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By AndrewHyman Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Although this blog is about filibusters of judicial nominations, perhaps a brief comment about the Schiavo matter would not be too far afield.

This is a tragic situation, of course, and both sides are apparently trying to do the right thing. So any hateful rhetoric on either side is probably not appropriate.

Congress may or may not have power to intervene. It would be much better if the people and government of Florida would resolve this matter. Congress may have power, under the Comerce Clause, to regulate hospices and physicians; there's also the Equal Protection Clause, which allows Congress to require that states protect people equally from being killed. But, if Congress does have power to intervene in matters like this, it is at the outer reaches of what Congress can legitimately do. Much better for the people and government of Florida to address all of this without well-intentioned interference from Congress.

Some people say that the Supreme Court meddles in state affairs all the time, so Congress should too. But that disregards the fact that the Constitution limits the powers of Congress and the Supreme Court in entirely different ways.

So, what should the people and government of Florida do in a situation like this? In my opinion, when there is not clear evidence of a person's intent (e.g. a "living will"), then the family should be allowed to make this kind of decision to let the person die, if it is clear to courts that the person is in a permanent vegetative state. However, if the family is divided, then there should be a presumption in favor of life.

It seems very strange that the Florida legislature has not been able to arrive at this sort of reasonable conclusion.