Schiavo

Very busy lately. Have stuff that I'm working on. But, in the meantime, here's something from Digby: (emphasis added)

By now most people who read liberal blogs are aware that George W. Bush signed a law in Texas that expressly gave hospitals the right to remove life support if the patient could not pay and there was no hope of revival, regardless of the patient's family's wishes. It is called the Texas Futile Care Law. Under this law, a baby was removed from life support against his mother's wishes in Texas just this week. A 68 year old man was given a temporary reprieve by the Texas courts just yesterday.

Those of us who read liberal blogs are also aware that Republicans have voted en masse to pull the plug (no pun intended) on medicaid funding that pays for the kind of care that someone like Terry Schiavo and many others who are not so severely brain damaged need all across this country.

Those of us who read liberal blogs also understand that that the tort reform that is being contemplated by the Republican congress would preclude malpractice claims like that which has paid for Terry Schiavo's care thus far.

Other posts:
The Green Knight

More on Terri Schiavo
The Big Brass Blog shows, with help from Atrios, that there's even more to this case than we thought. Not only is Terri Schiavo being held hostage by the so-called "pro-life" movement, but she is also being used as a tool for the Congressional Republicans to establish the absolute authority of Congress, and of federal courts, over state courts.

Not liking a particular result in a case that has been litigated fully and completely by a court with competent jurisdiction, Congress now has said that the game must be re-done with new rules that heavily favor one side over the other. The implications of this move are astonishing. Just think about it. Anytime Congress doesn't like the result in a particular case, it could swoop in and call a "do-over," which is essentially what this legislation represents. And this from a Congress that has for a decade or so tried to keep all sorts of citizens-- including disabled employees-- out of federal court. If this law is declared valid, no decision in any state court in the country will be immune from Congressional second-guessing. It would throw out of whack the entire concept of separation of powers. The constitutional law expert [Lawrence] Tribe calls it "trial by legislation" and he is right.

Meanwhile, similar cases involving disabled children, a six-month-old boy who was starved to death because the hospital felt like it, old people whose feeding tubes are removed because their Medicare ran out -- are either the Congressional Republicans or the so-called "pro-life" movement raising a stink about them?

Americablog has a good point.

Majikthise has the rundown on the medical details of the case.

Mark A.R. Kleiman has a real good post too.

Pudentilla's Perspective has a excerpts from The Guardian ad Litem's report in the case.