Kidnapping Parents Didn't Approve of Baby's Black Father

We now learn that the Maine parents who kidnapped their daughter to take her to New York for an abortion are racists. They flew off the handle when they learned that not only was their unborn grandchild's father in jail, but he's *gasp* black. Heavin forbid you have a mulatto grandchild.

"Race May Be a Motive in Abortion Kidnap Case"

Daughter Snatched by Parents to Have Abortion

I know two people who won't win the Parent of the Year award:

Police charged a Maine couple on Monday of kidnapping their pregnant 19-year-old daughter, who was bound with rope and duct tape and bundled into her parents' car to force her to have an emergency abortion.

Nicholas Kampf, 54, and his wife, Lola, 53, were arrested on Friday in a New Hampshire parking lot after their daughter Katelyn escaped by persuading her parents to untie her so she could use a Kmart bathroom.

A court affidavit said her parents chased her out into the yard after an altercation, grabbed and tied her hands and feet together. Her father then gagged her and carried her to their Lexus and they drove toward New Hampshire.

The parents didn't approve of the unborn child's father who is in jail. These goons (not parents) freaked out that their daughter wasn't as perfect as they wanted her to be. So what better way to solve the problem then to kill the grandchild. I'm confident the daughter won't be asking them to babysit.

"Parents Kidnap Daughter to Have Abortion"

UPDATE: Parents Behaving Badly, a fitting weblog, caught wind of this story.

UPDATE II: What's with attacking pregnant women in Maine?

The man wanted in connection with the assault of a pregnant woman in Hancock turned himself in Wednesday morning.

According to Maine Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland, Robert A. Dow, 59, of Franklin, surrendered to authorities at 8:30 a.m. at the Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth.

Dow was being sought on charges of assault and disorderly conduct in connection with an incident that occurred outside a convenience store last week in Hancock. McCausland said the African-American woman, who is seven months pregnant, was reportedly kicked in the stomach while sitting in a car next to a convenience store. She also was reportedly accosted with racial slurs. The hate crime aspect of this investigation, said McCausland, has been referred to the Maine Attorney General's Office.

Is there some bad lobster going around over there?

Embryos Killed in Possible Stem Cell Breakthrough

Recent news that scientists found a way to get stem cells from human embryos without killing them isn't quite so true:

Dr. Lanza noted in his article that the cell removed in this test, known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or P.G.D., could be used, after growing and dividing, both for testing and, with his new technique, to derive human embryonic stem cells. Since the original embryo would be unharmed, a principal objection to the research would be removed, he said.

Dr. Lanza’s article in Nature made clear that he had not saved the embryos in his own experiments, in which he used as many as eight cells from each of some 16 donated embryos. Had he taken only a single cell from each, many more embryos would have been needed. The press release issued by Nature, however, incorrectly implied that he had removed just a single cell.

Wesley J. Smith writes that the NY Times has been dishonest about ACT research:

It is, in fact, not known whether one cell taken from an 8-10 cell embryo could be used to derive an ES cell line. Other researchers have already tried to do it with two cells and failed, for example. At most, it would be accurate to state that scientists "hope" it could be done or "theorize" it could be done. To say assertively that "other researchers could use this technique" is bad science, and to let that assertion hang in the air as if it is a given, was negligent journalism.

*SIGH* More human deaths in the name of scientific progress. I pray we have the wisdom to find a way to reap tremendous medical advances while not making a deal with the devil. A way will be found if merely for the interests of scientists who want to feed off the federal government's tit.

"Clarification Issued on Stem Cell Work"

Birthed from Terri's Fight

Last month, Michael Schiavo, the man who won the right to starve his wife to death, flew to Connecticut to endorse Ned Lamont. Schiavo has started TerriPAC to go after "politicians who tried to stop Ms. Schiavo’s death." Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, have started their own Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation Center for Health Care Ethics. Michael Schiavo has done fairly well with a near-broke PAC that's raised more than $26,000 solely from the internet. But the Schindler's organization's $379,855 head start means they have a better chance at shaping the debate on how best to treat the severely disabled.

"Husband Takes Schiavo Fight Back to Politicians"

Plan B Discussed on The View

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, she's so cute and she believes human life begins at conception. Here's a discussion on Plan B from The View where the pro-abortion-on-demand opinion was dominant. Hey, it is the entertainment business.

She's also the only reason to ever watch a season of Survior.

"Elisabeth Hasselbeck 'Loses Her Mind' (Video)"

UK Banning Sex-Selection Abortions

Sex-selection abortions will soon be banned in Britain:

Health Minister Caroline Flint told MPs she was minded to introduce a "clear and specific ban" on the use of new techniques to choose one gender of baby.

Allowing parents to pick sex for reasons such as "balancing" the make-up of their family could be the start of a "slippery slope" to designer babies, she warned.

At least there's some limit to when an abortion can occur. Too bad James Joyner's tongue-in-cheek scenerio is all too realistic.

"Choosing Baby's Sex to be Outlawed"

An Abortion Fanatic at Kos Convention

The Culture of Death lives, breathes, and thrives inside the world of the Kossites. At a pundit training workshop at the Yearly Kos convention going on in Las Vegas Bryon York noted a Kossite obsessed with abortion:

Another blogger wanted to talk about abortion. “I’ve been in the abortion business for 30 years,” she said as she walked toward the interview chair, adding that she owned a string of abortion clinics around the country.

As her talk began, Trainer 2 asked her, “Doesn’t it make sense to have some common-sense restrictions on abortion?”

“The problem is most of those restrictions decrease access,” the woman said. “I think abortion should be more available throughout the country.” As it is, she continued, women often have to drive long distances to get an abortion.

But an abortion is a big deal, Trainer 2 responded. Isn’t it okay if people have to go some distance to get one?

“No,” the woman said. “People should have health care in their own neighborhoods. Abortion is one of the safest health care procedures in the world.”

