doctors in advance, but the momoent they become unconcious, the tube goes in unless its a notarized statement contrary. Much too intrusive in my opinion.
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