Terri's Bill Passed

For those of you who haven't already heard, Congress passed the bill to give the Schindlers access to a federal court, and President Bush has signed it into law. The bill passed in the Senate by voice vote (meaning that there was no Senate opposition), and it passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 203-58. Republican supporters of the bill were joined by forty-seven Democrats, and Democratic opponents of the bill were joined by five Republicans. Overall, fifty-three Democrats voted against the bill. Among the Democrats, fifty-three opposed the bill and forty-seven supported it, while over a hundred Democratic Representatives were not present to vote. Since the bill was not opposed by anyone in the Senate, and since support and opposition were divided almost evenly among Democrats in the House of Representatives, I don't think it's fair to say that the Democratic Party opposed this bill. Most Representatives, Republicans included, are still describing this as a bipartisan and bicameral bill, and I think the numbers from both the House and the Senate reveal that it was.

I'm glad the bill was passed. Now I hope that the federal courts make the right decision, which is to remove Terri Schindler-Schiavo from Michael Schiavo's guardianship and rule that her feeding tube should not be removed.