Posted on 05/17/2005 9:40:33 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Ironically, if Terri Schiavo's feeding tube had been reinserted and she had been allowed to live on, it would have done very little damage to the purported "right to die." It would have set no precedent for cases in which a patient has left written instructions, in which a patient's heart is unable to beat or lungs are unable to breathe without the aid of a machine, in which a patient was already suffering a terminal illness, or in which a patient's closest family members are united as to what the patient wanted. What made Terri's case stand out was not how typical it was of "end-of-life" issues, but how utterly unique.
While allowing Terri to live would have done little harm to the "right to die," the determination of her husband and the entire judicial system of the United States to kill her set some very dangerous precedents indeed. One is what it says about the role of judges in our system of laws.
Liberals who were cynical about legislative intervention in the case gleefully pointed out that the courts that heard various motions in the case could hardly be accused of "judicial activism." This term is often used by conservatives to describe judges who read into the law principles not evident from its language. Indeed, courts in this case might better be accused of "judicial inactivism"--an unwillingness to draw obvious conclusions from newly enacted laws if it might mean questioning the decision of a fellow judge.
The common thread, however, is judicial arrogance, judicial supremacy, and judicial tyranny. Defenders of the courts' refusal to intervene tout the constitutional principle of the "separation of powers" between the branches of government. They are less enamored with the concept that the three branches exercise "checks and balances" upon one another, except in a one-way direction (that is, when judges tell legislators to throw out the laws they have passed through the democratic process).
In the Schiavo case, the defenders of this judicially-mandated death argue that the Florida courts correctly construed the decision-making process which Florida law provides under such circumstances. Even if that is true, it was surely the prerogative of the Florida legislature to change that law in a way that provides additional protections for a fundamental right. The courts would then be under an absolute obligation to obey that law, because legislators write laws, and courts merely apply them to individual cases.
The courts, however, would have none of it. That's why, when Florida legislators passed a law in 2003 that would have granted Terri added protections, the Florida Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. And when Congress passed a law in March giving federal courts jurisdiction to protect Terri's right to life, the courts simply refused to exercise it. Our branches of government are supposed to be co-equal, but in this case, preserving judicial supremacy over the legislative branch trumped all other considerations, including obedience to the rule of law.
Along with the "separation of powers," another principle gleefully trumpeted by the advocates of Terri's death is "federalism." Why, they wondered, do conservatives who normally defend the powers of the states now want to promote federal intervention in a court case already settled at the state level? However, the conservative concern about "states' rights" arises primarily when the federal government interferes with the states in one of two ways--by exercising a power that is not explicitly granted to it by the Constitution, or by denying states a power that is not denied them by the Constitution. In this case, however, the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says explicitly, "No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."
The precise question at issue in the Schiavo case was whether Terri was being "deprived of life ... without due process of law." Federal courts have a perfectly logical role in determining whether a state has violated such a clear-cut federal constitutional right. A case like this, in which "life" means "life" and "due process" means "due process," is a far cry from liberal judicial activism like Roe v. Wade. In the latter "life" means "only a life that is wanted by the mother," "liberty" means "abortion," and "due process" means "meeting the approval of liberal elites."
Judges must indeed be independent, but that does not mean that they are sovereign, with the power to write, interpret, and execute the laws. Granting them such power is a recipe for tyranny.
I still can't believe it happened. I will never forget and I will never be the same.
God bless that woman! She is my hero.
The times when Mary Schindler BEGGED for her daughter's life to be spared HAD to have touched the hearts of all those WHO HAVE A HEART. It was excruciating to watch Mary suffer like that - the whole family.
Like I said, I still can't believe it actually happened. It's like a bad dream I once had but is etched in my memory forever!!
* Did you see the Schindler's giving the new Pope a framed picture of Terri? *
Hi Saundra - Yes, I saw the Schindlers on TV with the Pope too. It was great. I'm so happy they made the trip and got to see the Pope.
Here's a thread that has a few photos on it:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1405501/posts
I still can't believe all the efforts to save failed. Even the Vatican spoke out against her Forced Death, but it wasn't enough. The Empire Journal has a very interesting article about Judge Whittemore.
http://www.theempirejournal.com
Charlite, thanks for this thread about Terri. I try to read everything that is posted here about Terri.
Char
That is sickening because I think he's the most hated man in America.
And your righteous hate will send him straight to hell!
