Terri Schiavo Gets Support From President Bush

By Linda Orlando

The right to die case of Terri Schiavo took an unsettling turn over the weekend when an emergency session of Congress was called to consider a law to give Schiavo’s parents the right to file suit in a federal court. If their suit prevails, Terri’s feeding tubes will again be reconnected and her life will again be prolonged indefinitely. President Bush left his vacation in Texas to fly back to Washington to be available to sign the bill into law as soon as it was passed, which caused an eruption of discussion and controversy from coast to coast about just how much the government should get involved in people’s personal lives. President Bush vowed in a statement to "stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans, including those with disabilities." His statement drew criticism from many fronts because of his belief that Schiavo’s condition is one of a "disabled" person, since that word does not generally apply to someone in a persistent vegetative state.

As a result of the law, called the "Palm Sunday Compromise," a hearing is set for 3 p.m. EDT Monday in Tampa, with U.S. District Judge James Whittemore considering the request for a temporary restraining order to reconnect Terri’s feeding tubes until a federal court can hear the case. Schiavo’s parents filed a simultaneous request with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, but the appeals court said it would not intervene before Whittemore has a chance to review the case. The fight over Schiavo’s right to die has been debated for over 15 years in hospital rooms, courtrooms, lawyer’s offices, and now on the floors of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband, has staunchly defended her right to die, saying that she would never want to be kept alive in a vegetative state. Terri’s parents, the Schindlers, insist that Terri responds to them and can improve with proper treatment, and they do not want her to be removed from life support.

In the midst of all the legal wrangling and government interference, nationwide polls have been conducted recently to see how the average U.S. citizen feels about this landmark, unbelievably sensationalistic case. Over 70% of Americans say that the action taken by Congress was inappropriate, and 67% think that the elected officials trying to keep Schiavo alive are taking action purely fortheir own political reasons, rather than out of concern for Terri or her family. The poll was conducted by ABC News by telephone on March 20, and involved a random sample of 501 adults.

It seems that everyone in the country, and indeed the world, has an opinion about whether or not Terri Schiavo should be allowed to die naturally with dignity, or be kept alive artificially with her image plastered all over the media, her tiny hands clenched into fists, her face expressionless and her eyes vacant. And now the government is stepping in to control the outcome. The events of the past week must have George Orwell rolling over in his grave.