A bill introduced into the U.S. Congress by Florida
legislators this week is intended to protect the life of Terri Schiavo,
the brain-dead Florida woman whose husband seeks to remove her feeding
tube. But legal analysts say that the bill, which would keep Terri
alive by creating a guaranteed right to food, water and shelter, could
have the unintended consequence of aiding the poor, including those who
are not mentally incapacitated.
Some legislators seek to balance bill by making it harder for the mentally incapacitated to declare bankruptcy
By Deanna Swift
CLEARWATER, FL—The brain-dead Florida woman known to her supporters as 'Terri' made her presence felt on Capitol Hill this week as two Florida legislators introduced a bill intended to protect her life. Florida Senator Mel Martinez and Florida Representative Dave Weldon have filed a bill that would stymie the efforts of the woman’s husband, Michael Schiavo, to remove his wife's feeding tube by guaranteeing all Americans the right to food, water, and shelter.
But while Ms. Schiavo herself enjoys wide-spread support in the Republican-dominated legislature, few lawmakers have the stomach to embrace the concept of a guaranteed right to nourishment, warning that it could be taken advantage of by individuals other than Terri Schiavo, including poor Americans who are not mentally incapacitated.
A dangerous precedentLegal experts also warn that by embracing the so-called ‘right to eat,’ the Bush Administration risks contradicting its avowed opposition to new international human rights. Earlier this month, the US fought unsuccessfully to amend documents from the historic Beijing Conference with language mandating that no new rights be created.
“The problem here is that once you say people have a right to eat, where does it stop?” asks Eric Stafford,” a spokesman for the Foundation for Moral Law, a nonprofit legal organization that seeks to reestablish a society with good morals and values as set forth in the Holy Bible. "If you say that everyone can eat and drink according to their needs, then how do we make sure that it applies just to Terri Schiavo and not to millions of other Americans, let alone to people around the world?"
Hungry for actionBut Terri’s supporters, who gather in Clearwater, FL, each day in front of the home of Michael Schiavo, say that they are hungry for action—even it means embracing a law that is socialistic in nature. “If we end up protecting some other people in addition to Terri, so be it,” says Maryanne Gable, who traveled here from Augusta, GA to join the campaign to save Terri.
Support for ‘Terri’s Law’ is visible everywhere in this coastal city. ‘Terri’s Friends,’ as they call themselves, wear buttons and T-shirts and hoist placards bearing their new mantra: "Save Terri: Food, Water, and Shelter are Basic Human Rights for All.” The slogan has even been spray painted on an overpass above highway 19, one of the major thoroughfares here. [Click here to order a ‘Save Terri’ button today!]
Vote on 'Terri’s Law' could come next week
Capitol Hill insiders say that it’s still too soon to tell precisely how the guaranteed right to food, water and shelter will fare once subjected to congressional scrutiny, but predict that ‘Terri’s Law’ could come up for a house vote within days.
While some GOP lawmakers are expected to balk at the idea of creating a right to food, others are embracing the idea. When Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum spoke to the press this week in support of President Bush’s plan to partially privatize social security, his support for ‘Terri’s Law’ was visible: he wore one of the ‘Save Terri’ buttons on his lapel.
Staff reporter Cole Walters contributed to this story from Washington, DC
Deanna Swift can be reached at [email protected].
"...by creating a guaranteed right to food, water and shelter, could have the unintended consequence of aiding the poor, including those who are not mentally incapacitated. "
Eric Stafford,” a spokesman for the Foundation for Moral Law, a nonprofit legal organization that seeks to reestablish a society with good morals and values as set forth in the Holy Bible. "If you say that everyone can eat and drink according to their needs, then how do we make sure that it applies just to Terri Schiavo and not to millions of other Americans, let alone to people around the world?"
isn't he being contradictive to what it means to be in a society with good morals and values as set by the holy bible; being that of helping others?
Posted by: thew00d | March 13, 2005 at 03:47 PM
are we all addicted to speed?
Posted by: t lord | March 11, 2005 at 02:56 PM