Free Republic

Do you want to make a change and see some justice? Congressman Tom DeLay said the House Judiciary Committee will be investigating Terri's case and making recommendations to the full house about any reforms that they believe are necessary in this debacle over Terri's life and death.This thread is to brainstorm, and to report what contacts we have made and the results. Below is a link to the committee members. Anyone who wants to help organize a ping list- SPEAK UP. We need someone to make a list of objectives and contacts. This thread is for activism. If you are...

Over the course of the past week, the Terri Schiavo case made headlines with its swift and unsuccessful journey through the federal courts. The string of court defeats might have left the impression that the case was doomed from the outset. Yet the litigation's failure may owe more to a poor tactical choice by the lawyers advising the Schindlers--Terri's parents--than to the case's underlying merits. The original Schindler complaint included a variety of federal constitutional and statutory claims. Each of them was weak at best, as was quickly reflected in federal district judge James Whittemore's ruling that the Schindlers had...

4/4/05 By Michael Barone No, it wasn't a cynical ploy A lot of sophisticated people are clucking at the actions of Congress and George W. Bush that attempted to save the life of Terri Schiavo. This was pandering to the religious right, we are told, a cynical partisan ploy by Republicans, an intervention by an activist, even ayatollah-like federal government into a state court case and a family dispute. I do not put myself forward as an expert on this case, nor am I certain that Congress and Bush made the right decision or that the courts, state and federal,...

Friday, March 25, 2005 10:57 p.m. EST Greer Got Donation From Mike Schiavo's Lawyer Reclaiming America, an organization backed by Rev. D. James Kennedy, reported that a serious conflict of interest may exist for the Fla. State Judge who is ruling on the Terri Schiavo case. The report from Reclaiming America follows: As if the circumstances surrounding Terri Schiavo could not get any more suspicious, the Center for Reclaiming America has uncovered evidence that Pinellas-Pasco County Circuit Judge George W. Greer accepted a campaign contribution from the law firm of Michael Schiavo’s attorney only one day after "Terri’s Law” was...

WASHINGTON (AP) - "Reid and Senate dems have been helpful thruout," Majority Leader Bill Frist messaged fellow Republican senators privately during pressured negotiations on legislation designed to save Terri Schiavo. The atmosphere was little different in the House, though Democratic opponents wanted extra time for debate and an on-the-record vote last weekend before allowing the final bill to pass. The attitude marked an exception for a minority not accustomed to muting its opposition, a reflection of Schiavo's personal tragedy and the desire of many Democratic lawmakers to support the bill - or at least avoid opposing it. The party didn't...

Washington — THE Congressional vote on Monday allowing Terri Schiavo's parents to take her case to a federal court underscores the success of Christian conservatives in defining the last election as having been decided by moral values. But political strategists may not want to bank too heavily on this assessment. Especially on life-and-death issues, support for moral values among Americans must contend with a deeply held pragmatism. It is rare for Washington politicians to buck public opinion. An ABC News poll conducted on Sunday found a 63 percent to 28 percent majority supporting removal of Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube. The...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES Republicans ignored polls showing public disapproval of congressional involvement in the Terri Schiavo case and instead acted on behalf of their party's pro-life base. "It is political, but everything in Washington is political to some degree," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said of the successful move by congressional Republicans, with President Bush's support, to let federal courts review the case. Pro-life groups have rallied around the case of Mrs. Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband and parents have clashed over whether she should continue to be sustained through a feeding tube.

When the US House of Representatives voted 203 to 58 in the wee hours of Monday morning to hand the case of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman, over to a federal judge, the politics were unmistakable. For members from socially conservative districts, questions over the propriety of Congress jumping in and passing a law of debatable constitutionality pale in the face of the stark reality: that Ms. Schiavo appeared certain to die without their intervention. It was a vote that went to the heart of supporting the "culture of life" that is central to the religious conservative ethos. For...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Not all conservatives are happy with the decision by Congress and President Bush to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case. Some leaders said Tuesday the new law allowing a federal court review of the case is an example of the big government they have always opposed. "To simply say that the 'culture of life,' or whatever you call it means that we don't have to pay attention to the principles of federalism or separation of powers is certainly not a conservative viewpoint," said former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga. Allan Lichtman, who chairs the history department at American...

