Judge demands Gov. Bush justify his intervention in Schiavo case

By Sean Mussenden
Orlando Sentinel
Posted November 19 2003

Gov. Jeb Bush must cease two weeks of legal delays and defend his intervention in a nationally watched right-to-die case, a judge ordered Tuesday.

It was the third time Pinellas Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird ordered Bush's lawyers to argue why "Terri's Law," which allowed the governor to overturn a court order last month and restore Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, doesn't violate the constitutional rights of the severely brain-damaged woman.

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Its very clear from the way this is going that "Terri's Law" will be declared unconstitutional. It appears that what Mr. Bush is attempting to do is delay any ruling until the guardian ad litem advises the governor about Terri's rather dim prospects for recovery. Bad news from an independent doctor will give Bush the political cover he needs to let this matter slip out of his office and avoid the embarrassment of having signed clearly and unequivocally unconstitutional legislation. Unfortunately, Mr. Bush and the Florida state legislature have converted what should have been an entirely private matter into a matter of political convenience. What we now have is a starnger who never knew Terri and whom Terri never knew making critical decisions about her care and well-being.