Congress has decided to invite (read: subpoena) a woman who has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years. Why? If I'm being charitable, I might say it's because our Senators and Representatives are concerned with Terri Schiavo's rights.
In my less charitable moments, which when it comes to Congress is most of the time, I say these political opportunists are taking advantage of a family's tragedy and making it worse. Bad enough that this poor woman is a vegetable, and her parents and husband are at odds over whether to let her die (I can certainly see both sides in this argument), but to have politicians using her as a cause is despicable. Particularly when these upstanding public servants are arguing against some of the basic principles they choose to tout when it serves their purpose.
The federal government should not interfere in decisions that belong to the states, many conservatives say. Unless, of course, the states aren't making the "right" decisions. And, individuals should be able to make their own decisions about their health care, unless they don't make the "right" choices.
Who's leading the fight? According to the New York Times: "For Republicans, it was a chance to try to carve out new territory in the "culture of life" issues so paramount to passionate religious conservatives, who have flooded Congressional offices with messages beseeching help in keeping Ms. Schiavo alive."
You can read "religious conservatives" as Christian conservatives. You can have freedom of religion as long as you make decisions that are acceptable to the Christian right.
And the Democrats are doing it, too. They want to show that they have moved to the center and are good people that should be re-elected.
I guess freedom isn't an American value after all.
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