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| House Votes 203-58 then Bush Signs Bill for Terri Schiavo |
| 2005-03-21 |
| Posted on Mon, Mar. 21, 2005 Bush signs bill aimed at keeping brain-damaged woman alive By Lesley Clark, Erika Bolstad and Martin Merzer Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - Lawyers stood ready at a Florida courthouse and nurses stood ready at Terri Schiavo's bedside early Monday as Congress approved and President Bush swiftly signed a bill that could prolong her life. The climactic vote ended in the House of Representatives at 12:32 a.m. EST, and the measure was sent to Bush, who signed it within an hour. The final House vote was 203-58. Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, emerged from a hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., and said he told his daughter of the rapid-fire developments. ``You had to wake the president up to save your life,'' he told her. As of 2 a.m. EST Monday, though much remained uncertain, it appeared possible that the severely brain-damaged Florida woman could be reconnected to life support overnight or later Monday. ``We hope to get you some water,'' family attorney David Gibbs said he told Schiavo, in her third day without nutrition at the hospice. ``We hope to get you some dinner later on.'' About 20 miles away in Tampa, family lawyers waited to file a federal lawsuit and judges were alerted for a possible overnight hearing. And so, a right-to-live, right-to-die case that has galvanized national attention seemed poised to open another chapter. The Senate approved the measure on an unchallenged voice vote during a rare Palm Sunday session that came amid charges of cynical political maneuvering. Only three members were on the floor and the bill's prime sponsor, Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, served as presiding officer. On the other side of the Capitol, House Republicans confronted initial Democratic opposition during the day but began debating the issue at 9 p.m. ``She has a right to her day in court,'' Rep. Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, said during the debate. He attacked what he called ``a relentless effort to end her life by her estranged husband.'' Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a Florida Democrat, spoke passionately against the measure. ``We're not God and we're not Terri Schiavo, her sister, her husband or her brother or any relation,'' she said. ``We are thumbing our nose at the Constitution if we do this tonight.'' Nevertheless, passage was so likely that Bush rushed back to Washington from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. ``Time is not on Terri Schiavo's side,'' said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Now 41, Schiavo has relied on a tube for food and water since 1990. Doctors and her husband, Michael Schiavo, say she is in a persistent vegetative state. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and their supporters strenuously dispute that assessment. The feeding tube was removed Friday after the Schindlers lost the latest in a long series of lawsuits in state court. The extraordinary congressional measure - entitled ``Relief of the Parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo ''- would allow them to file suit in federal court, asking a judge to conduct a new review of the evidence, without regard to Florida law or past rulings. The bill's supporters maintain that a federal judge would order the restoration of life support as the case embarks on a new legal journey - though the measure does not specifically call for that and federal courts could rule it unconstitutional. In Pinellas Park, near Clearwater, Schiavo's parents told their daughter's hospice to be ready to have her hospitalized at a moment's notice so the feeding tube could be reconnected. ``We simply want to give Terri the chance she deserves,'' said her brother, Bobby Schindler, 40, a Tampa science teacher. ``We simply want to bring her home.'' Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, who wants to remove life support and allow his wife to die, and his supporters expressed fresh anger over the legislative, political and media drama now swirling around the case. They say they are following Terri Schiavo's wishes in this regard. ``These politicians are out of their minds,'' said Brian Schiavo of Sarasota, Michael's brother. ``Anybody who thinks she talks and responds, they need to have their mental health evaluated because I just spent the whole day with her. She just lays there.'' The parents acknowledged, meanwhile, that the proposed federal law could end up being a mere stop-gap solution. In response, supporters plan to protest Monday in front of the governor's office in Tallahassee, and Schiavo's mother and sister plan to lobby the state Senate on Tuesday. Though a state law passed on her behalf in 2003 was struck down by state courts, they want a new state law that would permanently restore nutrition to Schiavo and remove her husband as her guardian. Gibbs, the attorney for Schiavo's parents, said he would attempt to file a lawsuit at Tampa's federal courthouse as soon as the law was signed - night or day. ``The worst possible scenario would be for the President and Congress to pass this and for Terri to pass away in the night before the court opens,'' Gibbs said. Earlier Sunday, in Pinellas Park, a representative of the Schindler family said a letter was faxed to the Hospice House Woodside, asking employees to finalize preparations for taking Schiavo to a hospital so a nutrition tube could be reconnected. Bob Schindler said he and his wife visited their daughter Sunday and she seemed to be doing well. He also thanked about 50 supporters who spent the day outside the hospice. Some held signs shaped like spoons that read, ``Please feed Terri.'' At one point, her mother, Mary Schindler, pleaded with Congress to act. ``Please, congressmen, don't use this bill for your personal agenda,'' she said. But those Democrats opposed to the bill said it was the Republicans who were exploiting the issue for their political benefit. The Washington Post published a memo it said had been circulated to GOP senators. ``This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important,'' the memo reportedly said. It appeared to target Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida's top Democrat, saying, ``This is a great political issue because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a cosponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats.'' Democrats said the memo revealed their opponents' real motivation. ``We're making a medical decision about which we know nothing,'' said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. ``We should not be making decisions because we're trying to please someone politically.'' Congressional Republicans sought to distance themselves from the memo and denied any political motivation. ``There's no politics here,'' said Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican. ``I've been working on the culture of life for 32 years, and whether the public is for or against it, it's all about protecting the weak and defenseless.'' ___________ Yeas Nays PRES NV Republican_ 156__05___00__071 Democratic_ 047__53___00__102 Independent 000__00___00__001 TOTALS_____ 203__58___00__174 |
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