ArchivedEven supporters of Schiavo bill had reservationswww.cnn.com/2003/LAW/10/21/comatose.woman.vote.ap/
Even supporters of Schiavo bill had reservations
Tuesday, October 21, 2003 Posted: 7:10 PM EDT (2310 GMT)
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- In the Florida Senate, even some supporters of a bill that would keep a comatose woman alive were concerned about their actions.
"I keep on thinking 'What if Terri didn't really want this done at all?' May God have mercy on all of us," said Senate President Jim King, a Republican.
The Senate voted 23-15 for a bill that would give Gov. Jeb Bush the power to order a feeding tube reinserted into a brain-damaged woman at the center of one of the nation's longest and most bitter right-to-die battles. The House passed the final version 73-24 only minutes later.
Bush signed it into law and issued the order just more than an hour later.
The bill was designed to save the life of Terri Schiavo, whose parents have fought for several years to keep her alive. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, says she would rather die.
Lawmakers had already been called to the Capitol for a special session on economic development when they decided to intervene in the case.
Bush said he did not think lawmakers were motivated by politics.
"This is a response to a tragic situation," Bush said. "People are responding to cries for help and I think it's legitimate."
Opponents said government was stepping in where it had no business being.
"I do not believe the governor of Florida should be making a decision of life and death rather than the next of kin," said Sen. Steven Geller, a Democrat.
The bill sent to Bush was designed to be as narrow as possible. It is limited to cases in which the patient left no living will, is in a persistent vegetative state, has had nutrition and hydration tubes removed and where a family member has challenged the removal.
Court-appointed doctors have described Schiavo as being in a vegetative state, caused when her heart stopped in 1990 from a suspected chemical imbalance.
Bush last week promised the woman's parents that he would help them if he could find a way.
George Felos, a lawyer for Michael Schiavo, said he thinks the legislation is unconstitutional. It is Terri Schiavo's right under the Florida Constitution to not be kept alive artificially, and the courts have affirmed that, he said.
During a two-hour debate in the House, several Democrats argued that the Constitution does not let the Legislature give the governor the power to overrule the courts.
"This bill so oversteps our role it ... turns democracy on its head," said Rep. Dan Gelber, a Democrat.
But many Republicans and some Democrats said they need to be involved in dire cases where judges might be wrong.
"The Constitution is supposed to protect the people of this state," said Rep. Sandy Murman, a Republican from Tampa. "Who is protecting this girl?"
Here's the way I see it. Terri survived the heart attack for a reason. I feel that if it was her time to leave this Earth, she would have done so. But she survived this long with only a feeding tube. Other than that, she was not hooked up to full-fledged life support. She can breathe on her own and there is no doubt in my mind that, given time and therapy, she will once again learn how to chew and swallow as well.
Michael Schiavo's statements cannot be proven true or false. Terri did not leave behind a living will, nor any other document that proved or disproved what her husband - if you want to call him that - is saying.
Finally, the fact that Michael abandoned Terri, found a girlfriend, moved in with that girlfriend and fathered two children with her, in my opinion, takes responsibility away from him. I don't believe he should have the right to even take part in this fight, and I think that Terri's family - her blood relations - should determine what's going to happen to Terri.
While watching "Hannity & Colmes" tonight, I was stunned when Alan Colmes - the Liberal - implied that this amounts to nothing but a political ploy. A person's life is at stake! Politics take a backseat. Does he really think that Terri should STARVE to death? Does he have any idea how horrible that is?
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