Terri Wins a Congressional Reprieve

Congress has passed a law that will, in effect, send Terri's case to the federal courts. The Senate bill passed unanimously; the House bill passed 203 to 58. President Bush, putting his pro-life money where his pro-life mouth is, flew back from his vacation in Texas specifically to sign this act into law. So much for those who think he lacks the will to act on his pro-life rhetoric.

Let me say that I am elated by the outcome of this vote.

Still, as with the Supreme Court's elimination of the juvenile death penalty, I very much like the outcome, but I worry about the precedent this vote sets.

This is about as big a defeat for the concept of "Federalism" as we will ever see, and it comes at the hands of the party who allegedly supports "Federalism". In practical terms, "Federalism" and "libertarianism" are now pretty much dead concepts in the Republican Party.

It is clear that we now have two big government "nationalist" parties in this country: one party who supports big government "nationalism" when it comes to its "liberal" agenda; and one party who supports big government "nationalism" when it comes to its "conservative" agenda.

Perhaps that is the way it should be in this day and age. Conservatives have often lost the debate at the national level because they have essentially forfeited the field of play, preferring the "Federalist" option of having their issues decided at the state level.

After tonight (actually, this morning), it appears that reluctance to act at the national level will no longer be the case. Where Terri Schiavo is concerned, at least, that is a VERY GOOD THING.

A word of caution, however, regarding the federal courts. We shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that the same courts who gave us Roe v. Wade and various other horrendous anti-life decisions will rule any differently on this life issue than the Florida courts have.