“But isn’t it traumatizing for the woman?” Trainer 2 asked.

“Absolutely not,” the pundit trainee said. “Relief is the number-one reaction that people have to abortion. Abortion is not a traumatizing procedure for most of the women.”

The audience appluaded.

The Clintonian mantra of making abortions safe, legal, and rare wasn't present. But then this is a group who thinks an embryo is just an unviable tissue mass. To the woman pundit-wannabe abortion was a business. More abortion meant more business for her. The Culture of Death plus economic insentive equals inhumanity.

"You Wanna Be a Pundit?"

Stem Cell Legislation

Kevin Binversie has a great interview with State Rep. Steve Kestell about stem cell research and his bill that would ban human cloning. The most important item to take away is his bill wouldn't damage any potential stem cell industry:

4.) Would AB 499 have still allowed Wisconsin to become, as Governor Jim Doyle claims, ‘a stem cell leader?’ Or are Doyle’s concerns merited?

Jim Doyle has taken his lead from the UW and others by trying to confuse the public at ever turn. Jim Doyle is on record saying that he opposes human cloning and in the next breath claiming that AB499 would prevent stem cell research form continuing. This is a bold faced lie and I wish the media would call him on it. Many states and counties have banned human cloning while successfully pursuing research. Since nobody has successfully cloned a human embryo (Korea’s were a fake and done by parthenogenesis) and no Wisconsin researcher is currently trying to clone human embryos, this is a claim without merit. Last year the United Nations asked all nations to ban human cloning as inconsistent with the dignity of human life. Vetoing AB499 was a very undignified act.

I take the slightly sideways position of being opposed to human cloning for research but don't oppose it for reproduction. Human embryoes should be allowed to come to term not be microscoptic stem cell factories.

"Kestell on AB 499 and Stem Cells"

Human-Hating Professor to Meet with FBI

Who's the bozo who sicced the FBI on Erik Pianka? The guy hates Man, but there's no evidence he's planning a bio-terrorist attack. He's just an enviro-nut who deserves public derision instead of threats and government pestering.

"Professor's Population Speeches Unnerve Some" [via Drudge]

Pianka Misunderstood

Human-hating scientist Eric Pianka is getting death threats since it was reported he thought is would be pretty swell if Ebola wiped out 90% of Mankind. Death threats toward a man who has written is own obituary is pretty pointless along with being extremely uncivil.

When someone is caught saying things they don't want the whole world to see they pull out their out-of-context card:

However, Eric Pianka says his remarks about his beliefs were taken out of context, that he was just raising a warning that deadly disease epidemics are a threat if population growth isn't contained.

He should have kept the video camera filming when he was giving his speech.

The whole thing is making the poor professor discumbobulated:

"What we really need to do is start thinking about controlling our population before it's too late," he said Monday. "It's already too late, but we're not even thinking about it. We're just mindlessly rushing ahead breeding our brains out."

I'd feel sorry for him if I didn't know he would prefer me and 90% of the rest of Man dead.

"Prof Threatened after 'Drudge Report' Publishes His Views on Population Control" [via Shot In The Dark]

One Wacky Scientist

The University of Texas pays a reptile and amphibian scientist who thinks it would be peachy-keen if Ebola were to wipe out 90% of all humans. See, Dr. Eric R. Pianka doesn't particuarly like what humans are doing to the planet. He doesn't think Man is special. Thinking that way is anthropocentrism. On one of his web pages he asks, "What good are lizards? Indeed, what good are you?" During a presentation to the Texas Academy of Science he declared, "We're no better than bacteria!" I'm waiting for that great novel written by some streptococcus.

Pianka hast stepped into David Hume's is-ought problem. It's what separates objectively examining the world from advocating what should be done. It's what allows economist Stephen Levitt to discover legal abortion had an effect on crime rates while not taking a stance on abortion. There's a difference between understanding how the world works and deciding what course or policy should be taken.

The Texas Academy of Science didn't have a problem with Pinka's views. They gave him a standing ovation and an award. How nice and anti-human of them.

Reason's Ronald Bailey writes,

Professor Pianka is apparently a brilliant herpetologist, but like brilliant Stanford University entomologist Paul Ehrlich who wrote The Population Bomb nearly 40 years ago, he is completely ignorant of economics and demography. Pianka might start alleviating his ignorance by reading some of the analyses by Jesse Ausubel, head of the Human Environment Program at Rockefeller University. Relying on human creativity and wealth creation, Ausubel foresees the 21st century as the beginning of the Great Restoration of the natural environment.

Then Andrew Sullivan decides to lump Pianka with anyone who believes in the end of the world. He's not very humble. He seems to think the end times aren't near and will discount anyone who thinks otherwise. Not very humble of him. I don't know when the world will end. It could be tomorrow or centuries from now.

"Meeting Doctor Doom"

Killer Mom Gets 2 1/2 Years in Jail

What a downer:

A woman whose newborn daughter died after a home birth into a toilet has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Angela L. Hamilton, 26, formerly of Cudahy, was convicted of two felonies, child neglect causing death and first-degree recklessly endangering safety, after a jury trial in December.

...

But police who interviewed Hamilton shortly after the baby's birth in November 2003 testified that she had confessed to holding the baby underwater for up to a minute.

The baby lived for several days on life support.

Hamilton was sentenced today in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. In addition to the prison term, she must serve six and a half years of supervised release.

Should we be shocked? It's legal to kill a child in the womb. It's legal to partially give birth to a child and then kill him. So it's not a surprise this woman monster got a slap on the wrist.

"Disgusting"

March for Life Coverage

Cold and rain are making things uncomfortable today in Washington, DC. President Bush spoke to the marchers via telephone this afternoon. EWTN is streaming their coverage of the march live. Pro-Life Blogs is makng periodic posts.

