By promising Republicans the unanimous passage of a blatantly unconstitutional law, Senate Democrats:
- Got the GOP to drop a broader, more constitutionally plausible version of the law.
- Frustrated GOP attempts to reduce Terri to a blunt object with which to strike Democrats over the head.
- Guaranteed that the law would be ruled unconstitutional anyway, delivering the same result as if Democrats had defeated it, but placing all the possible blame on the judiciary rather than on Democrats.
This seems to me a brilliant strategy that neutralized a volatile political issue without any practical change on policy.