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Here are more reflections, first from Witherspoon Issues Analyst Gene TeSelle, then a press release from Americans United, and finally an analysis of media coverage, by the Columbia Journalism Review.   [3-23-05]

[a little comment from your WebWeaver, posted 3-25-05]

As residents of Minnesota, we may feel a little closer to the killings and suicide in Red Lake, just a couple hundred miles north of the Twin Cities.  And we do wonder about a sense of proportion.  Ten people -- men, women, and teen-agers -- are dead, and a tightly connected Native American community is deeply affected.  And from the White House, not a word.  For one white woman, slowly dying in Florida after years of unconsciousness, the White House and Congress have tried to move heaven and earth -- or at least the state and federal courts, including even the Supremes -- to extend the life of Terri Schiavo's body a bit longer.  Why?

Reflections on the Terry Schiavo Controversy

by Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Issues Analyst

One has many thoughts in the midst of a difficult decision like this. Please excuse me for being attracted to the political overtones. I am certainly not alone in this.

Commentators have been noting the curious contradictions between the statements made by conservatives in the Terri Schiavo case and their general attitude toward persons in a crisis situation.

The disconnect is seen most clearly in President George W. Bush, who urged in this case that we "err on the side of life" but was unwilling to do that in cases ranging from Iraq to appeals from prisoners on death row. And it was he who, as Governor of Texas in 1999, signed the Futile Care Law that gives health care providers the right to end life, even against the will of family members, if it is hopeless. They are more likely to take this course after financial resources have run out. His administration has been accustomed to placing monetary value on the human lives that might be affected by polluting power plants and usually deciding that the sacrifice is worth it.

Terry Schiavo, furthermore, has been kept alive with the help of Medicaid, funding for which the President and the Republicans in Congress want to cut, and a million-dollar award from a medical malpractice suit, exactly the kind of thing they would like to do away with. They have just changed federal bankruptcy law, furthermore, to make it more difficult for families hit by medical costs such as this to get out from under the debt.

The public debate swings, or perhaps lurches, around two different centers of gravity, "sanctity of life" and "quality of life." The so-called right-to-life movement has focused its attention on the beginning and the end of life. This is an admirable thing to do. But it has given little consideration to what lies in between. The alternative movement also speaks the language of rights, but with a concern for what lies between birth and death, and usually with a sense that both birth and death are complex and filled with mystery. Health care providers often comment on the difficulty of knowing when life begins and ends.

Progressive Catholic bishops have advocated holding these together; Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago spoke of them as a "seamless robe." But in the zero-sum game of partisan politics and the shaping of budgets, one side or the other gets shorted.

The psychology and ethics of the conservative position is curious. It uses the language of absolute rights in speaking about birth and death. But it typically speaks of "personal responsibility" for everything in between. A girl who is raped is often expected to live with the consequences, or at most is required to get parental consent and listen to a lecture about fetal pain; the family of severely ill children or adults is expected to provide both personal care and financial support even as public resources are being cut.

Nurses who have seen these cases at first hand point out the exercise of raw power. The state, or a physician, or a hospital often says, in effect, "Your life AND your money." The family is denied the right to make decisions; the body of the loved one is held hostage and subjected to heroic medical efforts; and in the end they are responsible for paying the bill. It seems to become one more way to exert power and increase dependency on those who rule.

There must be better ways to proceed in such cases. Even when there is a desire to impose absolute restrictions there ought to be a willingness to bear the emotional and financial costs. Otherwise the right-to-life program becomes not only an unfunded but a de-funding mandate, driving families into debt, bankruptcy, and despair. A better ethics and politics is one that takes a positive interest in nurturing human life and its fulfillment (often called "flourishing" in recent literature). It seems far less hypocritical to place the emphasis on the latter, and to be cautious about imposing one's will on other people who face decisions that have already been imposed upon them against their will.

The Good Samaritan, after all, not only saved a life but offered to pay whatever it took.  Our attitude toward money tells a lot about our values.

