Terri Schiavo: Pro-life icon

2005-04-04 10:37

Washington - Terri Schiavo never wanted to be the cause of trouble, but her death after 15 years attached to an artificial lifeline has opened political and religious divisions and a debate on judicial powers.

Jesse Jackson, the liberal civil rights activist, appeared alongside outspoken anti-abortion campaigner Randall Terry to condemn the way the severely brain-damaged Schiavo starved to death last Thursday, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.

Members of the Christian right and their Congressional allies vowed to deal with the "arrogant" judges who ruled for the woman's husband Michael Schiavo during seven years of court battles with her parents, who fought to keep Terri Schiavo alive.

The death of Pope John Paul II has overshadowed much of the religious anger over her case, but Schiavo is set to become an icon of the "pro-life" lobby in her own right.

"We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president," said Tom DeLay, leader of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a prime mover behind a special law intended to help keep Terri Schiavo alive.

The bill, hurriedly signed into law by President George W. Bush, gave federal courts a chance to review the Schiavo case, which had previously been decided by the Florida state courts. But even the federal justices sided with the husband, who said his wife had asked not to be kept alive if she was left a vegetable.

"They chose not to participate, contrary to what Congress and the president asked them to do," fumed DeLay. "We will look into that."

But DeLay's warning caused yet another political tempest. Senator Tom Lautenberg, a Democrat, warned that DeLay could face charges for threatening judges. Democratic warhorse Senator Edward Kennedy called the Republican's remarks "irresponsible and reprehensible."

Opinion polls indicate the public backs the judges and even the Republican party is divided over the right-to-die controversy.

"I do not want to play God," said Republican Senator Christopher Shays.

Former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, who is also a former senator and still a pastor, said "the problem is not with people or churches that are politically active.

"It is with a party that has gone so far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement."

John McCain, a senior Republican senator, said DeLay's remarks were "symptomatic of the bitter partisanship we have now in Washington".

Other Republicans, who detest any hint of government interference, have insisted the federal authorities should stay away from the Schiavo case.

The judges themselves also made their displeasure known. "The executive and judicial branches of government are separate but equal and the executive branch is not superior in the area of judicial matters," said Judge George Greer, who decided the Florida hearings on Schiavo.

- AFP