04 August 2005

What about Susan Torres?

Susan Torres, a 26-year-old woman, fell into a coma last May following a stroke, which had been brought on by the spread of melanoma to her brain. She was pregnant at the time, and she was kept on life support until the fetus was developed enough to be delivered. That happened on Tuesday, following which her life support was turned off and she died.

Where are the screaming crowds that surrounded Terry Schiavo's death? The pronouncements from conservative politicians, the emergency flights from Crawford to sign legislation, the thundering from sermonizers?

There are differences between this case and Schiavo's, to be sure. There have been no reported disagreements between family members over the best course of action, and no court cases. No one, no matter how ill-informed, has been heard claiming that she was anything other than brain-dead. But that shouldn't matter to the "culture of life" crowd. She was alive, the means that kept her alive were removed, and she died.

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the Republicans, and the Bush administration, have been silent this time simply for political reasons. It turned out that their actions in the Schiavo case just didn't poll very well. Funny how those principles get abandoned, huh?

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