Last Tuesday, over the strong objections of the patient's mother, Texas Childrens' Hospital took 6-month-old Sun Hudson off life support. He died soon after. The hospital was perfectly within its rights to do so under the Texas Futile Care Law, a law signed by then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush allowing hospitals to end the life of any patient on life support who can not afford continued care. Less than a week after Hudson's death, Bush signed another law, this time to save a life.
Sometimes it seems that nothing is sacred. Our right to live, our right to die -- all of it is lately subject to the whims of our government.
Let me be quite clear on something here: I do not know what I think about the case of Terri Schiavo, whether her life should be continued or not. I am not a doctor -- I do not know whether she might ever recover or if the signs of life and thought that her parents claim to see are just figments of a hopeful imagination. I wasn't there: I don't know whether her husband treated her well or, as some allege, beat her. I don't know whether he's the monster some see him as or whether he truly has his wife's best interests and wishes at heart.
I do know one thing, though. It's a damn shame that the life of Theresa Marie Schiavo has become just another way for President Bush and members of Congress to score a quick political point. It is a moral outrage that lawmakers who are so willing to devalue, if not outright end, the lives of the poor and disenfranchised are willing to feign righteous indignation for the sake of a few votes.
If there were any doubts that that is precisely what is happening, they were wiped away by the disclosure of a memo to Republican senators outlining the precise political strategy behind their maneuverings in Schiavo's case. The unsigned memo, first uncovered by ABC News and The Washington Post, reportedly says that "This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue. This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a co-sponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats." Sen. Bill Nelson, it should be noted, is running for re-election next year.
President Bush, for his part, said that "in extraordinary circumstances like this, it is always wise to err on the side of life." House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), perhaps in need of a distraction from the ongoing ethical complaints which threaten to land him in jail, said that "we should investigate every avenue before we take the life of a living human being, and that's the very least we can do for [Schiavo]." Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said on the Senate floor Saturday that Congress was trying "to do its part to uphold human dignity and affirm a culture of life."
It's just too bad that the past actions of Bush, DeLay, Frist and many other lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, speak louder than their words. President Bush executed more people in just six years as governor of Texas than any other governor in United States history. As the last vestige of hope for the condemned, fully one-third of whom had lawyers at trial or appeal who were later disbarred or otherwise sanctioned, Bush spent just 15 minutes reviewing each case.
And ironically, actions taken by President Bush and congressional leaders like DeLay and Frist ensure that other patients in Schiavo's situation will face dire straits. Bush and his allies in Congress want to drastically slash Medicaid, the health plan that keeps the nation's poor alive. They want to protect insurance companies by passing tort reform laws that would leave malpractice suits, like the one currently funding Schiavo's treatment, all but toothless. They passed a bankruptcy bill which took away the ability of people hurt by expensive medical emergencies to declare bankruptcy and have some hope of continuing to pay for their loved ones' care. And all the while, Bush stands by the Texas Futile Care Law, which killed Sun Hudson and is currently threatening to end the life of 68-year-old Spiro Nikolouzos.
Forming a "culture of life," as Frist put it, would indeed be a wonderful thing for the United States to do. But a single bill to save a single life, motivated by political interests, is not the way to go about doing it. If lawmakers want to create a culture of life, they should do it by working to save and improve the lives of everyone, not just the people whose life or death will win them re-election.
Alex Koppelman is a senior individualized major in the College from Baltimore and former editor-in-chief of 34th Street Magazine. Rock the Casbah appears on Thursdays.
