It's unclear whether the broad legislation will be applied to Schiavo, but the bill's sponsor, Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said that was his hope.
"If I have my way, we'll get it passed by the 18th (of March)," he said, the date which a judge has set for the removal of the severely brain damaged woman's feeding tube.
For all those who are emailing the Florida Legislature, please continue to do so. I have been able to obtain a listing of all the emails in the Florida House and if you are committed to sending each legislator an email in support of HB701, email me at thebandwagon-at-gmail.com and I will send you this list as well.
There is another bill introduced in Congress that could also save Terri's life. I have put more emphasis on this Florida bill only because it seems to be the more immediate hope. Progress is already being made and remember many of these same legislators voted to enact "Terri's Law" that saved Terri from starvation before.
Also one thing that I think I should mention. While I was in college, I interned for a local state representative. Their schedules and demands are completely different than that of a US congressman. Not that State Representatives don't have an important job, they do, they make sure who they represent has a voice. As a State Rep., your pool of voices is a lot smaller and more effective than someone in Congress who is representing a great deal more people. If you feel like your letter won't matter, you're wrong.
As an intern, I spent a lot of my time researching and responding to constituent mail. Each letter was given precedent. If there were many on the same subjects they were forwarded to the state rep's assistant who made sure that they were made know to the representative and placed on his agenda. As a local politician he could not afford to lose the vote of many people who were united for a cause. Write them, take the time to let them know the urgency of the matter; I can assure you that your words will make a difference.