March for Life 2006

Sunday was the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that yanked the abortion debate away from individual states and made it the center of the culture wars. Some marches took place already. In San Francisco one woman held a sign that demanded "Bigots Go Home!" She obviously doesn't understand what a bigot is. Looking into a mirror might help. Another pro-abortion protester held a sign that read, "Keep your laws off my body... and I'll keep my hands off your throat!" That's on par with any pro-life supporter defending killers like Paul Hill.

The big rally will be Monday in Washington, D.C. Thousands will tolerate the cold to peacefully yearn for the day when all people, born and unborn, have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Before the March for Life the Family Research Council will be hosting the Blogs for Life Conference.

I'll end this post with some lyrics from one of the most powerful yet gut-wrenching songs I've ever heard, "Legal Kill" by King's X.

I know your side so very well
It makes no sense that i can tell
The smell of hell is what i smell
And you hand it out with handshakes every day
I have trouble with the persons with the signs
But i feel the need to make my own
Yes there two ways to be
And truth does not depend on me
But I can feel the fight for life is always real
I can't believe it's no big deal
I'ts a legal kill

"Demonstrators Mark Roe V. Wade Anniversary"

"Blogs4Life/March for Life"

"Certain Unalienable Rights"

Court Rules Beaten Child is Allowed to Die

Massachusetts' Supreme Judical Court ruled the Department of Social Services could turn off the machines keeping 11-year-old Haleigh Poutre. She was allegedly beaten by Jason Strickland. The monster was trying to get custody in order to keep her alive and avoid murder charges.

"Mass. State Court Rules Battered Girl Can Die"

Keeping Haleigh "Alive"

There is a point in where a person has no life left in their body. From what I've read about poor Haleigh Poutre that's what state she's in. Reuters reports her "brain was found partly sheared when she was hospitalized on September 11." The husband of her legal guardian/aunt is accused of beating her. Jason Strickland wants Haleigh kept alive so he doesn't have to deal with a murder charge. How cynical. This is a far cry from Terri Schiavo's parents who wanted to care for her. To me Haleigh looks like she was killed a while ago. Now all that's left is a shell. It's time for justice to be served.

Amanda Marcotte at Pandragon writes,

This entire case is a nightmare, of course, but I think it's well worth watching to see how the "pro-lifers" are going to handle this. It seems like a fun house mirror version of the paranoid theories on the right that Michael Schiavo was trying to off his wife. Now that there's a genuine case with genuine evidence for murder, though, the alleged murderer is claiming to be on the side of "life".

"Court Hears "Right to Die" Case of Battered Girl"

Doing a Better Job than Me

My poor defense of an embryo deserving personhood demonstrates my inability to provide a convincing defense of my pro-life stance. Part of it is due to the emotions contained in the issue. The idea of millions of children being killed every year because they're unwanted is disturbing. If the unborn are people with the same right to life as any other human then legalized abortion on demand is a tragedy of historic proportions. Passion sometimes gets in the way of making a persuasive argument.

I've found an interesting dialogue among a pro-abortion feminist, a pro-abortion Christian, and a pro-life Christian. God is mentioned, but theological reasoning isn't the primary defense of the pro-life position. I don't expect anyone to be swayed. It's simply food-for-thought.

"Life and Abortion: A Pro-Life Defense in Dialogue Form"

Stem Cells Without Killing

Scientist may have found ways to get embryonic stem cells while not destroying human beings in the process. One technique takes a single cell from an embryo:

Taking off a blastomere from an eight-celled mouse embryo, [Robert Lanza] put the cell in a dish and let it grow. He discovered that if mouse embryonic stem cells accompanied the cell, it would create embryonic stem cells of its own.

The other technique changes the genetics of the embryo so it can implant itself to the mother's womb.

But because an embryo was created in this process, and then destroyed for its stem cells, it prompted objections.

[Alexander] Meissner and [Rudolf] Jaenisch, who is also affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said their research gets around this objection by making an embryo without the ability to grow into a person.

Not quite. Many pro-lifers don't define personhood by the ability or inability to attach to the womb. Many things happen in the early stages of a pregnancy that prevent the embryo from attaching. When this naturally occurs it doesn't take away the embryo's personhood. It's just a price paid from living in a tragic, imperfect world. Pro-lifers see a person from the moment of conception, that place in time where sperm and egg united to form cell with a unique genetic code. From that moment the cell is a person with a soul who is entitled to the right to life. What Meissner and Jaenisch have done is create a flawed embryo, a "terminally ill embryo" to use the words of bioethicist R. Alta Charo.

"New Stem Cell Methods Don't Destroy Embryo"

UPDATE: As was pointed out in the comments I engaged in some sloppy thinking by mentioning cloning as producing an embryo with a "unique genetic code." By definition it does no such thing.

Morse's Odd Pro-Life Argument

The problem with Jennifer Roback Morse's arguement is she tries to make reproductive freedom a postive liberty. She writes,

The various euphemisms such as “reproductive self-determination,” and “reproductive justice,” vastly overstate what government can provide. The government cannot assure anyone that they will achieve their reproductive goals.

This is an odd way looking at the abortion issue. Since I've been politically conscious I've never seen it conveyed as dealing with reproductive goals. I think Morse is overthinking. Simply put (for a complicated, emotionaly-heated issue), abortion comes down to autonomy. Those supporting abortion rights either believe the human embryo has no rights or the woman's rights trump the embryo's. Pro-lifers believe the embryo is a human being with rights the same as any other living human. The debate is about coersion and who (or what) is being coerced. She knows there are far-reaching societal effects from the abortion question, but such passion on both sides would come from such a convoluted demand about assuring reproductive goals.

In her essay Morse also laments this feminist demand:

We now believe that we are entitled to have sex without having a live baby result.

