Can congress pass a law that extends the statute of limitations on claims after the exisiting statute has expired?
QUESTION 1:
Accept for the moment that the statue of limitations for bringing any Federal Claims on behalf of Terri Schiavo would have commenced on the day that Judge Greer first handed down his ruling that Terri Schiavo would have chosen to have the PEG tube removed, on February 11, 2000, and that was more than 5 years ago, and further ...
... accept that the statute of limitations for any Federal Claim that could have been brought is four years, can Congress constitutionally extend, alter or modify the statute of limitations so as to permit the Federal claims that were brought in the Federal Court yesterday to go forward?
QUESTION 2:
If today, Arty Duckworth's wife, Gillian (all taking place in New York), was in a PVS, and she, like Terri, had declared her desires, and Gillian's parents said to keep her feeding tube in, while Arty wants to do what Gillian wanted, i.e., remove the tube, and the NY courts ordered its removal, could Gillian's parents take their case to Federal Court?
QUESTION 3:
On the flip side, ask yourselves this question #2: If today, Arty Duckworth's wife, Gillian (all taking place in New York), was in a PVS, and she, UNlike Terri, had declared her desires TO KEEP A FEEDING TUBE IN, and Gillian's parents said to WITHDRAW her feeding tube, while Arty wants to do what Gillian wanted, i.e., KEEP the tube IN, and the NY courts ordered it KEPT IN, could Gillian's parents take their case to Federal Court TO ENFORCE HER RIGHT TO DIE?