The Real Reason Behind the Schiavo Hysteria?

Schiavo Case Evolving into a Judiciary Fight
The Muskegon Chronicle
Friday, March 25, 2005



The extraordinary intervention by Congress and President Bush into the Terri Schiavo case was seen by many as a slap at states' rights and a cynical bow to the passionate and influential "Religious Right."

We think it's even more than that -- a calculated ploy on the part of Washington's more Machiavellian players to exploit both Terri Schiavo and her devout supporters for coldly political ends.

Don't get us wrong. We believe that advocates on both sides of the Schiavo case -- including most of those who debated the case in Congress -- hold honest, heartfelt opinions. This is a troubling case without easy black-and-white answers, and it deserves the agonizingly extensive attention it has received both in the courts and in the court of public opinion.

But in Congress the issue is broadening, predictably, into something more. Republican leaders are now talking in terms of speeding up the forthcoming Senate battle over future nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal judicial appointments.

Pardon us if we don't think that's coincidental. In fact, it was thoroughly predictable. The Schiavo case is a natural vehicle for rallying and energizing religious conservatives in the cause of curbing "out-of-control judges." And Republican leaders and the president knew that when they staged last weekend's melodrama, which ended in allowing Terri Schiavo's distraught parents to bring her case into the federal court system.

Don't think for a minute that congressional leaders didn't know chances were minuscule that a federal judge would overturn years of rulings by Florida state courts. After all, the case had made its way through every level of Florida's generally conservative court system over a decade. Repeated decisions there ended up in 30,000 pages of legal briefs and expert medical testimony.

But some in Congress figured last weekend's action was win-win. If a judge restored Schiavo's feeding tube, the Congressional majority could claim credit and win points with the religious right. If federal judges refused -- as was likely -- even better. With that, Terri Schiavo would become a poster child for "judicial reform."

Already Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has been busy regaling Christian conservatives with the need for "good judges" -- presumably judges who always agree with Bill Frist -- and plans to end Democrats' ability to filibuster against judicial appointments, the so-called "Nuclear Option."

Said conservative strategist Ken Viguerie of the Schiavo case, "It is very dramatic proof of what we have been saying: That the judiciary is out of control."

Viguerie's comment is nonsense that stems from the worst kind of political cynicism. It reduces a family's emotional trauma to a tool of political propaganda.

We don't agree with Frist and Viguerie. And if current opinion polls are accurate, neither does a majority of Americans. They see the Schiavo case as one of daunting complexity, and one that demonstrates clearly why an independent judiciary is so important to this country. As New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer has said, the case "shows how important the courts are as a check on the overreaching majority."

Terri Schiavo, her husband and her parents deserve the compassion and prayers of all America during this horrible, painful ordeal. Those who would use them to achieve political goals, however, deserve only contempt.

A will to live by

Whether you believe Terri Schiavo should be kept alive just because she is, or mercifully be allowed to die, there is a lesson to be learned from her story. And that is the importance of making it absolutely clear whether extraordinary life-saving measures should be used in the event of a debilitating illness or accident.

In Michigan, that takes the form of a 'living will," which legal experts suggest be followed up with a health care power of attorney and a patient advocate directive.

Congress's actions of late have focussed attention on this important matter of who decides when it's time to hold on or let go. It's a decision that must be decided by loved ones, not strangers.

© 2005 Muskegon Chronicle.