I'm as pro-life as you can get and I have little trouble with that demand. (I always have some problems when someone claims they're "entitled" to anything, but this is Morse's word choice not feminists'.) Sex is a pleasurable activity. We have a right to seek pleasure. In and of itself, that's not a bad thing. Better, safer sex isn't necessarily a bad thing either so long as other's rights aren't violated. Thus birth control per se isn't bad. It become immoral when the method harms the unborn. Obviously I don't take the Catholic Church's stance that unnatural methods preventing pregnancy are sinful. Condoms, diaphrams, sterilization, and other birth control methods are fine with me. I draw the line at methods that prevent a fertilized egg from attatching to the uterus wall. I also oppose "morning after" drugs that are really chemical abortions.

"The Illusions of Reproductive Freedom: Part I" [via Instapundit]

Honored for Killing His Wife

After Teri Schiavo died I really hoped I'd never hear Michael Schiavo's name again. The Florida State Guardianship Association brought him back into the news for naming him Guardian of the Year. Try Oxymoron of the Year. Imagine being at that ceremony:

MC: Michael Schiavo, for having your wife killed, for having her dehydrated to death, for making her suffer in a way liberal Jesse Jackson felt was "immoral and unnecessary," for siding with death over life, for helping the Culture of Death take a big step toward a world where human life is no longer sacred you are named Guardian of the Year. Congratulations.

[APPLAUSE]

[MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE CRY OUT, "SPEECH! SPEECH!"]

Michael Schiavo: Thank you. Thank you all. As you know I'm not much of a speechmaker. I don't talk much. I couldn't have done this without the support of those before me that have weakened the sanctity of human life. They include Margaret Sanger, the American eugenics movement, the Hemlock Society, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and all those Supreme Court justices who either made Roe v. Wade the law of the land or affirmed it. I know I'm forgetting many, but without you all Teri couldn't have been legally killed. On behalf of my wife, Theresa, I thank you.

I would have vomited after the first "thank you."

"Michael Schiavo Named Guardian Of The Year" [via Badger Blogger]

Blogosphere Reaction to Frist

Augustine at Redstate.org lashes out at Sen. Frist calling him a "traitor" and more:

Bill Frist is a man without principles. He does not deserve polite acceptance of his treachery by any Republican. And any party that truly believes in a culture of life does not tolerate such men in positions of leadership. It should not tolerate Dr. Frist.

In the most damaging stab at Frist Augustine compares him to Sen. Arlen Specter, no idol to conservative activists.

James Joyner agrees with me that Frist blew his chance at the Presidential nomination but writes, "If, somehow, he managed to nonetheless win the nomination, though, a more centrist position on this issue would be helpful in the fall campaign against the Democratic candidate."

As always, ScrappleFace finds a way to mock the news:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today announced his support for expanding federally-funded stem cell research in hopes of finding a cure for his own addiction to tax dollars.

"Although I am a conservative, my addiction drives me to steal money from average Americans and spend it on my pet projects," said Sen. Frist. "Perhaps government-owned scientists will be able to conquer this unfortunate condition by slicing up human embryos."

Frist: Harvest those Embryos

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist now supports federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. By "growing in office" (a euphamism for a Republican becoming more liberal) Frist now conflicts with his pro-life stance. He can also kiss goodbye to his chance of becoming the GOP Presidential nominee in 2008.

"Frist Breaks With Bush on Stem-Cell Bill"

Number of Abortions Down

Abortions have hit a 30-year low in Minnesota. That fits nicely with Wisconsin's numbers which are also at 30-year lows.

A wider variety and greater access to contraceptives is obviously one reason for the decline. There are also cultural reasons that partly stem from the debate on partial-birth abortion:

Another factor, said Marquette University political science professor and Constitutional law expert Christopher Wolfe, is public debate in recent years over issues such as the so-called partial-birth abortion. Because of the debate, people in their 20s are "less in favor of broad abortion rights than middle-age people," he said.

Changing people's hearts is ultimately what will end this brutal practice. Law can only do so much. But as these numbers show the Culture of Life isn't on it's death bed.

"Minnesota Hit 30-Year Low in Abortions in '04"

Schiavo Autopsy

Teri Schiavo's autopsy has been released. Her brain was in a terrible condition:

The autopsy released Wednesday on Terri Schiavo backed her husband's contention that she was in a persistent vegetative state, finding she was severely and irreversibly brain-damaged and blind as well. It also found no evidence that she was strangled or otherwise abused before she collapsed.

Yet medical examiners could not say for certain what caused her sudden 1990 collapse, long thought to have been brought on by an eating disorder.

The findings vindicated Michael Schiavo in his long and vitriolic battle with his in-laws, who insisted her condition was not hopeless and suggested that their daughter was the victim of violence by their son-in-law.

The autospy vindicates Michael Schiavo to the extent that Teri might have been in a persistent vegetative state (PVS)). Maybe, maybe not. Knowing that doesn't get us any closer to deciding if a PVS should be equated with brain death. If it is then Teri wasn't killed when her feeding tube was removed. She was dead already. Those who advocated that Teri should continued to be fed could second guess themselves and wonder if they fought for a just cause. I have no regrets. There were serious questions surrounding Teri's condition. Teri's parents talked on and on about how she could be trained to swallow. Based on the medical examiner's report that wasn't possible. That still doesn't mean it was right to let her starve (actually die of thirst). I never expected Teri's condition to ever improve.

If there was a living will I would have excepted Teri's cruel death. But since there was so much doubt I sided with caution and life. I heed the words of Fr. Frank Pavone:

Her physical injuries and disabilities never made her less of a person. No amount of brain injury ever justifies denying a person proper humane care. That includes food and water.

Barbara Lyons of Wisconsin Right to Life adds [PDF]:

While the report’s findings may be of interest to some, the fact remains that a severely disabled woman was intentionally killed and in a profoundly horrible manner. This debate was never about whether Terri was abused by her husband or what the size of her brain was. It was about whether our society believes that individuals with disabilities should be treated with care and compassion or whether they should be cast aside and even killed.

