Attorneys Question Whether Texas, Federal Law at Odds

Everyone is talking about Terri Schiavo, but no one is talking about the laws, what will become of them, what will happen if the unprecedented occurs and the Federal Government is suddenly able to over rule State laws? Pay attention people, there is alot more to the Terri Schiavo story than Terri Schiavo herself. Please read the full links, i've abbreviated for condensation.

Attorneys Question Whether Texas, Federal Law at Odds

The federal law President Bush signed to prolong Terri Schiavo's life in Florida appears to conflict with a Texas law he signed as governor, attorneys familiar with the legislation said Monday.
The 1999 Advance Directives Act in Texas allows for a patient's surrogate to make end-of-life decisions and spells out how to proceed if a hospital or other health provider disagrees with a decision to maintain or halt life-sustaining treatment.

If a doctor refuses to honor a decision, the case goes before a medical committee. If the committee agrees with the doctor, the guardian or surrogate has 10 days to agree or seek treatment elsewhere.

Thomas Mayo, an associate law professor at Southern Methodist University who helped draft the Texas law, said that if the Schiavo case had happened in Texas, her husband would have been her surrogate decision-maker. Because both he and her doctors were in agreement, life support would have been discontinued.

The 1999 Law Signed by Governor George Bush
www.capitol.state.tx.us...

A baby quietly dies after taken off of life support against his parents wishes

Baby dies after hospital removes breathing tube; Case is the first in which a judge allowed a hospital to discontinue care
The baby wore a cute blue outfit with a teddy bear covering his bottom. The 17-pound, nearly 6-month-old boy wiggled with eyes open, his mother said, and smacked his lips.

Then at 2 p.m. Tuesday, a medical staffer at Texas Children's Hospital gently removed the breathing tube that had kept Sun Hudson alive since his birth Sept. 25. Cradled by his mother, he took a few breaths, and died.

"I talked to him, I told him that I loved him. Inside of me, my son is still alive," Wanda Hudson told reporters afterward. "This hospital was considered a miracle hospital. When it came to my son, they gave up in six months. ... They made a terrible mistake."

Terri Schiavo's case is no longer about a single individual, the outcome of her case will now affect all Americans. Pay attention people.







[edit on 3-21-2005 by worldwatcher]

Excellent post WorldWatch, you have brought a good point, with the baby in Texas.

This issue with the Florida woman was a gamble that the "interest groups" were willing to take because is a bigger fish to catch from all this and the politicians just decided to go alone with.

I wonder who is in charge of the decisions making in our country now.

How risky can this be? Risky enough to have the congress and the president itself to get involve.

Unprecedented that what is called, history in the making for sure, meanwhile in Texas people are wondering also what is going on and getting ready for the law sues sure to come from this.

Now this will be a black and white issue and like many has said the can of worm has been no only open but spill all over.

Everyone is talking about Terri Schiavo, but no one is talking about the laws, what will become of them, what will happen if the unprecedented occurs and the Federal Government is suddenly able to over rule State laws? Pay attention people, there is alot more to the Terri Schiavo story than Terri Schiavo herself. Please read the full links, i've abbreviated for condensation.

I've been screaming it all morning.... The real danger here, regardless of how you feel about this issue, is that the Executive branch of government has GROSSLY overstepped it's bounds, rushed a bill they KNOW is unconstitutional into law, and directly circumvented the US Constitution and even the Supreme Court. THIS is the scary thing that happened this morning, and if it's allowed to succeed, then it will undermine 200 years of jurisprudence, and the very foundation that our nation is built on...and THAT is very scary indeed.

From the Article
Sun's death marks the first time a U.S. judge has allowed a hospital to discontinue an infant's life-sustaining care against a parent's wishes, according to bioethical experts. A similar case involving a 68-year-old man in a vegetative state at another Houston hospital is before a court now.(emphasis mine)

A U.S. judge was involved in this case already and allowed it to go through. It doesn't seem to me that the new law would have affected this case.

I imagine that the pressure on the Judge in Florida now can be explosive, the tension in the decision and side taking would be unbelievable.

And what I am amazed at is the fact that after hearing arguments, he is didn't make a decision immediately.

While the "experts" are weighting the congress decision and how is going to affect us.

Perhaps the ruling will probably come in the morning, some said that the Atlanta circuit, will be reading every book on the law not matter what the decision will be, because is going to be in federal court for a while.

Lets see which way goes.

Originally posted by worldwatcher
Everyone is talking about Terri Schiavo, but no one is talking about the laws, what will become of them, what will happen if the unprecedented occurs and the Federal Government is suddenly able to over rule State laws? Pay attention people, there is alot more to the Terri Schiavo story than Terri Schiavo herself. Please read the full links, i've abbreviated for condensation.

A baby quietly dies after taken off of life support against his parents wishes

Baby dies after hospital removes breathing tube; Case is the first in which a judge allowed a hospital to discontinue care
The baby wore a cute blue outfit with a teddy bear covering his bottom. The 17-pound, nearly 6-month-old boy wiggled with eyes open, his mother said, and smacked his lips.

Then at 2 p.m. Tuesday, a medical staffer at Texas Children's Hospital gently removed the breathing tube that had kept Sun Hudson alive since his birth Sept. 25. Cradled by his mother, he took a few breaths, and died.

"I talked to him, I told him that I loved him. Inside of me, my son is still alive," Wanda Hudson told reporters afterward. "This hospital was considered a miracle hospital. When it came to my son, they gave up in six months. ... They made a terrible mistake."

Terri Schiavo's case is no longer about a single individual, the outcome of her case will now affect all Americans. Pay attention people.

I agree that the Schiavo case, as well as this one, are being used to further a government agenda, but Terri's situation is wholly different in nature and substance than the Hudson case.

Wanda Hudson believes that she was impregnated by the Sun, as in the star we orbit around, and doesn't believe in sickness or death. Her son was constantly sedated to relieve his suffering and he was hooked to a ventilator because his lungs couldn't work without it.

"His chest cavity and lungs will never grow. He is slowly suffocating," doctors said in court papers. "It would be unethical to continue with care that is futile and prolongs Sun's suffering."

But his mother, 33-year-old Hudson, said she doesn't believe in sickness or death, and her son just needs time to grow.

She has interrupted court hearings with rambling outbursts and talked about how she communicates with Sun telepathically. She testified that she spent three days in a psychiatric hospital after his birth because doctors were alarmed that she was calling her child the human embodiment of the sun.

Because of concerns about her mental competence, the hospital is paying her legal fees to guarantee her interests are protected.

www.freep.com...