Scorning the Courts in Florida

Drawing the line between life and death is one of society’s most challenging tasks. Florida’s courts discharged that duty admirably when they ruled that Terri Schiavo, who has been in a vegetative state for 13 years, should be allowed to die. But the State Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush have mocked the courts’ careful deliberations and embarked on a ghoulish medical journey by directing that her feeding resume. The courts should reaffirm Ms. Schiavo’s right to die in peace. …

The Florida courts approached the matter with the gravity it deserves. … The Florida Legislature, prodded by the religious right, hastily passed a law authorizing the governor to order the feeding of patients in a vegetative state who lacked living wills. … The new law infringes the right to die that the Supreme Court recognized in 1990.

George Bush is part of the religious right; Jeb Bush is jumping to their call. You want four more years of that? mjh