And Steven Taylor is dead on when he writes, "Of course, all of this is unlikely to sway True Believers."

"Schiavo Autopsy Shows Massive Brain Damage"

UPDATE: Kevin Aylward noticed the "sloppy reporting on the autopsy." AP reporter Mitch Stacy practically says the medical examiner proved Teri was in a PVS. If you read the report (pg. 17) you find this passage:

The persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious state, are clinical diagnoses, not pathological ones.

Thus the medical examiner can't determine after death if Teri was in a PVS.

Trying to Find Perspective...and Failing

Mike McCurry informs us about the awful fact that "Three million (yes, 3,000,000) babies could be saved within the first 24 hours of being born if they had proper sanitation, clean water, nutrition." I don't know if his numbers are correct. That's not the point. We know there are miserable parts of our world plagued by poverty. He tries to make himself high and mighty and above the political riff-raff by calling for both conservatives and liberals to stop yelling at each other and come together. Odd coming from a man who was part of a highly effective anti-GOP communications machine.

In McCurry's "cum ba ya" moment he writes, "There are some good ways to save 3 million babies and it doesn't break the bank." Monetarily, maybe. But he spouts typical knee-jerk liberal "throw money at the problem" cliches. As of 1997 the U.S. spent "nearly $1 trillion (in 1997 dollars) on foreign aid." Global poverty is more about dealing with failed political institutions. You can have all the relief aid ready at hand. A country gripped by corruption will eat huge chunks of that aid leaving little to do any good. The problem of poverty isn't the lack of goodwill by Americans--tsunami relief proved that. The problme is building stable political regimes that promote private property and the rule of law.

"D.C. Buzzes While Millions of Babies Die"

Terri Schiavo is Dead

She's gone on to a place far better than the one she left. The rest of us still on earth have to deal with the effects of how and why she died. Lord, grant us wisdom and compassion.

The Confederate Yankee writes that "Terri Shiavo's torturous starvation is over." With this rancorous debate McGehee [via OTB] found that Terri's plight brought up important, meaningful issues of human life and death. "Not bad for a 'vegetable.'" Terri didn't die in vain.

"Schiavo Dies 13 Days After Tube Removed"

"Terri Schiavo Dead at 41" [via Blogs for Terri]

UPDATE: Kevin put together a small picture retrospective.

Judicial Grandstanding

The Supreme Court again refusing to take up Terri's case isn't surprising. Nothing has really changed to get them to get involved. I'm ticked at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who gave Terri Schiavo's parents false hope. The court agreed to consider taking up the case only to issue a ruling against it 15 hours later. James Joyner calls the court's actions "incredibly cruel."

The court gave the Schindlers a glimmer of hope because Judge Stanley F. Birch Jr. wanted to scold politicians. He wrote,

In resolving the Schiavo controversy, it is my judgment that, despite sincere and altruistic motivation, the legislative and executive branches of our government have acted in a manner demonstrably at odds with our Founding Fathers' blueprint for the governance of a free people our Constitution.

Oh please! Maybe Congress and the President overstepped their constitutional bounds, and maybe they didn't. Since Judge Birch didn't feel the need to declare the late night, emergency legislation unconstitutional that question is up for grabs. As Captain Ed puts it, "Talk about judicial arrogance!" And at a grieving family's expense.

"High Court Rejects New Schiavo Request"

Better Late than Never

The Atlanta federal appeals court is thinking about allowing an emergency hearing. The one-sentence order states, "The Appellant's emergency motion for leave to file out of time is granted." Since the court shot down the Shindlers last week I think the chances of a hearing or them ordering the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube are slim.

"Appeals Court to Consider Schiavo Request"

Liberal Voices for Terri

Jesse Jackson has gotten involved in Terri Schiavo's case.

"She is being starved to death, she is being dehydrated to death. That's immoral and unnecessary," Jackson told reporters after meeting Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, near the hospice in Pinellas Park where she is being cared for.

...

"This is one of the profound moral issues of our time," said Jackson, long a leading Democratic voice on civil rights. "We ask today for some hard hearts to be softened up," he said, adding that he was in touch with members of the Florida legislature to try to get them to intervene.

The cynical side of me thinks Jackson jumped in because where there's a bunch of cameras there's certain to be the egomaniac himself. Where was Jackson two weeks, three weeks, two months ago? Where was he to take the heat off Christian conservatives? He must have been too busy turning Michael Jackson into the next black celebrity victim. Would Andrew Sullivan have begun his purge if Jackson would have stood side-by-side with Rep. Tom DeLay? I'll take (almost) any allies even if it's someone as vain as Jesse Jackson.

Jackson isn't the only Lefty speaking out that Terri should live. Nat Hentoff has a blistering column in the Village Voice. The atheist, pro-life liberal, an extremely rare species, excoriates the ACLU for siding with Michael Schiavo and lays blame on a court system more concerned with saving people on death row than with the severely disabled. He quotes a Ralph Nader-Wesley Smith joint statement:

If this were a death penalty case, this evidence would demand reconsideration. Yet, an innocent, disabled woman is receiving less justice. . . . This case is rife with doubt. Justice demands that Terri be permitted to live.

The statement goes also says:

The courts . . . have [also] ordered that no attempts be made to provide her water or food by mouth. Terri swallows her own saliva. Spoon feeding is not medical treatment. "This outrageous order proves that the courts are not merely permitting medical treatment to be withheld, they have ordered her to be made dead."

Professor McAdams wonders why so many liberals' knee-jerk response to Terri's plight was to let her die. Stephen Miller reminds me that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is very supportive of Terri's right to live.

"Jesse Jackson Jumps Into Florida Right-To-Die Case"

"Terri Schiavo: Judicial Murder"

[Added to OTB's Beltway Traffic Jam.]

