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March 28, 2005

Well, DOAH!

Last week, in opposing the Congressional bill that would give Terri Schiavo standing in Federal courts to have her rights reviewed, Barney Frank said:

"This is a terrible, terrible personal situation. I cannot think of one less suitable for intervention by 536 elected officials -- the president of the United States, the Senate and the House."
But now, it seems Rep. Frank is backpeddling from his grandstanding:
WASHINGTON, March 27 - After a string of fruitless legal and legislative efforts, the central question in the Terri Schiavo case - Who makes end-of-life decisions when the patient's wishes are disputed? - is headed back to Capitol Hill, where debate over broader legislation has already begun.

On Sunday, lawmakers of both parties agreed that Congress has a role to play in such cases and should contemplate legislation that would give added legal recourse to patients like Ms. Schiavo. While it is difficult to predict whether such a measure could pass, the Schiavo case has clearly pushed thorny questions about end-of-life care to the fore on Capitol Hill, as well as in state legislatures around the nation.

The Republican-controlled House already passed a bill that would allow the federal courts to review cases like Ms. Schiavo's, in which the patient has left no written instructions, the family is at odds and state courts have ordered a feeding tube to be withdrawn. That bill evolved into one that was narrowly tailored to Ms. Schiavo.

Now some Democrats, prodded by advocates for the disabled, say Congress should consider whether such a law is needed.

"I think we should look into this and very possibly legislate it," said Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, who opposed Congressional action in the Schiavo case. Mr. Frank was speaking on Sunday on the ABC News program "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." Mr. Frank added: "I think Congress needs to do more. Because I've spoken with a lot of disability groups who are concerned that, even where a choice is made to terminate life, it might be coerced by circumstances."

As I have consistently maintained, this issue has been about the protection of rights of the profoundly disabled, and the drumbeat in the MSM, leftist blogs and from Democrats like Barney Frank that Terri was already dead and that Republicans were "using" her has, at best, been a cynical club of political revenge (right down to the anonymous "talking points" memo that attributed to Republicans but only circulated by Democrats).

And because the rhetoric has been so heated and out-of-bounds over this, I want to state explicitly and for the record I take no issue with those bloggers who have written in support of "letting Terri go" with their considered and thoughtful prose on the difficulties of watching the terminally ill or aged die. I understand and respect their views even if I disagree with their assessment of the issues in Terri's case.


Posted by Darleen at March 28, 2005 08:36 AM

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