U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore has defied Congress by not staying Terri Schiavo's starvation execution for the time it takes him to hold a full hearing on her case, a leading Republican senator said Tuesday. "You have judicial tyranny here," Santorum told WABC Radio in New York. "Congress passed a law that said that you had to look at this case. He simply thumbed his nose at Congress." "What the statute that [Whittemore] was dealing with said was that he shall hold a trial de novo," the Pennsylvania Republican explained. "That means he has to hold a new trial....

Q Can you go over what went on last night, in terms of the President signing the bill and how it went down? MR. McCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE: Sure. I guess the bill -- the House passed it shortly after midnight, and then the President signed it at 1:11 a.m., in the morning. The Staff Secretary, Brett Kavanaugh, walked the legislation over to the residence for the President to sign. He came outside his bedroom and signed it in the residence. Q Had he been asleep? MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he was woken up after it was passed, when it was ready...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. An upstate Republican congressman says federal lawmakers shouldn't have gotten involved in the Terri Schiavo (SHY'-voh) case. Sherwood Boehlert of Oneida County didn't return to Washington for today's vote on a bill to give the brain-damaged woman's parents the right to ask a federal judge to order doctors to reinsert her feeding tube. Boehlert told Binghamton radio station W-N-B-F that -- in his words -- "Congress has no business injecting itself" into the case. He said he would not have voted for the bill had he been at the unusual early-morning House session. Boehlert noted the Schiavo case...

For the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo. (Considered and Passed by Senate) S 686 CPS 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 686 For the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 20, 2005 Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. MARTINEZ, and Mr. SANTORUM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AN ACT For the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,...

Federal Judge To Hear Schiavo Case At 3 P.M. President Signs Emergency Legislation Early Monday POSTED: 10:34 am EST March 21, 2005 UPDATED: 11:13 am EST March 21, 2005 WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush signed emergency legislation early Monday morning that gives Terri Schiavo's parents a chance to plea for their daughter's life in federal court. The House majority leader said Congress is giving her a chance to live, but some lawmakers said the law goes too far. Passage of the law came following hours of emotional debate. "This woman needs help -- not a death sentence," Rep. Joseph...

WASHINGTON -- Congress early today voted to grant a federal court the power to review the case of Terri Schiavo, clearing the way for the brain-damaged Florida woman to have the feeding tube that has kept her alive replaced. The House, meeting in an extraordinary overnight session that began on Palm Sunday, voted 203 to 58 at about 12:35 a.m. to empower a federal judge to rule on Schiavo's case. The vote followed by several hours a voice vote that approved the bill in the Senate, and President Bush flew back to Washington from his Texas ranch yesterday specifically so...

As Per Fox News

WASHINGTON, March 20 - For days, President Bush kept his public distance from the Terri Schiavo case and let his spokesman deliver mild statements suggesting that the president did not want Ms. Schiavo, who has severe brain damage, to die. But on Saturday night, when Mr. Bush made the rare decision to interrupt his Texas vacation and rush back to Washington to be in place to sign a bill that could restore Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube, the White House said that the issue had become one of "defending life," and that time was of the essence. So, too, were White...

This is an unprecedented session. The Congress is meeting to save one persons life (in real time). The only reason the Democrats are agreeing to this is that they don’t want to be known as the party that killed Terri. This is American history happening before your eyes.

WASHINGTON — With the sparsest of attendance, the Senate unanimously passed on Sunday a bill to try to help brain-damaged patient Terri Schiavo (search) by pushing her case into a federal court for consideration. The Senate is poised to recess for spring break unless the House of Representatives fails to pass the bill, in which case it would reconvene on Monday. Earlier in the day, the House of Representatives met to vote on Schiavo's fate but quickly recessed after it became clear that the bill would face congressional debate by opposing Democrats. The House was meeting at 9 p.m. EST...

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...