Times Targets DeLay

Andrew Sullivan isn't the only one taking advantage of Terri Schiavo's impending death to advance an agenda. The LA Times has a hit piece supposedly demonstrating the hypocrisy of Rep. Tom DeLay. Michelle Malkin links to a few Lefty webloggers who go ape over it. There's also a certain self-proclaimed "moderate" who is using it to bash DeLay too.

"DeLay's Own Tragic Crossroads"

Black

I don black today partly to mourn for Terri Schiavo and the Culture of Life. I also am doing it to support UW-Milwaukee. Go Panthers! Beat Illinois!

Schiavo Quick Hits

Time ticks away, and Terri moves closer to her Creator. I don't have the emotional stamina to say a lot right now. So I'll offer you these nuggets.

An 11-member federal panel refused to hold a full hearing for Terri Schiavo.

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Florida Department of Children and Families might take Terri out of the hospice she's been in and reinsert her feeding tube with or without a judge's order.

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Bryan Preston castigates come big-time webloggers for selectively entering the Schiavo debate.

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Dale Franks talks about "unprincipled" Republicans. It's fairer to state that the Congressional Republicans who passed the special Terri Schiavo law had a conflict between two principles: federalism and the protection of human life. (Stephen Bainbridge dealt with four principles.) It wasn't that the Republicans (and conservatives like me) are unprincipled it's that they had to decide what principle was paramount.

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Even though CodeBlueBlog has won some awards I'm not familar with the writer. Here's a doctor's opinion of Terri's condition. Based on CT scans he's seen on the internet "THIS IS IN NO WAY PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE THAT TERRI SCHIAVO'S MENTAL ABILITIES OR/OR CAPABILITIES ARE COMPLETELY ERADICATED." Take it for what it's worth. [Thanks MMM for the link.]

Increased Interest in Living Wills

A benefit to the publicity of Terri Schiavo's plight is many people are asking about living wills. If Terri had one we wouldn't be having a national debate. Something about Am 1130 WISN's report doesn't seem right. According to the radio station Aurora Health Care received a 1000 visitors yesterday. That's due to the interest in living wills. That just can't be right. It just can't be true that the website of the number one healthcare provider in Eastern Wisconsin had fewer visitors than TAM. Maybe I'm selling myself short.

"Living Will--Get One"

Denied Again

An Atlanta appeals court decided that Terri Schiavo should die. The sense I get from the two federal court rulings is that these judges were a little ticked that Congress moved this case to federal court. The speed by which they made their decisions implies they don't want Congress to do something like this ever again. I say it implies because the constitutionality of Congress passing a bill solely for Terri Schiavo will never come to court. She'll soon be dead and the point moot.

Pray for Terri, her family--yes, even Michael Schiavo, and all of us. We've moved into a new, dangerous realm.

"Reinsertion of Schiavo Feeding Tube Denied"

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has excerpts from a dissenting judge as well as other pundits' views.

Hewitt: Too Bad the Killer's Dead

Let me toss out another aspect of the encroaching Culture of Death: the rise in popularity of the death penalty. The Minnesota reservation shootings have brought out bloodlust in Hugh Hewitt:

I am certain I am not the first to post on this, but had yesterday's shooter in Minnesota not turned the gun on himself, he would never have been eligible for the death penalty because of the recent Supreme Court decision. He killed young people, teachers, a security guard and his grandfather, but the Supreme Court has ruled that no civilized society could even consider executing him for his massacre.

That is an absurd result, and the Supreme Court's foolishness is underscored by yesterday's carnage.

Hugh wishes the killer would have lived so he could be put on trial then killed. Hugh also must wish Minnesota had the death penalty. Thankfully, like Wisconsin, it doesn't. I think it's absurd all states haven't ended vengeful state-sanctioned killing.

Months ago, I worked on a post explaining my philosophy of life. Guess I better get around to finishing it. To be really brief regarding my opposition to the death penalty: since an adequate prison system is enough protection to society capital punishment is merely vengence.

Sowell on Schiavo

Few public intellectuals can put the complexities of Man's existence into so clear a form as Thomas Sowell. He's the best conservative thinker who simple conveys the flawed world we're stuck in.

There are no good solutions to this wrenching situation. It is the tragedy of the human condition in its most stark form.

The extraordinary session of Congress, calling members back from around the country, with the President flying back from his home in Texas in order to be ready to sign legislation dealing with Terri Schiavo, are things that do us credit as a nation.

Even if critics who claim that this is being done for political or ideological reasons are partially or even wholly correct, they still miss the point. It is the public's sense of concern -- in some cases, outrage -- that is reflected by their elected representatives.

What can Congress do -- and what effect will it have? We do not know and Congress does not know. Those who are pushing for legislation to save Terri Schiavo are obviously trying to avoid setting a precedent or upsetting the Constitutional balance.

It is an old truism that hard cases make bad law. No one wants all such cases to end up in either Congress or the federal courts. But neither do decent people want an innocent woman killed because she was inconvenient and a court refused to recognize the conflict of interests in her legal guardian.

Sowell is as uncomfortable as me about Congress having to act on Terri Schiavo's behalf. If anyone understands unintended consequences it's Sowell yet still his conscience dictates that an extraordinary case deserves extraordinary actions.

"'Cruel and Unusual'" [via Michelle Malkin]

Killing Patients in Texas

KTK at Lean Left put together a good post explaining why some Texas medical cases involving a law signed by then-governor George Bush are more complicated than Bush-bashers want to make them.

"Bad Meme a-Risin’: 'Killing Patients to Save Money'"

Pinkerton Blasts Christian Conservatives

Stephen Bainbridge chastises James Pinkerton:

The American people need to be told that federalism is a tool - a means to an end. So is limited government. So, for that matter, is the rule of law. Sometimes they are the right tool. And sometimes they aren't. As I discussed yesterday, neither federalism nor limited government was the right analytical tool for evaluating Congress' intervention in the Terry Schiavo case. Explaining why is hard to do in a quick sound-bite, but I think I managed to do a pretty good job of doing so in less than 400 words -- or about half the length of a Pinkerton op-ed.

