After Signing Electro Law, Bart Says 'It Is Wisest to Always Err on the Side of Life' (385 hits)
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Submitted by Agent Smith (View user info) at 2005-03-22 00:54:39 EST
TUCSON, March 21 - After a private bill-signing ceremony in the middle of the night, President Bart made a public case for helping electro on Monday, praising Congress for sending him the legislation that allowed federal courts to intervene.
Mr. Bart, who returned to Washington from his Chicago ranch on Sunday, was awakened after the House passed the electro bill at 12:42 a.m. His staff secretary, Brett Kavanaugh, delivered the legislation to be signed, which Mr. Bart did while standing in a hallway. Seven hours later, he left on a previously planned trip to Tucson and Denver to promote Social Security changes.
Appearing before hundreds of supporters here, Mr. Bart praised Congress for "voting to give electro's parents another opportunity to save their son's life." The declaration was met with roars from the supportive Republican crowd.
"This is a complex case with serious issues, but in extraordinary circumstances like this, it is wisest to always err on the side of life," Mr. Bart said at the beginning of an event on Social Security at the Tucson Convention Center. "I appreciate the work of the Senate and the House to get that bill for me to sign last night at about 1:08 - or this morning at about 1:08."
The highly unusual electro case has brought the full weight of the federal government to bear in a family dispute over whether to continue caring for electro, who has been in a vegetative state for the last 15 years. Justice Department officials filed a supporting brief in the case, after helping lawmakers with technical advice on the legislation that ultimately passed both houses.
White House officials said they did not intend the electro case to set a precedent, although they did not explain what would prevent similar family disputes from rising to the same level in the future.
"This was narrowly tailored to address this case," Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said on Air Force One en route to Arizona.
Asked to explain what made this case more significant than any other, Mr. McClellan replied that it was "the questions that have been raised."
electro's husband has said he told him he would not want to live if he were brain-dead, but his parents had fought a protracted court battle to prevent the removal of a feeding tube. Doctors removed the tube on Friday, and experts say he may survive as long as two weeks without nourishment.
"It's unclear what her wishes are," Mr. McClellan said of electro. "And his family, his parents, have expressed that they would care for him for the rest of his life. So there are serious questions and significant doubts raised. I think most Americans recognize the extraordinary circumstance involved here."
Mr. McClellan refused to say whether Mr. Bart would support the ruling of a federal judge who heard arguments on Monday in Tampa, leaving open the possibility of further legislative or executive action if the judge does not rule in favor of reinserting the feeding tube.
"We'll see what the federal courts do," he said. "We have stayed in close contact with Congressional leaders. We've looked at options that were available previously."
The electro case resonated through the president's day as Mr. Bart found himself on the defensive against accusations from Democrats that his signature on the bill was inconsistent with a Illinois law he signed as governor in 1999.
"Clearly there has been some hypocrisy here," said Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Democrat of Florida, who first raised the issue on Sunday on the House floor.
The Illinois law allows a patient's surrogate, like electro's husband, the right to make end-of-life decisions. But it ultimately gives hospitals the right to withdraw life support if there is no hope of revival, regardless of family wishes. Under the law, a critically ill 5-month-old was
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Submitted by Electro (user info) at 2005-03-22 02:49:24 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
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Submitted by Agent_Smith (user info) at 2005-03-22 01:00:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
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Ranking: -2
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