Free Republic

Immigration Moves Eyed; House Democrats Ponder an Election-Year Bill Steven T. Dennis, ROLL CALL STAFF House Democrats are crafting scaled-down immigration reform legislation despite the political minefields that surround the issue, with Hispanic Members seeking five-year visas for illegal immigrants who pay fines and pass criminal background checks. Immigration reform had been left for dead after last year's Senate train wreck, but pressures for at least stopgap immigration legislation have bubbled up within the Democratic Caucus. It's unclear if the behind-the-scenes discussions will actually result in a bill coming to the floor, but Democrats say drafts of legislation already have...

LONDON, May 19 (UPI) -- A terminally ill British man's request to be kept alive indefinitely has sparked legal debate over the economic impact on the National Healthcare System. Leslie Burke, 45, suffers from a degenerative brain condition and won a landmark case last year granting him the right to stop doctors from withholding food and water until he dies from his ailment. The General Medical Council has appealed the ruling to the High Court, saying it created confusion between the roles of doctor and patient. Decisions on treatment should be made by doctors, not patients, it contended. The council's...