As you probably know by now, the federal judge ruled against Terri’s parents and the feeding tube will not be reinserted. Her parents have already filed an appeal.
Once again, we have lost all perspective over the Terri Shiavo story. It certainly is a divisive issue that splits the county. Big Dog and I disagree on this issue – and we don’t disagree on much. A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll of 909 adults taken over the weekend reports that nearly six in 10 people said they think the feeding tube should be removed, and felt they would want to remove it for a child or spouse in the same condition. With similar numbers, an AOL poll of over 128,000 people indicates they agree with the court’s recent decision 68% to 32%. Perhaps Republicans should take note.
Now, I believe in the sanctity of human life, but enough is enough. We shouldn’t be legislating on the basis of one individual. How many courts have to rule against Terri’s parents before our legislators and those at the executive level get the message? The courts have heard all the evidence – not just that which is fed to us by the media – and have made an educated ruling.
Does anyone realize (or care about) the money we, as taxpayers, forked out for this weekend’s “special sessions†of Congress. Imagine, if you will, paying for last-minute, first class tickets for 635 legislators. What am I talking about? Don’t imagine it; we did it. Of course, not all 635 came back to vote. Many Democrats were no-shows for the Shiavo votes. To be accurate, 174 House representatives failed to show for the bill – with only 58 House Dems voting on Sunday. Big Dog may throw me off his blog for this; but, maybe they were the smart ones. Why trek all the way to Washington for a vote your party will likely lose and expose yourself to the election mudslinging which may result? Of course, I may be giving too much credit here as the absentees could have hoped a quorum wouldn’t be reached and voting would be moot. And, don’t forget we paid all the support personnel and staffers to come in and open the building and process paperwork on a Sunday. I’m sure they were all getting at least double pay. Personally, I’d like to know the cost of what we spent on the past weekend’s legislation.
One can only imagine how much this situation has cost the Florida taxpayers. With the involvement of all three branches of government, the time and money spent legislating and adjudicating this case over the past 15 years — as well as multiple investigations by Florida’s beleagured Department of Children and Families — must easily be counted in the millions of dollars. While every life is special and unique, how can this be fair to the other families that find themselves in similar situations without the benefit of a huge media blitz? The irony here is that, if Terri’s husband hadn’t been cast as a scoundrel by family and media, this case would have been long over. It makes for good news fodder and kept it in the public eye for an interminable length of time. It seems ironic that what’s keeping Terri alive is her husband’s shady reputation.
What’s being lost in the hype is the battle for power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. It’s a battle roiling beneath the surface that’s being fought at the state and federal levels. While the framers of our Constitution encouraged dissent among the three estates, I’m sure they weren’t counting on quite this much bickering. We can blame this power play for dragging the case out just as much as the media. Ultimately, we are all paying big bucks for it.
(Situation Wanted: After this post, I may need a position at another site as a guest blogger. Just in case, interested parties can e-mail me at surfside@onebigdog.net. Of course, this is only for the 60% of you that agree with me.)