Unless you have been living in a cave for the past two weeks, most of you are probably aware of the case of Terri Schiavo. She is the woman in the persistent vegetative state who was taken off of the feeding tube that had been keeping her alive for the past 15 years.
Last Sunday, the Republican-controlled Congress went to unprecedented lengths to inject the federal government into the Schiavo family's private affair by voting to allow Terri's parents to petition the federal courts to order the feeding tube reinserted.
For several hours, many members of Congress insisted that to vote against the insertion of the tube would be equal to murder, and President Bush signed the law stating that "in extraordinary circumstances like this, it is wise to always err on the side of life."
Nevermind that 82 percent of Americans believe Congress and the President "should stay out" of this family's difficult and private decision -- President Bush's "culture of life" was at stake.
Still, why does the GOP leadership choose life in some cases, but ignore it in others?
No one mentions that just a week before the congressional vote of this special law, Bush and the Republican Congress were pushing to cut Medicaid, the program that helps the very poor pay for their medical bills. Incidentally, Medicaid is also currently footing some of Schiavo's medical costs.
No one mentions that Congress refuses to do anything for the 45 million Americans without health coverage. According to the Institute of Medicine, 18,000 adults die every year in this country because of inadequate health coverage.
No one mentions that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush threw 105,000 poor children off of the state's health insurance program.
No one mentions that when George Bush was governor of Texas, his "culture of life" did not extend to the criminally guilty -- Bush presided over the executions of more inmates than any other governor in history. Also, don't even being to think that his "culture of life" applies to the five mentally disabled men who were executed under Bush (possibly six, depending on what criteria you use).
No one mentions that the 2000 and 2004 Republican Party platform expressly puts "medical decision-making" in the "hands of physicians and their patients," not the federal government. Apparently, conservative belief in individuals' and states' rights only apply when they are in agreement with the current Republican leadership.
Judging by the poll mentioned earlier, most Americans can see through the politics of Terri's case. The Congressional intrusion into this private matter is not about life; it is about Republican political grandstanding. Tom Delay, Bill Frist and George Bush care nothing about the life of Terri Schiavo. They only wish to benefit from the political gains that may come because of her.
Write to Steve at
NawaraInTheDN@hotmail.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