Americans United blasts congressional leaders' promise to push religious right agenda

In closed-door briefings, Frist and DeLay cement ties with religious right on Schiavo case, judges, abortion, marriage, church politicking, ethics complaints

[A press release from Americans United, dated March 23, 2005.]

Top congressional leaders have promised to push the Religious Right agenda on judicial nominations, church politicking, abortion, marriage and the Terri Schiavo case, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Americans United today released audiotapes of closed-door addresses by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to a Family Research Council (FRC) gathering March 17-18 at Washington, D.C.'s Willard Hotel. The pair talked about a range of political issues, using the Schiavo case as a springboard.

"Religious Right leaders are determined to run all of our lives, from the moment of conception through the end of life," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "And top congressional leaders are conspiring behind closed doors in Washington to help them do it. It's appalling.

"Frist and DeLay have wrapped sanctimonious language around political posturing," said Lynn. "They are using Mrs. Schiavo's personal tragedy in Florida to burnish their credentials with an increasingly powerful component of the Republican Party. It's a sad, cynical political ploy."

Mrs. Schiavo, a Florida woman, has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, has fought a long legal battle to remove her feeding tube. Religious Right forces and their allies in Congress and Florida government have repeatedly tried to intervene in the situation, despite medical advice and court decisions that support Mr. Schiavo.

During the FRC meeting, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) assured attendees that they would do what it takes to keep Schiavo connected to a feeding tube and also would exert great power to push a whole host of issues central to the Religious Right's agenda.

DeLay urged the gathering to contact lawmakers in both chambers to support legislation that would allow churches to become much more involved in partisan politicking. The Texas Republican blasted current federal tax law, which bars both secular and religious nonprofit groups from endorsing political candidates.

"It forces Christians back into the church and that's what is going on," DeLay claimed. "That's not what Christ asked us to do. We have to fight back."

Beyond swearing allegiance to the Religious Right's agenda, DeLay, who has faced increased attention for alleged ethics violations, also bemoaned "personal attacks" against him and other conservative leaders and said the Schiavo case would highlight those attacks.

"One thing that God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo, to help elevate the visibility of what is going on in America," DeLay told the crowd.

"This is exactly the issue that is going on in America, of attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others," DeLay said. He
complained that "the other side" was leading the attack, with a goal "to defeat the conservative movement."

According to DeLay, a "whole syndicate" of "do-gooder" forces are arrayed against him in "a huge nationwide concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in."

FRC President Tony Perkins assured DeLay of the group's support and asked audience members to contact Republican lawmakers and demand that they back the House majority leader.

Americans United's Lynn said, "It is dishonorable for Rep. DeLay to use the Schiavo case and cloak himself in Christian piety in order to evade accountability on ethics complaints."

Frist also told the FRC attendees that he was dedicated to issues dear to their hearts.

"You stand up for our families, our children, you never back down," Frist told the gathering via speakerphone. "That's why we are winning these larger battles today. Together we are leading our nation forward. We have a president, a House of Representatives, a Senate that shares our values and the American people are on our side.

"In this Congress we are going to continue to work on the issues that are important to you, to me and above all, America's future," Frist continued.

Those issues include, Frist maintained, the confirmation of "good judges," protecting the "sanctity of marriage" and protecting "the unborn." He said, "I'm also committed to ending the [Senate Democratic] minority's filibuster [on judges] and restoring this 220 years or more of Senate tradition and history."

Frist was particularly adamant about fighting for a Federal Marriage Amendment, saying that, "We will take action to preserve and protect and defend the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman."

Americans United's Lynn said the comments by DeLay and Frist prove that Congress is beholden to the Religious Right's narrow vision for America.

"I find it appalling that top leaders of Congress are using the Schiavo tragedy to nurture their Religious Right base," Lynn said. "I am confident that the American people do not want their personal lives subjected to interference from Congress and their Religious Right allies."

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

Posted on March 23, 2005, Printed on March 23, 2005

The Columbia Journalism Review daily on-line version takes a critical look at media coverage of the Terri Schiavo case.