Thursday, March 24, 2005

In final analysis, rule of law will prevail for Terri, as well it should

By Laura Berman / The Detroit News

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Given the emotion that surrounds the case of Terri Schiavo, you might expect that, by now, some judges would have lined up to support her parents, Congress and the President of the United States.

Instead, the opposite has happened.

Despite intense pressure from Congress -- which enacted a law Monday diverting her case to the federal courts -- a U.S. District Court judge, a U.S. Appeals Court panel of three, and the full Court of Appeals arrived at the same conclusion this week: Terri Schiavo's feeding tube cannot be reinserted.

By now, 20 judges have overseen this case. On Wednesday, the latest court of review, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, refused to stay last week's order removing Schiavo's feeding tube.

The case invites emotion, even hysteria, because the images of Terri Schiavo, 41 and sweet-faced, are heart-wrenching and disturbing. They create a case that can instantly overwhelm, at least for some, the facts of the case and the thoroughness with which it's been adjudicated.

The emotionalism surrounding this case -- and the way it's been magnified -- obscured the sad reality that, in hospitals and hospices, human tragedy is part of human life.

What isn't everyday is how Terri Schiavo's situation has been twisted and contorted into the latest Cirque du Media -- a frenzy of blogging, innuendo, hypothesizing and political grandstanding. Over the past two days, I've been deluged with mail speculating about the private life and motives of Michael Schiavo, about the inner life of the Florida woman so many now call simply "Terri."

Yet, despite that frenzy, the center held. It held in part because most of us don't want politicians invading hospital rooms or determining the final moments of their loved ones' lives. It held, also, because Schiavo's case is being decided by law, and not by hype and emotionalism.

In a Florida appeals court opinion issued last week, the court ruled that Michael Schiavo's personal life -- or the Schindlers, for that matter -- was entirely beside the point. "In the end, this case is not about the aspirations that loving parents have for their children," wrote Chief Judge Chris Altenbernd. "It is about Theresa Schiavo's right to make her own decision... when families cannot agree, the law (allows) trial judges to serve as surrogates or proxies."

He also noted the trial judge had used a heightened standard of proof to reach his decision.

"Not only has Mrs. Schiavo's case been given due process, but few, if any, similar cases have ever been afforded this heightened level of process," the judge wrote.

The justices have opted not to capitulate to political pressure and, perhaps, to defend the system of separation of powers, constitutional government, and the authority of the judicial branch.

It's an ugly and painful case to watch. A woman is dying before our eyes.

There's no privacy or peace for Terri Schiavo in these final moments of her life. But we can acknowledge a quiet triumph. Congress posed a challenge to the judicial system, trying to influence and override it.

Instead, the system that protects her rights and ours this time held fast.

Laura Berman's column runs Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in Metro. Reach her at (248) 647-7221 or lberman@detnews.com.