I want to return to this issue and examine it in a new light. The last time I talked about the
Schiavo case, I tried to keep on a human level and avoid getting into the cold and analytical legal issues. Well, now that Florida governor Jeb Bush has turned her into a political issue, I feel it is appropriate and necessary to fight back with the law. In a nutshell, my view is that Bush's action totally violates Schiavo's Constitutionally protected right to refuse life-saving medical treatment, and also violates Constitutional separation of powers. [Both of these claims, particularly the first, are debatable from a federal perspective. But the Florida Constitution is tougher and clearer on both issues than the federal Constitution, and that clarity cuts against te Governor's actions.] For those reasons, I believe that Bush's action will be overturned by the courts, without a doubt. Lastly, given that the courts are bound to overturn Bush and, again, remove Shiavo's feeding tube, keeping her alive in the meantime is an act of unconscionable cruelty.
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