The Deadline--Literally

The deadline looms today for Terri Schiavo. President Bush has said that our presumption should be in favor of life and of protecting those who depend on us. Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida has continued to fight valiantly, as he has done since the beginning of this controversy, on behalf of Terri Schiavo. Now, GOP House leaders have issued congressional subpoenas to stop the initiation of the starvation process for Terri that is set for 1 p.m. today (see MSNBC Report). Take note: all are Republicans. I have yet to see one prominent Democrat take a public stand in favor of Terri Schiavo. The Democratic Party is the party of anything goes--including abandoning the right to life.

As a former Democrat, I am proud to be a Republican today. In Lincoln's time, the party of Lincoln stood against slavery which is the treating of human beings as disposable property. Today, the Bush Republican Party--at the state level in the form of the Governor of Florida, at the congressional level, and at the level of the White House--is united in fighting against the new slavery which sees human beings as the disposable property of others. In the Schiavo case, Terri is being treated as the disposable property of her "husband" who already has set up a household with children from another woman. In abortion, human beings are treated as the disposable property of the pregnant woman. Euthanasia and abortion are the new slavery. And, from where I sit, I am proud to be a member of the party of Lincoln and Bush. Yes, we must make choices. I and many other former Democrats have made our choice clear and do not regret it in the least.