If we keep being moved, I'll have to find somewhere else to do my thing. What's more conservative than stopping judicial activism that leads to judicial homicide?
Believe me, we are still active, just not getting traffic at FR because of placement. You should be glad you got to stay in news/activism.
There's a protest this Saturday afternoon outside of Hospice Woodside to emphasize that we have not forgotten. It starts at 4:00 pm until whenever. I've got to make yet another sign. It will be Saturday so we can park in the bank parking lot. A lady named Lisa has been protesting every single day outside Hospice since Terri died and we are going to join here on Saturday.
FV
This was one of the complaints I had about the so-called Terribots who where so adamant about what was happening to her.
They were so and mean spirited in there responses to anyone who dared to differ with them.
Now that the 'story' has passed I bet the majority of these people have moved on to more important things.
There's a protest this Saturday afternoon outside of Hospice Woodside to emphasize that we have not forgotten. It starts at 4:00 pm until whenever. I've got to make yet another sign. It will be Saturday so we can park in the bank parking lot. A lady named Lisa has been protesting every single day outside Hospice since Terri died and we are going to join here on Saturday.
I followed the story pretty closely and didn't come to this conclusion. I know the court ordered her feeding tube removed but this was what her husband wanted.
It was removed atleast once and then Gov. Bush had Terri's law passed. Ultimately this law was ruled unconstitutional and then the courts proceeded to have her feeding tube removed as was originally intended, requested and granted at her husbands wishes.
Am I remembering the sequence of events correctly?
Howdy, friend.
As a nation, America now stands at the doorway to cannibalism (our legislators are actually pushing to legislate the exploitation of human embryo aged lives), unaware that such is before us and about to be embraced as 'enlightened application of medical marvels'.
And with government institutionalizing of embryo harvesting for body parts for treating older humans (and the stem cells of embryos are their body parts, the body parts of the earliest age in a human's lifetime), the next drop down the slippery funnel is 'therapeutic cloning' for 'donor matched' tissues.
No, my Freeper friend, we are already too far gone to acknowledge the stain(s) that besmirch our once great nation. Terri's execution, ushered along as it was through an out of control arrogant judiciary and witnessed by a disinterested populace, is but a symptom of a disease already killing the Republic. Sadder still, the patient and the 'attending physicians' are practicing shamanism when cardiopulmonary resuscitation and transplant surgery are called for.
And, it's worth a trip to visit www.theempirejournal.com frequently. Judge Whittemore had a conflict of interest but did not disclose it so that he could put Terri and her family and millions of supporters through more suffering of all kinds. (from TEJ)
J. Whittemore had no interest in a "de novo" hearing. He continued Terri's starvation-dehydration after running the clock out for approx. 10 hrs and two tortuous hearings for the Schindlers. Despicable.
2nd ping I promised you freepers. See you next week unless there's a bombshell. I hope "ohioanfromflorida" is okay. She's been awol. FV
Charlite, I forgot to mention... Notice the '**S**' at the end.
That is a common chat-room abbreviation for either SMILE or SARCASM, i dont recall which, but no matter, he didn't mean it the way you said.
Just remember what one in the Terri-haters-club the (WPPFF) Wannabe Pontius Pilates and Freeper Frauds said, and I'm just paraphrasing from memory...
Thanks so much. I was really referring to the very few readers for this particular article. During the height of the effort to save Terri's life, I saw threads with 2,500+ viewers. This one only found 40+ individuals who were interested in Terri Schiavo. That's why the "Who is Terri Schiavo?" rhetorical question was so symbolic of how vows of commitment are often quite hollow.
Thanks for your concern and support - for Terri's memory!
Char :)
Not among lawyers. The local bar association gave him a special award. Then they wonder why everyone hates lawyers.
The court ordered the removal of all nutrition and hydration from Terri Schindler, which meant NOTHING by MOUTH. The order never mentioned the feeding tube.
** "just wait till she [Terri] dies, the terri-bots [meaning us] will be so fragile that pushing them over the edge will be like taking candy from a baby" **
What an unbelieveable quote, FUE! Sounds like someone was delighting in the pain of others and making jokes about it. I have no words to describe that type of mindset, other than to say, it would be useless to try and reason with a person who was that cruel.
Just the use of the word *Terribot* tells it all and is meant to twist the knife a little deeper, into those who love the Schindlers and are mourning Terri, imo. If I see that word used in a post, I skip right over the post, knowing it's a troll, whose motive is to inflame and ruin the thread.
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