Congressional Intervention In Schiavo Case Okay By Constitution
By Brian Yates (03/28/05)
America’s elite blasted Congress over the supposed violation of their small government principles last week when they intervened in the Terri Schiavo death sentence.
The Louisville Courier-Journal smirked over a claimed schism within the Republican Party. “The arrogance of Congress in the Terri Schiavo case has appalled many of the Republican Party’s traditional conservatives,” began their editorial. (Interestingly enough, they neglected to name any of these “appalled” conservatives.)
The Left has cried foul at GOP tactics. They wonder aloud where the conservative ideals of limited government and states’ rights have disappeared to. Where have all the federalists gone, they ask?
The answer? They haven’t gone anywhere.
Federalism does not mean solely states’ rights. Conservatives believe as the Constitution states, “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution…are reserved to the States.” Conservatives support states’ rights in all areas not delegated to the federal government.
“But Yates,” some scream, “a person’s right to die is not a power delegated to the federal government.”
But it is.
The 14th Amendment is clear that no person may be deprived of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Terri Schiavo has been denied her due process, which violates Mrs. Schiavo’s Constitutional rights.
In criminal cases, the federal judiciary reviews decisions of state courts on a regular basis. The bill passed by Congress did not order Schiavo’s feeding tube to be reinserted. It simply saw the court order for what it is; a death sentence, and requested federal review.
How has Terri Schiavo’s right to due process been violated?
Mrs. Schiavo had no living will and there are many conflicting opinions as to what she would have wanted. Michael Schiavo, the husband hell-bent on killing his disabled wife, claims she did not want to be kept alive by machines. Michael’s brother Scott testified that she told him, “I don’t want to be kept alive on a machine.”
(A quick note here: Mrs. Schiavo has not been kept alive by a machine. She breathes on her own and her organs function. She is simply unable to swallow food or water, requiring the feeding tube.)
Terri Schiavo’s parents, on the other hand, claim that she would have chosen life.
Florida state law requires a judge to follow a person’s last wishes, if they can be established. With conflicting accounts, one might think this would be difficult to determine. There was no difficulty; however, for Judge George Greer, who quickly sided with the husband in a finding of fact that has made appeals all but impossible.
What makes Michael Schiavo the all-knowing in this particular case?
One might question his motives for starving his wife to death. He cared for his wife dutifully until he received a million dollar verdict in a malpractice suit filed on Terri’s behalf. Once the wallet had been fattened, suddenly the memory of his wife’s last wishes appeared.
According to a friend and coworker of Terri Schiavo, Jackie Rhodes, Terri and Michael Schiavo were discussing the possibility of divorce “at the time that Terri collapsed.”
And some doctors doubt that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state. Dr. William Cheshire of the highly respected Mayo Clinic observed Terri at her bedside, reviewed her medical history, and come to the conclusion that she is more likely in a “minimally conscious state.” And according to Fox News, a radiologist said a brain scan in 2002 showed “a more normal appearance than one in 1996 and said there was a ‘significant probability that she would improve.’”
So what’s the rush to kill her?
There’s a chance of hope and isn’t a chance at recovery and a chance at life better than none at all?
To starve a person to death is absolutely inhumane. The same liberals gleefully celebrating every passing day Terri Schiavo suffers without proper nourishment would demand prison for any person treating their dog in similar fashion.
I wonder, how would they react if we attempted to starve Saddam Hussein?
I stand upon the side of life and the Constitution. Apparently the Left stands with death.
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