In October of last year I wrote about the Florida legislature and governor wrongfully interfering with the medical care of a woman named Terri Schiavo.  You may remember the case.  Terri has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, a state which all of her doctors agree will likely never be reversed.  In fact, every doctor will agree that there has never been a case of someone recovering from such a state after three months.

Terri has been in this state for more than 13 years.

Terri's husband, Michael, has been trying to let Terri die a comfortable death since she has virtually no chance of recovery, but her family has selfishly circumvented his wishes (and what he says are his wife's wishes) by getting the state government to pass a law enabling the state to take control of her care — literally wresting her medical care away from her husband who, by law, has every right to manage it.

In a turn of events which I had hoped for, a Florida judge has struck down the law as unconstitutional because it violates the disabled woman's right to privacy and delegates legislative power to the governor.

Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird said Terri's Law (as it came to be known) improperly gives the governor "unbridled discretion" and interferes with Terri Schiavo's right to make her own medical decisions.

The judge said Terri's Law "in every instance, ignores the existence of this right and authorizes the governor to act according to his personal discretion."

He said the governor failed to spell out any compelling state interest that would be adequate to override Schiavo's rights.

Although Michael Schiavo says this is a victory for his wife, both sides agree that this will likely end up before the Florida Supreme Court.

I hope that, when it does, they too find that Bush and his cronies in the legislature violated the state's constitution in addition to Terri's rights.

At a time when the greater Bush clan and Republican party are so adamantly protective of marriage and all that it entails (so long as it's not given to homosexuals, that is), this will be an interesting argument.  How do you continue to "protect marriage" while trying to steal a husband's right to manage the medical care of his wife who is no longer able to make such decisions for herself?

As one of the most heated right-to-die battles in this nation's history, I hope this works out in the Schiavo's favor, restoring control of medical care to the spouse, honoring Terri's wish to not be maintained artificially, and essentially bitch-slapping Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature for being selfish criminals who try to use their official power to take rights away from the people of Florida.