It is reprehensible that our Congress, in the middle of the night with many members absent, passed the “Schiavo” bill referring the issue of reinserting her feeding tube to a federal court.

This is a very political maelstrom created by the Christian right wing and the Republican Party for obvious political reasons.

Isn’t 15 years in a vegetative state long enough to be believable? Is it morally right to trample, with disregard, on the sanctity of the husband-wife relationship? Is it legally right for the federal court to subvert states’ rights by taking jurisdiction of this issue away from the Florida state court?

For those who do not understand that it was politically motivated, consider this:

• A Republican Party memo last weekend suggested that GOP lawmakers could use this case to appeal to Christian voters and to force Democrats into a difficult vote.

• House Majority Leader, Tom Delay, R-Texas, already in legal difficulty due to ethics violations, was quoted as saying in a speech to the Family Research Council; “The Schiavo case was sent to us from heaven.”

I can’t be sure what he meant by that comment, but it doesn’t sound as though he were expressing compassion for Terri Schiavo.

I’ll let others be the judge.

Ronald K. Melendy, Hartford

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