Letter from a Senator

Before Terri Schiavo died, I sent a letter to my Senator, Sam Brownback, requesting that he do whatever he could to sway the opinions of those who wanted to allow her to die. I also sent him a link to the post I wrote about this very topic.

I never expected to hear anything back, but I did, just today, by mail. Here is a part of it:

"The right to life is a basic founding principle of our nation. Every human life is unique and beautiful, and deserving of respect. As a human being, Terri Schiavo should not [have been] defrauded of this basic right.

"For this reason, I have co-sponsored The Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act of 2005, which was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) on March 8, 2005. The bill would amend Chapter 153 of title 28 of the U.S. Code to ensure that individuals like Terri Schiavo are granted the same due process rights under habeas corpus as those given a death row inmate.

"Habeas corpus refers to those legal rights authorized by the 14th Constitutional Amendment: 'No State shall deprive any person of life without due process of law nor deny any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws.' Terri, in effect, [faced] a death penalty, since her life [ended] by a court-ordered removal of her feeding tube. I believe that every life is a precious gift. Rest assured that I will continue my stand for an individual's right to life no matter the age or situation. Thank you for your support for Terri and her family."

Here's just a thought, if you're still interested in doing something in memory of Terri or to prevent things like that from happening again: send letters to your representatives and ask them to support this same measure that Mr. Brownback said he's backing.