House Delays Vote on Schiavo's Fate

House Delays Vote on Schiavo's Fate

Sunday, March 20, 2005

WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives convened
Sunday afternoon to vote on the fate of
brain-damaged
patient Terri Schiavo (search) but quickly recessed
after it became clear that the bill to push
Schiavo's
case into a federal court would have to face
congressional debate.

The House recessed until midnight Monday morning.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist appeared on the
Senate floor to say that members of his chamber are
staying close to Washington, D.C., to respond to the
House's vote as soon as possible.

"Time is of the essence," said Frist, R-Tenn., a
heart
and lung transplant surgeon.

Schiavo's feeding tube was removed Friday upon a
district judge's order after House lawyers'
emergency
request to intervene was denied. Congress quickly
scrambled to move the case to a different venue on
the
chance that a federal court would order an
injunction
on the removal of Schiavo's tube until it can be
determined whether Schiavo's husband, Michael
Schiavo
(search), or Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary
Schindler
(search), have the authority to decide to keep
Schiavo
alive or let her starve to death.

Doctors say Schiavo, 41, is in a persistent
vegetative
state and will not fully recover from a heart attack
she endured 15 years ago. If the case goes to a
federal court, Schiavo's tube could be reinserted
while the ruling is deliberated.

House leaders had wanted to vote on the bill by
unanimous consent, meaning without a roll call vote,
but several Democratic lawmakers were ready to
insist
on a recorded vote. Rep. Robert Wexler (search),
D-Fla., returned to Washington on Sunday to state
his
objection.

"There is a law to be followed and the Florida
courts
have found it. And they found that Terri's wishes
were
not to be kept alive" by artificial means, Wexler
told
FOX News. "Congress is in no position now, in my
view,
to undermine the sanctity of the Florida court
system.
... If this is the process, then no state court
ruling
will be final."

Florida Democratic Rep. Jim Davis (search) said
during
an afternoon press conference on Capitol Hill that
House members who want to hold the vote without
debate
are abdicating their responsibility.

"The impact of the debate this Congress is about to
have extends beyond Terri Schiavo. ... If this
Congress wants to have this vote without a debate,
then why even have a Congress?" Davis asked. "The
U.S.
Congress is on the verge of telling states and
courts
that their decisions do not matter. Today's Congress
should be following the law and not trampling on the
Constitution."

Congress is stepping into a family matter, added
Rep.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (search), D-Fla., who
argued
that the state court determined that Schiavo had
made
known her wish not to be kept alive in this
condition.
"It is not the Congress' place to say 'yes' or
'no,'"
about Schiavo's fate, she said.

For now, the House will try again as early as Monday
morning at 12:01 a.m. The House will need at least
218
members present to take a roll call vote, which
means
lawmakers' will be called back from their spring
recess to vote.

Bush, who was at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and
planned to hold a summit this week with the leaders
of
Canada and Mexico as well as travel around the
country
to promote Social Security, was set to return to
Washington, D.C., late Sunday afternoon in order to
sign the bill right away if it reaches his desk.

"Her feeding tube was removed, so time was important
at this point," White House spokesman Scott
McClellan
said aboard Air Force One on the way back to the
capital. "Hours do matter at this point."

Opposition over the bill declined Saturday after
House
leaders agreed to give up broader legislation and
accept a narrowly crafted bill that applied only to
Schiavo's case. The Senate convened briefly Saturday
evening to give formal permission for the House to
meet Sunday, when it otherwise would be adjourned
for
spring recess.

Lawmakers supporting Schiavo's tube be restored
argued
that the legislation should not face objection
because
it has a very narrow focus. Federal review would
only
apply in cases in which an incapacitated person has
no
written advance directive, the family disputes the
individual's fate and a state judge has ordered
withdrawal of the food and water that would keep the
individual alive.

Rep. Dave Weldon (search), R-Fla., added that he
hasn't seen Schiavo, but as a physician, the
evidence
suggests she was wrongly classified as being in a
vegetative state. For instance, he said, Schiavo's
responsiveness to people who are close to her rather
than merely in the room likely can be attributed to
damaged vision rather than lack of power to respond.

Schiavo's mother insists that her daughter should be
kept alive because she is not in the condition that
doctors have said. She added her request that
congressional members not politicize Terri Schiavo's
case.

"Gentlemen, don't use this bill as your own personal
agenda. I am pleading with the moms and the dads to
call their congressman and help them pass this bill
for Terri," Mary Schindler said.

Earlier Saturday, Michael Schiavo criticized House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay (search), who helped
broker
the congressional compromise.

"He's sitting up there saying that Terri wants to
live. How does he know? Has he ever met her? No. He
hasn't met me," Schiavo said on a morning news show.

But Bob Schindler praised Saturday's deal after
talking with supporters.

"We're elated primarily that they put politics to
one
side and they're concentrating on the issue of
saving
Terri's life," he said.

Congress' action has led to several questions about
its role in determining matters that are largely
left
up to families. National Public Radio correspondent
Juan Williams, a FOX News contributor, said the
Legislature has completely overstepped its
boundaries.

"It looks like total opportunism on the part of
Republicans," Williams said on "FOX News Sunday."
Weekly Standard publisher Bill Kristol reminded
Williams that the bill also has the support of
Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Minority
Leader
Harry Reid of Nevada.

Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez told "FOX News
Sunday" that the issue has brought both parties
together on Capitol Hill.

"All we're doing is seeking a federal review of what
has happened in the state courts to ensure that all
the constitutional rights, all of the basic
protections that we afford a criminal have been
afforded to Terri Schiavo as well. And a federal
judge
in the district of Florida is the right place to do
that," Martinez said.

Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990
when her heart stopped briefly because of a chemical
imbalance. She can breathe on her own, but has
relied
on the feeding tube to keep her alive.

In 2001, Schiavo went without food and water for two
days before a judge ordered the tube reinserted.
When
the tube was removed in October 2003, Gov. Jeb Bush
pushed through "Terri's Law," and six days later the
tube was reinserted. The Florida Supreme Court ruled
in September 2004 that Bush had overstepped his
authority, declaring the law unconstitutional.