Yet another braniac has weighed in on the "distinction" between the Texas law signed by then Governor now President Bush allowing hospitals to pull the plug on terminal or incapacitated patients against family wishes and the bill passed by Congress and signed by the President essentially kicking the decision on Terri Schiavo's feeding tube upstairs to the federal courts.
His name is Tom Mayo and he's an associate prof of law at SMU who it so happens, helped write the 1999 Texas legislation. Here's the money quote:
"It's not really a conflict, because the (Texas) law addresses different types of disputes, meaning the dispute between decision-maker and physician," he said. "The Schiavo case is a disagreement among family members."
So there you have it friends. When the dispute is between the physicians (and the hospital) and the patient's guardian or family, then the physicians-hospitals win, the plug gets pulled, and the patient dies. No get out of jail free card, no special visits from Randall Terry and the National Right to Life Committee, and no special pleading from Peggy Noonan, Cal Thomas, or Tom Delay.
The case in Florida, on the other hand, is much, much different. It's a dispute between family members. When the dispute is between family members, than the "sanctity of life" is paramount, and the family member that wants continued medical care ended is a murderer.
Got it?
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