So, the Republican right considers marriage – between a man and a woman – to be the foundation of our society.
Then, why is it that they’ve trashed the wishes of Terri Schaivo’s husband, Michael?
And after some 15 separate state and federal legal actions concerning this woman’s medical care – including an appeal to the Supreme Court, which threw the case out – what is the rationale, aside from political grandstanding, for Congress to get involved?
Guess the “sanctity of marriage” is ignorable when it’s not politically convenient. Guess the Constitution and the Balance of Power between the Congress and the courts are similarly subject to interpretation, but we knew that already, didn’t we?
Meanwhile, to this non-lawyer, the so-called “compromise bill” signed into law in the dead of night this weekend contains the following contradictory sections.
Sections 7 and 8 assure us that this bill is not intended to undermine any end-of-life provisions which the rest of us may wish to effect:
SEC. 7. NO PRECEDENT FOR FUTURE LEGISLATION.
Nothing in this Act shall constitute a precedent with respect to future legislation, including the provision of private relief bills.
SEC. 8. NO AFFECT ON THE PATIENT SELF-DETERMINATION ACT OF 1990.
Nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of any person under the Patient Self- Determination Act of 1990.
But Congress needed to add the following sinister paragraph, which seems to override that same right of individuals – and their families – to make our own medical decisions:
SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the Sense of Congress that the 109th Congress should consider policies regarding the status and legal rights of incapacitated individuals who are incapable of making decisions concerning the provision, withholding, or withdrawal of foods, fluid, or medical care.
Thankyouverymuch, but if I at some point become incapacitated, I want my “status” to be determined by my son and/or grandchildren, not a bunch of self-serving, pitiless political hacks in Washington or Massachusetts or any damned where else.
So today, along with a million other people who are similarly appalled by the latest tricks of the radical right, I ordered a copy of “Five Wishes” from agingwithdignity.org