From Terri, lessons about life and politics

Sarah Littman

published April 5, 2005

Rest in Peace, Terri. Last Thursday Mrs. Schiavo was finally allowed to die with dignity -- if you believe those were her wishes. If you follow the argument that life should be preserved at all costs, no matter what the quality, she was murdered, cruelly starved to death.

Unless one's faced this kind of decision, it's impossible to know how one would have reacted in the position of Terri's husband or her parents. But we can learn from their painful experience.

First, an important reminder that has been lost in the political rhetoric: Bulimia is a potentially fatal eating disorder. It caused the electrolyte imbalance believed to have triggered Mrs. Schiavo's cardiac arrest. Making yourself throw up isn't an easy way to lose weight. Young people, please take note.

Second, in addition to making a will for estate-planning purposes, one should make a "living will," a legal document stating your wishes about being kept alive by life support. Were I in Terri Schiavo's place, I would like my feeding tube disconnected. This is, of course, a deeply personal decision.

"Personal decision" is the key phrase here, not government's decision, be it local, state or federal. That is why the actions of a supposedly conservative administration in this case have not only been astonishingly hypocritical but deeply frightening. Ironically, it's not just alleged "liberals" like me shaking in their boots about this egregious usurpation of state's rights and judicial power by Congress; it's the conservatives. Not the Bible-quoting, social conservatives, who with arrogant certitude think they know what's best for the rest of us, but the so-called "process" conservatives, who believe in individual freedom, separation of powers and states' rights.

The GOPers who cheerfully chanted "flip-flop" in reference to John Kerry's alleged volte faces during last summer's campaign should take a good look in their party's own mirror. U.S. Rep. Chris Shays did just that, and surmised: "My party has demonstrated that they are for states' rights, unless they don't like what states are doing."

Mr. Shays, why are you surprised? After all, it was your party that persuaded the Supreme Court to overturn a Florida court ruling ordering a recount in the vote in the presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore back in 2000. This president got into office by playing games with the Constitution and has continued to do so ever since.

The Schiavo case had been heard by 19 judges in six courts and had been appealed to the Supreme Court three times. The only rationale for this blatant intrusion by Congress into the workings of the courts was that the social conservatives of the GOP didn't like the results of the courts' decisions.

"This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy," Rep. Shays said. For a smart guy, it's taken him an awfully long time to figure that out. The Republican Party of fiscal conservatives and social moderates that I belonged to has been missing in action for a decade, held hostage to its right-wing Christian voting block.

"There are going to be repercussions from this vote," Mr. Shays continued. "There are a number of people who feel that the government is getting involved in their personal lives in a way that scares them."

Bingo! And if it weren't so frightening to see how quickly this government is willing to mess with the Constitution's separation of powers, it would be exquisitely ironic: In pandering to it's Bible Belt constituency, the GOP has dealt a blow against everything the party allegedly stood for. Can you say "flip-flop"?

What's more, it's hypocrisy on a breathtaking scale. When President Bush rushed back to Washington to sign "Terri's law," he stated: "Today, I signed into law a bill that will allow federal courts to hear a claim by or on behalf of Terri Schiavo. Š In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life."

But this is the guy who signed into law Chapter 166 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, under which a Houston hospital was allowed to withdraw life support for a 6-month-old infant over his mother's objections. Why did Terri Schiavo's life have more merit than Sun Hudson's?

I pray that Terri's family find comfort in their faith. And I hope that this episode makes moderate Republicans wake up and smell the coffee. It's about time.

Sarah Littman, who lives in Greenwich, is author of "Confessions of a Closet Catholic," published by Dutton Children's Books.