No, no, no!

I've mentioned before here that I think the Democrats should continue to let Republicans take target practice at their feet for this whole Terri Schiavo ordeal. So it was a little disheartening to read this:

On Sunday, lawmakers of both parties agreed that Congress has a role to play in such cases and should contemplate legislation that would give added legal recourse to patients like Ms. Schiavo. While it is difficult to predict whether such a measure could pass, the Schiavo case has clearly pushed thorny questions about end-of-life care to the fore on Capitol Hill, as well as in state legislatures around the nation.

I'm not sure how much more "added legal recourse" cases like this need. Fifteen years seems like plenty to me. Imagine this battle did move up the federal ladder, and the case began anew. More than likely, patients would end up dying before a final court verdict was reached.

And, of course, this case did go through a federal appeals process prior to the midnight legislation a few weeks ago. All the courts ruled that Terri's rights had not been violated and upheld the rulings of the Florida courts.

Democrats should not be saying now "Yeah, we should do something about this." They should instead begin reinforcing the idea that this is an issue for families, not for politicians to decide.