WHAT’S THE POINT?
In an astonishing feat of willpower, the Republican-led Congress this past weekend was actually motivated enough to WORK on a Saturday and a Sunday, in order to pass legislation that will likely delay the death of Terri Schiavo.
Of course, it’s only because the headlines will read well in the next election.
I’m not sure what is the most surprising aspect of this action taken by Congress. The fact they worked on the weekend, the fact that they are getting involved in a single person’s fate, or the fact that this latest jaunt into federal jurisdiction is really only a thinly concealed attempt to get more headlines. Congress has the power, granted to it by the Constitution, to determine what types of lawsuits a federal court can hear. In this case, they have specifically stated that the family members of Theresa Marie Schiavo, may file a lawsuit to re-examine if her Constitutional rights have been denied. The law completely ignores all the other litigation in this matter, and specifically rules that the prior rulings are of no value.
Then there is the fact that Schiavo’s husband has for the last 15 years tried to enforce her wishes. Congress is simply wiping all that away, and saying, “Let’s let a federal court decide if her wishes were to live on life support or to die gracefully.” Evidently those Congressmen and Senators who are so hip on the whole “Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman” seems to have inserted some fine print: “So long as Congress thinks that the parties in the marriage are doing the right thing.”
I’m astounded that this Congress, who were elected on a platform of personal responsibility; keeping the government out of our personal business; marriage is defined as a union of a man and woman and smaller government is better, are taking such an obvious, grandstanding, over-the-top, headline-grabbing, publicity-seeking position over literally, the dying body of Terri Schiavo.
If the past actions of this Congress and the Clown-in-Chief weren’t bad enough, add to it this latest ill-thought-out, stomach-churning attempt to capitalize on the Greek drama that has become Terri Schiavo’s 15 minutes of fame.
How these arrogant condescending pettifoggers in Washington can sleep at night is beyond me. Their posturing and grandstanding over the still breathing corpse of a dead woman is likely the most repulsive act I’ve had the misfortune to witness. I thought the Defense of Marriage act was bad. I thought they could not do worse than that silly “don’t ask, don’t tell” baloney. But this, this is a new low in political posturing.
These are the same rubes who stand in the front of a cathedral and pontificate about the immorality of homosexuals and how God doesn’t want loving couples to marry because it’s an abomination and that the government should stay out of the marriage business. Yet they are more than willing to get involved in the internal marital life of Michael and Terri Schiavo.
I thought the point of marriage was that you had someone to make these kinds of decisions for you. I may be mistaken but if I can’t trust my spouse to make the right choice for my life, why the hell marry them in the first place?
President Bush willingly signed this bill, which is really nothing more than private legislation, since it expires in 30 days, and is only applicable to the Schiavo family, which is in my book an egregious overstepping of his role as president. He should have vetoed it, as against public policy. But that would make him look bad.
Of course, the delicious irony in all this is that the president’s record on executions is legendary. He was renowned for the speed with which his administration executed convicted killers in Texas, in spite of their pleas for leniency and clemency. Guess that compassionate conservative thing only applies to the brain dead.
I know very little about the internal relationship between Michael and Terri Schiavo. He maintains in public that she would not have wanted to live this way. Frankly, I have to believe that is true. I cannot believe that anyone would want to become what she has.
The doctors say she is brain dead. The court says she is brain dead. Only her body doesn’t know it. That happens. Of course it happened a lot less in biblical times, before ventilators, feeding tubes, EEG’s, ECG’s and Republicans. It used to be that people would just die. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly.
If it were not for the technology that man developed, Terri Schiavo would likely have died a quiet death years ago. And if it was me in that bed, I’d prefer the quiet death. To become the focal point of this inane battle regarding life support is not the way in which I would want to be remembered.
Now we have the ability to prolong life and I’m not sure it is a good thing. I’m positive that Congress getting involved is a bad thing.
Congress should not be in the business of interfering with a married couples’ affairs. Whether it is in the bedroom with contraception, in the kids’ room with how they are raised, or in the hospital room with how those emotionally charged final decisions are made.
What seems to have happened in the last election is that we have a Congress that is bound and determined to infiltrate its way into our personal lives, our professional lives and legislating the life and death decisions that were supposed to be made by a woman’s husband. He is a man that she trusted enough to marry. He is a man who says he promised her that he wouldn’t let this happen to her, and frankly, he’s done about as a good as one could expect. He’s fought the battle for 15 years now. He’s not divorced her. He’s stood by her. He seems sincere in his motives to me.
I believe her parents need to let her husband make the best decision he can, and Congress needs to butt the hell out. If marriage is going to mean anything in this country, and God knows it means less and less each day, the only way I see to stand up for it is to honor the people who are honoring their vows.
Michael Schiavo is a stranger to me. But he has my respect for fighting to respect his wife’s wishes. I wish I could say the same for the president, but, you know, he’s a politician. (David Pisarra is a business development attorney and partner in the Santa Monica law firm of Pisarra & Grist. He (310) 664-9969 or by e-mail at)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 22, 2005. Read the original PDF.