Republicans Ignore Values to Save Dead Woman

Posted March 18, 2005, 12:23 p.m.

(Read about this from CNN.com or a good editorial in the Washington Post.)

This is why I have had such a hard time officially aligning myself with the Republican Party. They profess deeply held values, and then ignore them when it’s convenient (although the Democrats are guilty of this too; probably more so). Today, Republicans in Congress are attempting to interfere with an issue that is between Mr. Schiavo, Mrs. Schiavo’s doctors, and God . . . one which, furthermore, has already been settled by Florida’s courts! What happened to ‘sanctity of marriage’ and ‘state’s rights?’

Terri Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state for fifteen years, and only her husband has the right to decide whether life support should continue. If he feels (as he does) that his wife has no chance of recovery, he can demand that her feeding tube be removed and that the woman he loves be allowed to die in peace. The decision to discontinue care is Mr. Schiavo’s to make—whether Terri’s parents or members of the United States Congress agree with his decision or not.

The Republicans in Congress who are attempting to interfere are a disgrace to the values they claim to hold dear. The moral inconsistency exhibited in this case among Republican politicos—with whom I usually agree—is nothing short of disgusting. Will the decisions of state courts and the right of a spouse to make medical decisions both fall under Congressional oversight now? Is this what the Republican Party stands for today?

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.

Quotes

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Jane Wagner

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Scott Adams

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Richard Henry Lee

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Fred Allen

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Thomas Aquinas

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Alexis de Tocqueville

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Teddy Roosevelt

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Lao Tsu

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Alexis de Tocqueville