Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Life-and-Death Decision in Florida
Aired October 22, 2003 - 15:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the personal and political fallout from the case of Terri Schiavo. The brain-damaged Florida woman is being rehydrated at a hospital in Clearwater a day after Governor Jeb Bush ordered her feeding tube be reinserted, against the wishes of her husband. Bush acted under a law hastily approved by the state legislature at the urging of Schiavo's parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SCHINDLER SR., FATHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: After the governor viewed Terri's videotapes, and saw that she is not in a condition that she has been described as, that she was very alert and she was very active, she's a live human being and responsive. That's what moved him. So it wasn't an end-run on our part.
GEORGE FELOS, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL SCHIAVO: She was literally taken away under threat of force by the governor from her deathbed. And we had the Florida legislature allow the governor, in essence, to override a person's individual medical treatment choices. I mean, her liberty suffered horribly yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: At last word, Schiavo's husband, Michael, reportedly has barred his wife's family from visiting her at the hospital where she was moved yesterday. They have been battling over her fate for a decade, when the state legislature and Governor Bush stepped in.
We're joined now by a Florida lawmaker who voted to give Governor Bush the power to intervene. She is Republican Sandra Murman.
Representative Murman, first of all, this woman, Terri Schiavo, has been in a comatose state for something like 13 years. She's been the subject of this battle for a decade between her husband and her parents, legions of lawyers on both sides. So much has happened. Are you confident that you had enough information to cast the right vote in this case?
SANDRA MURMAN (R), FLORIDA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, Judy, I'm not sure that we needed 13 years of background information.
All we knew is that -- and what I felt is that letting a person starve to death was very inhumane and very uncivilized. And we are in a very civilized society. And we just didn't feel that that was right, and that the courts had overlooked too many things in the file, the abuse of this disabled individual, the conflicts of interest between the families. And it just -- it seemed like it was the right thing to do.
WOODRUFF: Today, "The Orlando Sentinel," a newspaper in your state, printed an editorial referring to Governor Bush and you and others in the legislature who voted with him, saying that you ignored the Florida Constitution, which plainly states that people have the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's life. What do you say to that?
MURMAN: Well, and that was some arguments that came up in the discussion on the bill on the floor of the House. And I believe that those discussions will take place in the courtroom.
What we are charged with as legislators is to protect these individuals and to protect our families and not let the judicial system become activists and make decisions -- or become more powerful than any other branch much the government. And it was just -- it was an easy decision for us, for a lot of us.
WOODRUFF: So you don't think -- you don't believe you're on a collision course with the Constitution of the state of Florida?
MURMAN: Well, there are other parts of the Constitution that say that Terri should have also had her rights to be heard also. And that's why we allowed in the bill for the governor to appoint a guardian.
So, there's conflicts everywhere. And I believe that those arguments will be heard in the courtroom. But, as far as legislation, we felt like we needed to give the governor the authority to move forward and act in the best interests of this family.
WOODRUFF: All right, Florida State Representative Sandra Murman, who voted to give Governor Jeb Bush that authority yesterday, we thank you very much for talking with us.
MURMAN: Thanks.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
Well, now let's talk more about the political implications of the Schiavo case as an election year approaches. We're going to bring in Peter Wallsten of "The Miami Herald."
Peter, Christian conservatives in the state of Florida had been putting some pressure on Republicans in the state legislature, Governor Jeb Bush to intervene in this case. Is this something that is going to affect Republican fate -- the fate of the Republican Party in the state of Florida?
PETER WALLSTEN, "THE MIAMI HERALD": Well, it could.
The Christian conservative movement is a strong movement in Florida. It's very much a Bible Belt state. Outside of the southern Miami-Dade and Broward County, when you go to central and north Florida, it's very much the Bible Belt. And that's a powerful, important base of the Republican Party.
And Karl Rove himself lamented in a speech in 2001 that perhaps four million Christian conservatives and evangelical voters did not turn out in the 2000 election across the country. And the important thing is not necessarily who they're going to vote for, but whether they'll turn out in 2000.
WOODRUFF: Well, what about in Florida? How significant a voting bloc are you talking about, the Christian conservatives?
WALLSTEN: Well, it's hard to say exactly.
The Christian Coalition has a strong voice here. They have a database of probably about 50,000 names. But the leaders of that group think it could be many, many more who -- many thousands more who read the voter guides that they publish each year. So it is hard to say. But it is a significant enough base that, when you look at the makeup of the legislature, which is very conservative, especially the statehouse, and Governor Bush, who's also very much a strong pro-life conservative, that they do have a voice in the highest levels of government here.
