Schiavo Fallout

James Pinkerton comments on the politics of the Schiavo case:

t's politically viable for "Deep Blue" Democrats, such as Barney Frank of Massachusetts, to vote their liberal conscience in opposition to Republican efforts to intervene and preserve the life of Schiavo. But for the Democratic Party to flourish in Red States, it simply can't oppose the wishes of energetic Protestant and Catholic constituencies. So it's bad news for the national party that a majority of those Democrats in the House early yesterday voted against the life-saving intervention, while Republicans voted 30-1 for that intervention.

He further notes that Congress's insertion of itself into the matter could have repercussions in the health care debate.

I've decided that Terri is a goner, and has been for years, and that it's best to proceed with the court's order. However, the same point Pinkerton makes may turn public opinion against judges who act as though they were acting to spite the politicians who dared to trespass on their turf. The point here was to suspend the march toward letting her die while we can answer all the new points being made and clear up the suspicions, but the courts have reacted with technicalities and what seems to be irritation. I think that this will end up giving support to the criticisms of judges as overreaching and legislating from the bench, even if this case is correctly decided. Judges seem to have decided that their own pronouncements have more legitimacy than anybody who doesn't have life tenure. That could be changed, and if it is, they will have only themselves to blame.

I have a friend who just spent a week at his mother's bedside after her feeding tubes were withdrawn, bidding her farewell. She had made it clear that she did not want to remain tied to her worn out body, and her children honored her wishes. He's contemptuous of Terri's parents for prolonging her suffering. If, as I read today, her brain has basically dissolved and all that's working is her brainstem, it's futile to cling to illusions that she could be cured. That doesn't really answer all my concerns, however. I would hope that cases like this would be resolved transparently, but there are still a lot of questions that may never be answered without more testing or an autopsy.