Gov. Bush asks justices to preserve woman’s life
- Dec 15, 2004 - comment
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the life of a disabled woman living in his state.
Lawyers for Bush filed an appeal with the high court Dec. 1, asking the justices to review and overturn a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court that could result in Terri Schiavo’s death.
“It has taken our nation many years to make good on its commitment to equal justice for persons with profound cognitive disabilities,” the brief says, according to Baptist Press. “Unless the state of Florida retains the power to protect the rights of its most vulnerable citizens to due process and equal protection of the laws, the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees will apply only to those who are capable of defending them on their own.”
Schiavo has been in what some doctors have described as a persistent vegetative state since 1990. Her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, has attempted to have his wife’s feeding tube removed, arguing it would have been her desire. There is no written direction from Terri Schiavo, however. Her parents contend Terri has received neither the care nor the rehabilitation she needs.
Her feeding tube was removed in October 2003. The Florida legislature, however, approved a law giving Bush the authority to order re-insertion of the tube. After the governor did so, Michael Schiavo challenged the law in court. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in September the law violated the state constitution. If the justices refuse to review the decision, the Florida high court’s ruling will stand.
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