WOODRUFF: So, what bearing are you -- do you think, at this point, this could have on the 2004 presidential election?
WALLSTEN: Well, in Florida, as we all know, it's a 50/50 state. The president won here by, what, 537 votes. So if there are indeed thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people who didn't turn out in 2000 who would be motivated by this issue, certainly that might make a difference. And, also, in Florida, we've got potentially a competitive U.S. Senate race next year.
And so there was a lot of talk yesterday that the House speaker is a candidate for the Senate. And he was also trying to mobilize that base.
WOODRUFF: And, in fact, his name is Johnnie Byrd. And you wrote about him in today's article in "The Miami Herald." You talk about Republicans in Florida being divided over all this, that some are accusing Speaker Byrd of doing this in order to help his own bid for the U.S. Senate. How much is there to that, do you think?
WALLSTEN: Well, it's hard to say. What we do know is that he's a candidate for the U.S. Senate. There's a competitive Republican primary.
One of his opponents is a state senator, Dan Webster, who became the Senate sponsor of this bill this week. And it's a conservative electorate that will probably decide that primary. And these guys are both going after the same base. And can we say what their motives are? We can't say for sure. Of course, they all say politics wasn't the factor. But we do know that at least one of them, Johnnie Byrd, did put out a press release the other night, saying -- a campaign press release -- kind of touting his role in this and saying that he was going to show up on television talking about it. WOODRUFF: Well, I'm sitting -- I'm here listening to the questions I'm asking you and the answers you're giving me, and I'm thinking back to what Representative Sandra Murman was just saying, that this is a heartfelt belief on the part of her and others, that this was something they had to do to save a dying woman. How do you reconcile the two things here?
WALLSTEN: Well, I think that's true for a lot of them. And it was an emotional debate. There were people in tears on the floor of the Senate and the House when they were debating it.
But it's an emotional issue, that's true. Can you say that politics isn't involved? Who knows. But it's hard to say that politics doesn't play a role in anything that happens in a legislature anyway, especially the Florida legislature.
WOODRUFF: All right, Peter Wallsten with "The Miami Herald" -- Peter, thank you very much for talking with me.
WALLSTEN: Thanks.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 22, 2003 - 15:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the personal and political fallout from the case of Terri Schiavo. The brain-damaged Florida woman is being rehydrated at a hospital in Clearwater a day after Governor Jeb Bush ordered her feeding tube be reinserted, against the wishes of her husband. Bush acted under a law hastily approved by the state legislature at the urging of Schiavo's parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SCHINDLER SR., FATHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: After the governor viewed Terri's videotapes, and saw that she is not in a condition that she has been described as, that she was very alert and she was very active, she's a live human being and responsive. That's what moved him. So it wasn't an end-run on our part.
GEORGE FELOS, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL SCHIAVO: She was literally taken away under threat of force by the governor from her deathbed. And we had the Florida legislature allow the governor, in essence, to override a person's individual medical treatment choices. I mean, her liberty suffered horribly yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: At last word, Schiavo's husband, Michael, reportedly has barred his wife's family from visiting her at the hospital where she was moved yesterday. They have been battling over her fate for a decade, when the state legislature and Governor Bush stepped in.
We're joined now by a Florida lawmaker who voted to give Governor Bush the power to intervene. She is Republican Sandra Murman.
Representative Murman, first of all, this woman, Terri Schiavo, has been in a comatose state for something like 13 years. She's been the subject of this battle for a decade between her husband and her parents, legions of lawyers on both sides. So much has happened. Are you confident that you had enough information to cast the right vote in this case?
SANDRA MURMAN (R), FLORIDA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, Judy, I'm not sure that we needed 13 years of background information.
All we knew is that -- and what I felt is that letting a person starve to death was very inhumane and very uncivilized. And we are in a very civilized society. And we just didn't feel that that was right, and that the courts had overlooked too many things in the file, the abuse of this disabled individual, the conflicts of interest between the families. And it just -- it seemed like it was the right thing to do.
WOODRUFF: Today, "The Orlando Sentinel," a newspaper in your state, printed an editorial referring to Governor Bush and you and others in the legislature who voted with him, saying that you ignored the Florida Constitution, which plainly states that people have the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's life. What do you say to that?
MURMAN: Well, and that was some arguments that came up in the discussion on the bill on the floor of the House. And I believe that those discussions will take place in the courtroom.
