Congress and Terri Schiavo

Of all the arguments that the Terri Schiavo case has sparked, the issue of whether or not the federal government should have gotten involved appears to be the saddest.

It's like this: The Constitution provided for "checks and balances" within our government, with each of the branches helping to keep the other two in check. When one gets out of line, the other two have to put it back in place (as though you all didn't already know that).

The judges in Terri Schiavo's case have gotten out of line, and the action taken by Congress and the President was intended to keep judicial tyranny in check, not meddle in personal affairs. Simply because it involved a person, you can't shout "personal affairs" and pretend that the government is not allowed to get involved.

The judges issued rulings based on the testimony of a party that would receive money should
Terri die, and they even allowed hearsay, which is usually inadmissible in court. The courts ignored the logical alternative to putting an innocent to death, and decided on starvation as the method of execution. These actions needed to be checked, and the government is the only group capable of doing so (aside from impeachment by the people).

So yes, the government WAS out of line... if you're referring to the judicial branch. Congress was just doing it's job, and it just so happened that they were trying to save an innocent woman in the process.

The horror!