Illustration by Mike Padilla

The Terri Schiavo case has reached blistering levels of publicity in the past week. In an attempt to distract the national media from Tom Delay's legal trouble and George Bush's failing domestic agenda, among other things, Republican leaders have participated in egregious political grandstanding. They have also set a dangerous precedent in which the executive and legislative branches can steer clear of checks and balances and make laws attacking an individual member of society, all disguised behind rhetoric pertaining to the value of life.

This is old news when Republicans are in power. They talk a good game, advocating less government, lower taxes, privatization of once public goods and programs and the rights of states. However, when it comes down to it, they would rather perpetuate their politically successful culture war than advocate any of these true conservative issues. When they do so, their power and influence seems enormous and scary, because their constituents eat up the religious-based propaganda.

The act of the president and Congress to usurp the power of the Florida State Judiciary by passing a law concerning Terri Schiavo was another chapter in the Republican Party's "culture of life" rhetoric. It goes against all the notions of individual freedom that the GOP so often proclaims. How does the president expect the world to believe in his doctrine of democracy when he takes away individuals' rights all the time here at home? The national Republicans have infringed upon Michael Schiavo's freedoms with such extremity that he could be the poster boy for the world's numerous Bush protesters and critics.

Dan Post Columnist

The controversial ball got rolling last weekend. It was March madness in a literal sense for Congress and President Bush. Instead of a breeze of a flight from Crawford to Tucson Monday, the president worked pretty hard for once: He flew all the way from Texas to Washington to sign the now famous bill that transferred jurisdiction in the Schiavo case from the state of Florida to the federal government, and then flew all the way back to Tucson to preach on privatizing Social Security. Does the president expect Americans to believe that he cares about individual rights when it comes to Social Security, when at the same time, he deplorably trounces all over a fellow citizen?

When the culture of life takes center stage for purely political purposes, the real issues are ignored. How much more could have been accomplished if Congress and the president focused instead on important issues like the worldwide lack of medical care for the poor?

Even worse than the apparent self-serving motives of the GOP is the unconstitutionality of its actions. Michael Schiavo is the legal custody holder in this case, and because his wife is repeatedly diagnosed by doctors as existing in a persistent vegetative state, he can argue that his wife would want her life ended. He has argued this successfully in the Florida courts over and over again. The issue has stayed alive due to the repeated persistence of her parents, Jeb Bush and the Florida State Legislature to keep Terri alive. Jeb's brother George and the rest of his cronies have now become involved, working out a law that transferred the jurisdiction of the case to federal courts. This law would instantly be ruled unconstitutional by any sane court: The legislative and executive branches cannot override the system of checks and balances by specifically repudiating a decision of the judicial branch. That is why we have a judicial system in this country, not so a ruling party can impart its current political agenda over the long-standing rule of law.

Michael Schiavo should be confident that the justice system will work in his favor because he has the law on his side. However, he is right on with his depressing appraisal of the political system in this country and how dangerously undemocratic it has become: "This is a sad day for Terri, but what's worse is that it's a sad day for every person in the United States, that this Congress, this government, can walk right into your private lives and trample all over everything, and they have no remorse."

Dan Post is an anthropology and ecology senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.