WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate passed a bill that could prolong Terri Schiavo’s life while House Republicans, stalled by Democrats, scrambled to bring enough lawmakers back to the Capitol for an emergency vote early Monday.

President Bush rushed back from his Texas ranch for a chance to sign the measure that could trigger a federal court review and a quick restoration of feeding tubes needed to keep the brain-damaged Florida woman alive.

Republican supporters said the “Palm Sunday Compromise” would protect the constitutional rights of a disabled person, and denied suggestions that they viewed the case as an opportunity to shore up support among religious conservatives ahead of next year’s elections.

The House began debate on the legislation anew late Sunday, with the plan to vote just past midnight, hours after the Senate approved the bill by voice vote.

“As millions of Americans observe the beginning of Holy Week this Palm Sunday we are reminded that every life has purpose and none is without meaning,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a leader in crafting the bill.

But Rep. Jim Davis, D-Fla., said the congressional action was “a clear threat to our democracy.” Congress, he said, was ignoring the constitutional separation of power and “is on the verge of telling states, courts, judges and juries that their opinions, deliberations and decisions do not matter.”

The White House said the president would act as soon as the measure reaches him.

“We ought to err on the side of life in a case like this,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. Asked about a bill that would cover a single person, he said, “I think most people recognize that this case involves some extraordinary circumstances.”

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the federal district court in Florida, which is open 24 hours a day, had already been informed that a petition would be filed as soon as the president signs the measure – with the presumption a judge will order that the tube be replaced.

“Time is not on Terri Schiavo’s side,” DeLay said. “The few remaining objecting House Democrats have so far cost Mrs. Schiavo two meals already today.”

Even though the legislation would pave an avenue for federal jurisdiction in the legal case, there was no way to determine in advance how or when a judge would rule – or even which judge would be assigned the case by lottery.

Lawmakers who left Washington on Friday for the two-week Easter recess had to make abrupt changes in plans, backtracking for a dramatic and politically contentious vote.

In a special session Sunday afternoon, Democrats refused to allow the bill to be passed without a roll call vote.

Under House rules, such a vote could not occur before 12:01 a.m. Monday when at least 218 of the 435-member House must appear to establish a quorum. Also, because it was an expedited vote, the measure needed votes from two-thirds of those present for passage.

The House has 232 Republicans, 202 Democrats and one independent.

The legislation would give Schiavo’s parents the right to file suit in federal court over the withdrawal of food and medical treatment needed to sustain the life of their daughter.

It says the court, after determining the merits of the suit, “shall issue such declaratory and injunctive relief as may be necessary to protect the rights” of the woman. Injunctive relief in this case could mean the reinserting of feeding tubes.

“It gives Terri Schiavo another chance,” Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said after the late-afternoon voice vote in a near-empty Senate chamber. “It guarantees a process to help Terri, but does not guarantee a particular outcome.”

Frist also noted that the bill, responding to some Democratic objections, does not affect state assisted suicide laws or serve as a precedent for future legislation.

A Senate bill passed by the House is returned to the Senate enrollment clerk’s office where it is printed on parchment and, when speed is important, driven immediately to the White House by Senate personnel. There, the White House clerk takes custody of the legislation and prepares it for the president to sign into law.

The White House made arrangements for Bush to sign the measure at any hour, although without fanfare.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said members scattered across the globe were being summoned back to Washington by aides to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

The Democratic whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said his office was informing members of the vote and not discouraging them from returning to the capital. But he said the party was not counting votes and was telling members to vote their conscience on the issue.

Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years. Her feeding tubes were removed Friday afternoon at the request of her husband, who says that his wife expressed to him before she fell ill that she did not want to be kept alive under such circumstances.

House and Senate committees at the end of the week issued subpoenas seeking to force the continuation of treatment, but that move was rejected by a Florida court.

Schiavo could linger for one or two weeks if the tube is not reinserted, as has happened twice before.

Republicans distanced themselves from a memo suggesting GOP lawmakers could use the case to appeal to Christian conservative voters and to force Democrats into a difficult vote. DeLay said he and other GOP leaders hadn’t seen the memo and that he would fire any staffer who wrote such a document.

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The bill is S.686.

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