What we are charged with as legislators is to protect these individuals and to protect our families and not let the judicial system become activists and make decisions -- or become more powerful than any other branch much the government. And it was just -- it was an easy decision for us, for a lot of us.
WOODRUFF: So you don't think -- you don't believe you're on a collision course with the Constitution of the state of Florida?
MURMAN: Well, there are other parts of the Constitution that say that Terri should have also had her rights to be heard also. And that's why we allowed in the bill for the governor to appoint a guardian.
So, there's conflicts everywhere. And I believe that those arguments will be heard in the courtroom. But, as far as legislation, we felt like we needed to give the governor the authority to move forward and act in the best interests of this family.
WOODRUFF: All right, Florida State Representative Sandra Murman, who voted to give Governor Jeb Bush that authority yesterday, we thank you very much for talking with us.
MURMAN: Thanks.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
Well, now let's talk more about the political implications of the Schiavo case as an election year approaches. We're going to bring in Peter Wallsten of "The Miami Herald."
Peter, Christian conservatives in the state of Florida had been putting some pressure on Republicans in the state legislature, Governor Jeb Bush to intervene in this case. Is this something that is going to affect Republican fate -- the fate of the Republican Party in the state of Florida?
PETER WALLSTEN, "THE MIAMI HERALD": Well, it could.
The Christian conservative movement is a strong movement in Florida. It's very much a Bible Belt state. Outside of the southern Miami-Dade and Broward County, when you go to central and north Florida, it's very much the Bible Belt. And that's a powerful, important base of the Republican Party.
And Karl Rove himself lamented in a speech in 2001 that perhaps four million Christian conservatives and evangelical voters did not turn out in the 2000 election across the country. And the important thing is not necessarily who they're going to vote for, but whether they'll turn out in 2000.
WOODRUFF: Well, what about in Florida? How significant a voting bloc are you talking about, the Christian conservatives?
WALLSTEN: Well, it's hard to say exactly.
The Christian Coalition has a strong voice here. They have a database of probably about 50,000 names. But the leaders of that group think it could be many, many more who -- many thousands more who read the voter guides that they publish each year. So it is hard to say. But it is a significant enough base that, when you look at the makeup of the legislature, which is very conservative, especially the statehouse, and Governor Bush, who's also very much a strong pro-life conservative, that they do have a voice in the highest levels of government here.
WOODRUFF: So, what bearing are you -- do you think, at this point, this could have on the 2004 presidential election?
WALLSTEN: Well, in Florida, as we all know, it's a 50/50 state. The president won here by, what, 537 votes. So if there are indeed thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people who didn't turn out in 2000 who would be motivated by this issue, certainly that might make a difference. And, also, in Florida, we've got potentially a competitive U.S. Senate race next year.
And so there was a lot of talk yesterday that the House speaker is a candidate for the Senate. And he was also trying to mobilize that base.
WOODRUFF: And, in fact, his name is Johnnie Byrd. And you wrote about him in today's article in "The Miami Herald." You talk about Republicans in Florida being divided over all this, that some are accusing Speaker Byrd of doing this in order to help his own bid for the U.S. Senate. How much is there to that, do you think?
WALLSTEN: Well, it's hard to say. What we do know is that he's a candidate for the U.S. Senate. There's a competitive Republican primary.
One of his opponents is a state senator, Dan Webster, who became the Senate sponsor of this bill this week. And it's a conservative electorate that will probably decide that primary. And these guys are both going after the same base. And can we say what their motives are? We can't say for sure. Of course, they all say politics wasn't the factor. But we do know that at least one of them, Johnnie Byrd, did put out a press release the other night, saying -- a campaign press release -- kind of touting his role in this and saying that he was going to show up on television talking about it. WOODRUFF: Well, I'm sitting -- I'm here listening to the questions I'm asking you and the answers you're giving me, and I'm thinking back to what Representative Sandra Murman was just saying, that this is a heartfelt belief on the part of her and others, that this was something they had to do to save a dying woman. How do you reconcile the two things here?
WALLSTEN: Well, I think that's true for a lot of them. And it was an emotional debate. There were people in tears on the floor of the Senate and the House when they were debating it.
But it's an emotional issue, that's true. Can you say that politics isn't involved? Who knows. But it's hard to say that politics doesn't play a role in anything that happens in a legislature anyway, especially the Florida legislature.
WOODRUFF: All right, Peter Wallsten with "The Miami Herald" -- Peter, thank you very much for talking with me.
WALLSTEN: Thanks.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com