From Miami Herald:

"Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo was not to be removed from her hospice, a team of state agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted -- but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge's order, The Herald has learned."

From AMERICABlog:

"...ignoring the rule of law, the Supreme Court and the opinion of the vast majority of Americans -- to in effect delcare martial law and seize Terri Schiavo. (Thanks to blogger Andrew A. Gill for the heads-up on this one.) Think about this. Top far-right religious leaders told Jeb Bush he shouldn't be pushed around by some 'piddling judge.' Anne Coulter shouted they should send in the National Guard. Silly talk-radio/Fox News rhetoric? Jeb Bush damn near did it. And if the brave men and women of the local police hadn't decided to uphold the law, Bush would have succeeded."

The above statement from AMERICABLog is slightly misleading. The Herald story cited as his source went on to say:

"It also shows that agencies answering directly to Gov. Jeb Bush had planned to use a wrinkle in Florida law that would have allowed them to legally get around the judge's order. The exception in the law allows public agencies to freeze a judge's order whenever an agency appeals it. "

Jeb Bush and Co. found a "wrinkle" in the law so therefore they were not exactly "ignoring the rule of law." They were, however, going against the grain of legal thought. This does illustrate how far some in the extreme will go to enforce their will on others and I believe that is the greater lesson to this whole fiasco. Some believe that our form of government is under attack from these extremist.

"Participants in the high-stakes test of wills, who spoke with The Herald on the condition of anonymity, said they believed the standoff could ultimatelyhave led to a constitutional crisis and a confrontation between dueling lawmen."

This case unfortunately has now grown beyond the heartbreaking story of Terri Schiavo. It is now moving into the realm of power and who has the right to excercise that power. It calls into question states rights, the principles of federalism and constitutionally mandated separation of powers. No man, be it Governor, President or stranger on the street is above the law and they should not be allowed to operate outside of it. If there were a window of opportunity created by a provision in the law where the agency could have acted, then they were not necessarily violating the law. But it is time cooler heads prevail in this issue. My heart breaks for Terri Schiavo and all those closest to her. Regardless of whether she would have wanted her life continued in this manner, I doubt she would want to be the poster child in this on going struggle.

¶ 3/26/2005 09:46:00 AM

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