Reign in our activist legislators

A woman is dying in Florida today. Anyone who has watched or read the news in the past few months, and specifically the past few days, knows the story of Terri Schiavo. Americans are vastly divided on the issue. Personally, I do not know her intentions. I was not there when she spoke to her husband; however, neither were her parents or the government.

Democracy was dealt a major blow on Saturday when the Senate unanimously passed a bill designed to have Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. Mrs. Schiavo has been in a vegetative state for fifteen years without medical signs of improvement or hope of improvement. Her cerebral cortex became liquidized, rendering her unable to feel. Still, our Senate attempted to circumvent our system of democracy.

First off, Mrs. Schiavo's husband and parents fought to the full extent of the law in existence. The courts sided with Mr. Schiavo, and his wife's feeding tube was removed to allow her death. Moral issues aside, it was outside of our democratic principles for the federal government to write legislation to circumvent the judicial system simply because they do not agree with a decision. Such actions work to disband necessary checks and balances of our federal system.

The second way our Senate disregarded our democratic principles was by passing the legislation unanimously. Lawmakers saw the need to "rein in activist judges." Who is there left to rein in activist politicians who vote the way the wind goes? (My slap to the spineless Democrats in the Senate.) Also, where are the boundaries on those activist politicians who want in our homes, our religions, and our bedrooms? (My slap to the morality-legislating Republicans in the Senate.)

The point is there is a woman lying captive in her own body. If she chooses to live that way that is fine. I personally would not want to live in a vegetative state with no chance for recovery for decades because of pumping machines and super pills. According to a poll run on Friday, 87 percent of Americans in Terri Schiavo's situation would not want to be kept on life support.

How would you feel if you were in such a state? You had told your significant other you would not want to be kept on life support, but now the American government is trying to tell you whether or not you can die. Maybe removing a feeding tube is cruel and painful to some, and we should instead consider legalizing euthanasia. The point is, Mrs. Schiavo has no feeling and entrusted her legal guardian not to let her live in this state. Would you want a machine pumping inside of you multiple times a day doing little more than keeping you from moving on to heaven?