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Issues draw many who link their cause to Schiavo case

All the attention has politicians pushing through legislation supported by these constituents.

By ANITA KUMAR and WES ALLISON
Published March 16, 2005

THE TERRI SCHIAVO CASE 'Who there would take Terri's place?' Issues draw many who link their cause to Schiavo case End-of-life bills reveal divide over how far law should go Related 10 News video: Terri Schiavo Bill gets Governor Bush's support

Michael Schiavo, who spoke in his attorney's office for about an hour Tuesday, says he has avoided interviews because he has nothing to prove to the world. He also said he has many supporters, but they aren't as demonstrative as those of Terri Schiavo's parents.

THE LATEST IN STATE HOUSE The latest version of a state bill designed to prevent a feeding tube from being removed from Terri Schiavo includes these provisions: A feeding tube cannot be withdrawn from a person in a persistent vegetative state if the sole reason for doing so is to end a life; a conflict exists between a guardian and a relative; and the person has no written advance directive or living will. A guardian or family can ask a court to prevent withdrawal of a feeding tube based on those factors. The bill would apply to every living person the day it becomes law.

WHERE THEY STAND ON CONGRESSIONAL BILL Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores Supporter Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs Supporter, sponsor Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa Opposes Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Crystal River Did not respond Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow Supporter, sponsor Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida Undecided Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida Supporter, sponsor

[Times photo, 1990: Joe Walles] Michael Schiavo, on a visit with Terri at a nursing home more than 14 years ago, says in the early years of his wife's illness he looked for signs of improvement but eventually realized there was no hope. "What's there is a shell of Terri," he says.

WASHINGTON - With the deadline for removing Terri Schiavo's feeding tube just two days away, a variety of interest groups are lobbying politicians in Tallahassee and Washington.

Bombarded by phone calls and e-mails, conservative lawmakers have responded by putting bills on a fast track in the state Legislature and in Congress, hoping to extend Schiavo's life and capitalize on an opportunity to court core voters.

"This is the way things are always done," said Terry Moe, a political science professor at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a public policy research center. "When cases are highly publicized and people are paying attention, these are occasions in which politics spring into action."

To religious conservatives, the case could set a dangerous precedent for euthanasia in America. To advocates for the disabled, it marks the failure of Americans to value people with severe disabilities. And to those seeking more control over how we die, she is a tragic example of a failing to plan the end of life.

These and other interest groups are using her case to further their own causes, sometimes with little knowledge of specifics.

They misspell her first name. They mispronounce her last name. And they talk about things they've heard, such as how she was able to talk after her cardiac arrest in 1990, which is untrue.

Schiavo, 41, who a court ruled is in a persistent vegetative state, has been at the center of a long and bitter court battle between her parents and her husband, Michael Schiavo, who wants to remove her feeding tube so she can die.

Twice the tube has been removed.

But both times activists protested, sent e-mails and held vigils to stop her death. Both times the tube was reinserted after government action.

The Schiavo case combines several hot-button topics, including religion and life-and-death issues, causing international media attention and making it even more likely politicians would want to get involved.

"It's good symbolic politics," said Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida. "You have these powerful symbols that come in packages like this one, often about one individual."

In the Florida Legislature on Tuesday, a committee sent a bill to prevent the removal of feeding tubes to the full House, while senators considered a similar measure. In Congress, a House committee today will hold its first hearing on a bill to allow the federal courts to review Schiavo's case, and others like it.

Schiavo's case has become paramount for social conservatives and their allies who say that removing Schiavo's feeding tube is tantamount to murder, and that the federal government should intervene.

"We see this as a slippery slope that we've already begun to slide down with abortion on demand. This will only escalate our social moral decline," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

Perkins said the Schiavo case also could "push the envelope" of Americans' feelings about end-of-life issues.

"This could be like the Massachusetts ruling on gay marriage. You could see a tremendous backlash as people watch a young woman essentially executed by the courts," Perkins said.

Groups like the Focus on the Family, the National Right to Life Committee and the Religious Freedom Coalition have been asking their constituents to bombard Congress with faxes, e-mails and phone calls, urging them to "Save Terri."

Most of the lobbying has been on the side of keeping Schiavo alive, and on reversing the 5-year-old ruling by a judge that she would not have wanted to be kept alive.

That's because the law has been on the side of letting her die.

Opponents say any bills in Tallahassee or Washington would undermine the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Nancy Cruzan case of 1990. It is the only end-of-life case the high court has considered, and it allows families to withdraw food and water for loved ones unable to communicate their wishes.

"There is an established consensus about the withdrawal of life support," said Arthur Kaplan, a renowned bioethicist scheduled to testify before a congressional committee this afternoon. "It isn't a fight between two sides. The critics are trying to change things."

Said Andy Imparato of the American Association of People with Disabilities, one of 26 groups involved in the case:

"This is an opportunity to have a discussion about the quality of life for people with disabilities," he said. "We're very scared about what this says about the value of human life."

Democrats and several Republicans alike said they question whether the federal government should get involved in an issue typically handled by the states, and say they see little point in joining this highly emotional conflict.

"As much empathy as I have for that woman, anytime something doesn't go right in the states, we can't do away with state's rights," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, an anti-abortion Democrat who could keep the bill from the floor.

"It seems to me we do too much of that already, unless someone can explain to me why this not a state issue."

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, a Tampa Democrat, who is running for governor, also opposes the bill but for a different reason.

"We have laws in this country that deal with things like this," he said. "We ought to let the family work on this. Politicians getting involved is one of the things that can make the situation worse."

--Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

WHERE THEY STAND

Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores

Supporter

Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs

Supporter, sponsor

Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa

Opposes

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Crystal River

Did not respond

Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow

Supporter, sponsor

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida

Undecided

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida

Supporter, sponsor

[Last modified March 16, 2005, 04:34:06]