It's a pity Pinkerton didn't try doing so. If he had, maybe his readers would be prepared to think clearly when "the Democrats retake power and resume their own ambitious national agenda, [and] happily trample on 'states' rights,' citing the Schiavo legislation as their precedent ...."

I'm not shocked at Pinkerton laying this all on the doorstep of the Religious Right. While being a very tall man my experience of reading and listening to him is that he has it in for Christian conservatives.

He's also wrong if this was all because of the Religious Right. I'm a conservative and strongly pro-life who doesn't consider myself in the same group as James Dobson. I'm more libertarian than Christian conservatives I've encountered. Much of it is because of growing up as a Lutheran in a German-American community. We don't feel the need to overtly display our faith. Our actions should suffice. I'm fighting for Terri's right to life because I worry about the advancement of a Culture of Death. What horrors will my fellow men allow because of the further cheapening of human life?

Add to this almost half the Democrats present in the House of Representatives Sunday night voted for the bill. There are Democrats, Independents, as well as Republicans who are appalled that Terri Schiavo is being starved to death. This was more bipartisan than Pinkerton wants to let on.

"Limited Government, Schiavo, and Pinkerton" [via Althouse]

Vanity: Man's Vulnerability

Meghan Cox Gurdon summons the spirit of C.S. Lewis. Let's all grab a copy of The Screwtape Letters.

"Screwtape Revisited"

Judge Rules Against Terri

A federal judge in Tampa ruled that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should not be reinserted. He determined that Terri's parents had little chance of winning their case. An appeal to a higher court in Atlanta will soon be filed. All the while the clock ticks because Terri is being denied food and water. Federal legislation to move Terri's case to federal court in no way was a guarantee she would be saved from a cruel death.

"Judge Rejects Schiavo Appeal"

"A VERY Bad Sign"

Terri Schiavo's federal court hearing worries Andy McCarthy. The judge didn't immediately order the feeding tube to be reinserted. McCarthy writes,

De novo review regardless of what went on in the state courts should mean it is a brand new ballgame – the federal court owes no deference to any of the matters raised or ruled on in the state courts. Given the voluminous nature of the record generated in Florida, there is no way this case can be decided quickly if it is to be reviewed responsibly. Terri Schiavo would be dead in the time that would take. So, manifestly, the only proper thing for the judge to do was to order the feeding tube replaced forthwith the minute the case was filed. If Terri’s parents lose their case, the tube can always be removed again. But if Terri dies while the judge is spinning his wheels, she and her parents can never be made whole.

Public Opinion Trumps No Clear Wish

It's interesting how Judge Greer used the testimony of Beverly Tyler. She told the court that when Terri made her casual remarks about using extraodinary medical procedures other Americans her age, her "reference class," felt that living on machines was cruel. As Lydia McGrew puts it, "[W]hat the deuce is Ms. Tyler's evidence doing in here at all?" Judge Greer as well as the 2nd District Court of Appeal decided that in the face of no living will and nothing more than casual remarks about extraordinary medical procedures the general opinions of other's Terri's age should determine if her feeding tube should be removed.

"The Right to Live and the Right Reference Class: Part II"

A Difficult Dilemma

Kevin McCullough links to the Terri Schiavo legislation passed earlier this morning. Let me highlight the last section:

SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

It is the Sense of Congress that the 109th Congress should consider policies regarding the status and legal rights of incapacitated individuals who are incapable of making decisions concerning the provision, withholding, or withdrawal of foods, fluid, or medical care.

Such consideration would be a better use of Congress' time than possibly regulating steroids in baseball. But discussion should include the law, signed by Governor George Bush, that allowed a hospital to turn off the respirator for an almost six-month-old.

There are serious federalism issues that are involved. That's why I give only two cheers for Congress acting on behalf of Terri. Despite what the legislation states a precedent has been set. Expect other families in similar dilemmas petitioning Congress and crying hypocrisy when they don't act. Hard cases make bad law. That maxim is probably true. But as Professor Bainbridge writes, "In sum, the culture of life and the rule of law appear to be in unavoidable conflict. Both are central values of a free and just society. All of which makes it extremely difficult to decide where one stands on this issue." Just pray that we're doing the best we can.

"Terry Schiavo, Congress, and First Principles"

Biased Poll Questions

Orin Kerr examines the wording of an opinion poll on Terri Schiavo's case. Can you say leading questions?

"Biased Questions in the ABC Schiavo Poll"

Dehydrating to Death

Fraters Libertas points us to an article from The Weekly Standard describing the agony one goes through as they are deprived of food and water. Not something to read first thing in the morning, but people need to realize what Terri is already going through.

A conscious [cognitively disabled] person would feel it just as you or I would. They will go into seizures. Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack. They may have nosebleeds because of the drying of the mucus membranes, and heaving and vomiting might ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining. They feel the pangs of hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without a glass of water! Death by dehydration takes ten to fourteen days. It is an extremely agonizing death.

After seven to nine days [from commencing dehydration] they begin to lose all fluids in the body, a lot of fluids in the body. And their blood pressure starts to go down. When their blood pressure goes down, their heart rate goes up. . . Their respiration may increase and then . . . the blood is shunted to the central part of the body from the periphery of the body. So, that usually two to three days prior to death, sometimes four days, the hands and the feet become extremely cold. They become mottled. That is you look at the hands and they have a bluish appearance. And the mouth dries a great deal, and the eyes dry a great deal and other parts of the body become mottled. And that is because the blood is now so low in the system it's shunted to the heart and other visceral organs and away from the periphery of the body . . .

This isn't just letting someone "slip away." This is going to take 10 to 14 days. How humane of a society are we? People are more up in arms about a proposal in Wisconsin to allow the shooting of feral cats than they are about this.

