Life or Death Politics: Terri Schiavo
By injecting themselves into the life-or-death drama of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman whose fate has become a cause celebre for the nation's Christian conservative movement, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-led Legislature are reflecting the wishes of a constituency that could be critical to GOP success in next year's elections.
Although several moderate Republican lawmakers voted Tuesday against allowing Bush to overrule the court order that removed Schiavo's feeding tube, the governor's actions on such a high-profile case could energize the very evangelicals who stayed home in 2000 when Bush's brother, now the president, lost the national popular vote and narrowly won Florida.
''While they may not have any alternative that they'll want to vote for, what they can do is stay home,'' said Ken Connor, former leader of the conservative Family Research Council. ``But by the Legislature and the governor acting in a decisive way, that will galvanize the base of the Republican Party because most of that base is pro-life.''
Get the rest of this story from the Miami Herald.
Matt's Chat
I was talking with a friend this morning who was wondering if I had an opinion on this situation and I while I do, I wanted to see how it would play out a bit before tackling it here. I am pro-life. Any life. Every life. And I support the idea of saving this woman.My concern was that I wasn't sure it would be "legal" to do so. It would appear that the Florida legislature has passed taken action and that a judge has decided to not block their efforts. The case is complicated. I'm not convinced either way at this point but am glad to see that Terri will be taken care of, at least until it can all be sorted out.
My frustration with this article is that I knew this would happen. People are starting to raise suspicions about WHY Republicans would actually want to SAVE A WOMAN'S LIFE. Politics isn't what this is about. It is about doing the right thing.
Mark's Remarks
Well, Matt, leave the Dems to turn a woman's life into politics. Liberals show their lack of respect for human life by objectifying people's lives......what a shame.....
As far as my views, I am pro-life.....I do not condone abortion, but to make it illegal creates many problems, like the back-door abortions people went with in the 50s and 60s. I think it should not be encouraged, as it is today.....
Anyway, back to Schiavo....I just don't know. Should she be allowed to die? That is tough. I do not think she should be put through the suffering of starving to death, or dehydrating. I think if her parents are willing to take care of her, her husband should move aside. My view is that if we are going to err in this case, we need to err on the side of life, not on the side of death. I mean, really, dehydrating and starving someone, we treat our animals better.
I think it is the right decision, whether it was the right choice in the grand scheme, I say better to err on the side of life.
