Jamus pointed me at a great op-ed piece in the NYT. The opening blow:
If you are in a “persistent vegetative state” and there is a dispute about whether to keep you alive, your case will probably go no further than state court – unless you are Terri Schiavo. President Bush signed legislation yesterday giving Ms. Schiavo’s parents a personal right to sue in federal court. The new law tramples on the principle that this is “a nation of laws, not of men,” and it guts the power of the states. When the commotion over this one tragic woman is over, Congress and the president will have done real damage to the founders’ careful plan for American democracy.
I fully agree with this. First of all, I don’t believe this to be even newsworthy and that it should be a matter for the family to deal with. Since, however, this 15 year old issue has caught the national eye having federal issue made of it is an abuse. Ben points out the hippocracy of Bush (having executed the most people ever in Texas) and Jamus adds some backing comments of Congress (particuarly of DeLay).