Happy Family

Terri's parents and hot sister (must find pics) just told reporters their happiness with the passage of the Terri Schiavo bill.

House Voting Begins

The speeches are over. The House is voting.

UPDATE: Still waiting for the voting to end. Read Paul's no-holds-barred blasting of the Democrats.

UPDATE II: The bill has passed 200-55. Obviously, not everybody showed up to vote.

UPDATE III: The country is safe. Congress is in recess until April.

Terri Schiavo and Her Father

Drudge played audio of Terri Schiavo and her father last Friday after her feeding tube was removed. Take it for what it's worth.

"Audio of Terri Schiavo after the Tube was Removed!"

UPDATE: Blue State Conservatives reports that Terri's brother told Glenn Beck the audio was from 2004. [via Michelle Malkin]

House is Now in Session

The House is again in session to pass a bill to move Terri Schiavo's case to federal court.

UPDATE: C-SPAN reports that after three hours of debate a vote will take place shortly after midnight Monday morning.

UPDATE II: Rep. Wexler declares 19 judges have ruled Terri should die, many medical experts have declared Terri

There are many questions left unanswered:

• Why hasn't an MRI been performed on Terri?

• Should we regard a casual comment to be legally binding when Terri Schiavo never signed a living will?

• When such a dilemna is at hand why call for Terri's death and not fall on the side of life?
  

In 2003, Wesley Smith asked plenty of other questions.

It appears Rep. Wasserman Schultz reads weblogs. She just pointed out President Bush's conflict between what he has said about Terri Schiavo and what law he signed while governor of Texas [via OTB].

UPDATE III: To get a little lighthearted (and this issue needs it) but Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) seems to have lost weight. Good for him. He's now less likely to have a stroke. Still, I hope Nadler has a living will.

I also get a kick out of Democrats talking about the limits of the federal government. I sympathize with the federalism argument. I wish Congress didn't have to act. I don't know about what the unindented consequences of this law would be.

To get more serious, I learned from Nadler that having a functioning cerebral cortex is the definition of human life. Maybe, maybe not. I admit ignorance. I just wonder if the many people unfortunately born with only a brainstem deserve no love, care, or treatment.

UPDATE IV: Someone should tell Rep. Rick Renzy (R-AZ) that he's wearing an ugly suit. He looks like he just came out of a Vegas casino.

UPDATE V: If I hear one more Congressmen praising a party leader I'll puke. Let's get this vote over with.

Senate Acts for Terri

While House Democrats obstruct Terri Schiavo's federal court hearing, the Senate succeeded in passing the legislation. The House is gathering up enough members for an early Monday morning vote.

"Senate Passes Legislation on Schiavo Case"

Coming to a Store Near You

Terri Schiavo isn't the only Culture of Death story out there. Federal regulators are ready to make a morning after pill, Plan B, available without a prescription. What a country we live in. Vioxx and other pain-relieving medicines are pulled off the market because they slightly increased one's chances of heart attacks, but women will soon be able to pop into a drug store, buy some pills, and kill their unborn child--all without consulting a doctor.

"US Close To Approving Plan B Emergency Contraceptive"

"FDA Expects to Ease Plan B Availability"

Still No Congressional Action

Congressional Republicans were all set to pass a bill to get Terri Schiavo a hearing in federal court. Because legislators are away on Easter Break the House of Representatives were going to pass the bill with a voice vote. President Bush cut short his Texas ranch weekend. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) gaveled a session today only to recess it immediately.

But then we learn Democrats prefer to have Terri die. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) wraps it in quasi-federalism:

The Republicans in Congress do not like the results that the Florida courts have reached and they are going to this extraordinary remedy of now stripping the Florida court of its jurisdiction so that maybe there can be another outcome.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) decided that those who want to prolong human life are "intolerant."

Politically it's a dumb move. The move ticks off the right-to-life crowd which is bigger and more organized than euthanasia backers. More importantly having a hearing in federal court doesn't mean Michael Schiavo won't still get his wish to have his wife die. All the bill would do is allow a federal court hearing. There's no guarantee Terri's parents would win.

"Democrats Won't Expedite Schiavo Bill; Vote Delayed"

"Democrats Block Voice Vote In House"

UPDATE: The Kentucky Packrat doesn't see Terri's plight as part of the Culture of Death so much as the "Culture of Me." [via The Anchoress]

Congress Soon to Act on Terri's Behalf

Congressional leaders expect to pass some kind of legislation in the next day or so to allow Terri Schiavo's case to be heard in federal court. It would buy her some time, but unless new facts (i.e. more tests including an MRI) are allowed into her case this would just delay the inevitable.

"Congress Reaches Deal in Schiavo Case"

On a Roll

Over at The Corner Mark Levin is making some interesting points [and here and here and here] about judges vs. Congress.

Pessimism

There's someone more depressed than me about the removal of Terri Shiavo's feeding tube.

We no longer inhabit "civilization" -- we are barbarians.
...
This is the way the world -- our world, the Western world, the world of civilization, of humane men and generous hearts, the world of magnificent art and great literature, the world brought about by Christianity -- ends. Can you hear it? Can you hear civilization end? The whimpers of Terri Schiavo on her deathbed signify what we have lost.

If Matthew Sitman would have been around when Roe v. Wade became law of the land he probably would have pulled a Heaven's Gate or Jonestown.

I'm not as dramatic or pessimistic as Sitman. Sure, we've witnessed a moment of great saddness. We've seen how the law can be an ass and allow someone to suffer a crueler death than that of a pet. Let's not go over the deep end. Annual abortions are going down. Teen pregnancy and sexual activity are also going down. These are some of the social trends that make me hopeful about the future.

It's painful knowing someone is dying unjustly. That's a useful feeling to let us know we still live in an imperfect world filled with much injustice. "The fight for life is always real." We must never waver from defending the innocent and defenseless.

"This is the Way the World Ends"