Metro
The Snowflakes Won't
Know What Hit Them
Last Call
Saab 9-2X Linear
LEASE A 2005 SAAB 9-2X LINEAR
Whose Decision?
T
here are no winners in the sad
case of Terri Schiavo. But
there are plenty of losers.
I was angry when I learned of
Congress' involvement in its "Palm
Sunday" decision, and livid when I
learned of the memo sent to the
Republicans
extolling the future
political gains to be
made from the
Schiavo matter.
I wondered what
other people
thought, and I didn't
want to depend on
polls, I wanted to
know from the peo-
HARRY
ple on my e-mail list.
KI RS BAUM
They come from
Columnist
all walks of life,
spread all over the world, and I e-mail
my column to them every week.
Some are lifelong friends; some are
people I've met while covering stories.
They vary in religion, political per-
suasion, income bracket, marital sta-
tus and lifestyle.
The questions I posed: What do you
think about Terri Schiavo? What should
happen? What do you think of the fed-
eral government becoming involved?
Some opinions were brief, direct
and pulled no punches. Some validat-
ed the ill political feelings they already
had about the Bush administration
and the Christian right.
'Although I am very sympathetic to
the wishes of the parents, I think it is
ridiculous that Congress is involved,"
wrote a Traverse City business owner
and a Democrat.
"Jeb Bush is stupid, and George gets
an easy way to pay back evangelicals
without really harming anything perma-
nen4" wrote a conservative Republi-
can from Bloomfield Hills. His wife's
term for the Florida governor was
unprintable.
"Terri never had a living will and
hearsay should not govern the court's
decision by accepting the husband's
word over her family," said a Republi-
can wife, mother and former physical
therapist in Cincinnati. "[I] do not
believe the government can tell some-
one what to do with their body and
life."
"How the government can get
Harry Kirsbaums e-mail address is
hkirsbaum@thejewishnews.com
involved in such matters only proves
to me how unfeeling and ridiculous
our lawmakers are," said a former
neighbor who lives on an Israeli kib-
butz. "Bestowing values amongst their
constituency has left the word 'value'
with as much meaning as Rumsfeld's
`victory' in Iraq.
"I was shocked when I heard
Congress had stepped into the pic-
ture," said an Illinois woman, who
worked on vice-presidential candidate
John Edward's advance team. "This is
one of the most private of matters:
the decision of life and death in a
family. I don't understand how a
politician should be involved in the
process. In the worst-case scenario,
perhaps a judge, since there is a dis-
pute — but not Congress."
"Not that I want government mak-
ing, or worse, overturning my medical
decisions, but Gov. Bush should have ,
the option of stepping in just as he
does when he commutes the death sen-
tence of a murderer based on new or
conflicting evidence," said a Chicago
screenwriter. "This 'life loophole'
would be state, not federal, and only
until definitive evidence emerges."
"I think it's great that the Feds are
involved ... especially the 'Get the
Government Off My Back' Republi-
cans," wrote an attorney, and Democ-
rat from Kalamazoo. "To politicize
what is a private, family matter crosses
the bounds of all human decency."
A conservative Republican trader-
consultant from Glenview, Ill., shared
the same view.
"As for politicians entering the fray,
they join Terri in her condition —
brain dead," he said.
I took the same question to my Jewish
News colleagues with the same results.
Only one person sided with the parents,
no one sided with the federal govern-
ment and, in the most telling statistic of
all, not a single person I asked would
want to live in a vegetative state.
Although the Schiavo case has
opened discussion about end-of-life
issues, I wouldn't be surprised to find
living wills and durable power of attor-
ney forms in the Kroger's checkout line
right next to People magazine. But if
you want easily downloadable forms,
go to www.LawDepot.com .
As nice as they are, chances are you
wouldn't want your congressperson or
governor to make that kind of deci-
sion for you. ❑
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