Ghosts of Schiavo

A big coalition of conservative groups is opposing President Obama's nominee for the No. 3 job at the Justice Department thanks to his work in the Terri Schiavo end-of-life case.

Thomas J. Perrelli, a Washington-based attorney whom President Obama nominated to be associate U.S. attorney general, helped represent Schiavo's husband, Michael, in various appeals in the years-long court battles over whether his brain-damaged wife should live or die.

Officials from the Family Rearch Council, National Right to Life Committee, Students for Life and the Eagle Forum were among 30 conservative leaders who sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week opposing the confirmation of Perrelli and two other high-ranking Justice Department nominees.

"If confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve in high offices within the Department of Justice, Dawn Johnsen, David Ogden, and Thomas J. Perrelli could have a dramatic impact on the state of this nation’s legal order," the letter said. "Each of these nominees has made public comments or has taken positions indicating strong support for a shift in national policy regarding the culture of life.  Whatever one thinks of the culture of life, dramatic shifts in policy on such important national questions should not happen without serious deliberation."

Perrelli, an intellectual property rights attorney by trade, helped Michael Schiavo's primary attorney, George Felos of Dunedin, with cases before the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Terri Schiavo's care.

Mrs. Schiavo, of Pinellas County, was in a persistent vegetative state, doctors said, and her husband maintained she would not want to be kept alive. Her parents disagreed. Congress passed a law giving federal courts the power to examine the case, but the Supreme Court declined to intervene.

Perrelli's law firm, Jenner & Block of Washington, honored his pro bono work in the case in 2006.

"Mr. Perrelli led the Jenner & Block team that developed the legal briefs opposing appeals by Mrs. Schiavo’s parents in light of a congressional act that gave the federal courts jurisdiction in the case," the firm said in announcing the award.

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Comments

Pull the plug on Jeb. His career is finished.

[Jonas]

can anyone say D-i-s-t-r-a-c-t-i-o-n

Please, do they really want to make us think of the cost the legislators, GOP mind you, spent on everyone rushing back to DC.

Stay out of my personal business. For the people who want a "smaller" government, they sure do want it to have a lot of tentacles.

Obama won. You lost. Get over it.

[dubya]

I know jeb (pause) He is my fathers son,,
well I am my fathers son but my name is not jeb,,,,what I mean is, my father has a son named jeb,,,,,and I know him,,,, (pause)
he is tall,,,,
I have done everything in my power to make sure jeb,,,,(you know my fathers other son) is well known,,,,well as the one who isn't the bright one!!!
The bright son that is,,,,or isn't I mean jeb,this other son isn't the brightest.
You can fool us bushes some of the time,and and sometimes you can fool all of us,,,,,ummmm fool me,,,,,,ummmmm
I want to tell you jeb,well he is tall and a republican, my mother,the ugly woman that used to live in the bush house,,,,I mean white house,well she likes jeb better then me,and you can fool a fool most of the time,but a bush can be fooled all the time,,,,

[Sybil]

Why isn't the National Right to Life Committee working harder to ensure that all children are in loving homes, getting nagged by someone who loves them to brush their teeth, not going to sleep hungry, able to have good health and dental care?

Why aren't they helping unwed pregnant mothers in Florida get the same assistance for college education that other states offer? Why are they not willing to help unwed mothers with free childcare? What about free prenatal care? And then free WellChild care?

Why hasn't every member adopted a child available in Florida?

Why don't they fight for the 5,000,000th breath, instead of just the first?

They seem to be ProBirth vs. ProLife.

[Laila]

Didn't this group endorse Fred Thompson?

Guess they support Viagra more than healthy children, huh.

ADOPT A UNWANTED CHILD, OR SHUT YOUR FREAKING PIE HOLES AND STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE DECISIONS, YOUR ROTTEN, CORRUPT, IMMORAL HYPOCRITES!

2:46 NOT.

More religious stupidity...Where is the "sanctity of marriage" crowd on this Schiavo case? The poor woman's body was kept breathing by a machine. The anti-abortion crowd gets their panties in a knot about this case, but they are nowhere to be seen as far as the placement of abandoned children.
There simply wouldn't be a foster parent system if these anti-abortion phonies actually cared about human life.
Stop mouthing Christianist words, and start living according to the humble examples of Jesus. Non-believers like me might actually take you clowns seriously.