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From the NewsMax.com Staff
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Thursday, June 16, 2005 11:35 a.m. EDT
Sen. Martinez: 'Second Thoughts' on Schiavo Action
Following the release of Terri Schiavo's autopsy results, Florida Sen. Mel Martinez says he has "second thoughts" about Republicans’ efforts to involve the federal goverment in the case.
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"I've probably come to the view this has to be more resolved at the state level," said Sen. Martinez, who was one of the leaders in the move to have the case reviewed in a federal court.
"I've had second thoughts as to whether a federal review was the right way to go or not. But it’s always good to err on the side of giving someone a chance.
"I had on my mind that she was going to heal one day, although I didn't know."
The autopsy concluded that Schiavo's brain damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have improved her condition.
But Republican reaction to the results has varied widely:
Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana said that in his five years in office, Congress did its "worst job communicating" during the Schiavo controversy.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, who had said "Terri Schiavo is not brain dead" and called the removal of her feeding tube an "act of barbarism," had no comment about the autopsy results. A spokesman said only that DeLay's "thoughts and prayers remain with the family and friends of Terri Schiavo."
Senate majority leader Bill Frist, a transplant surgeon, had said after viewing videotape of Schiavo that she was responsive and "not brain dead." Frist didn't respond to questions about the autopsy findings, but his spokeswoman Amy Call told reporters that Frist "never made a diagnosis."
Another spokesman, Bob Stevenson, said, "It's clear that the autopsy provides additional medical information on her condition at the time her feeding tube was removed.”
Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania was unrepentant when asked if he had second thoughts about the effort to keep Schiavo alive, saying he had "none whatsoever." He added, "Where a state court tries to take the life of somebody, there should be a federal review."
Democrats were quick in trying to make hay of the autopsy results, with Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts saying they were "particularly a problem for Dr. Frist," a likely presidential candidate in 2008. "This is a direct refutation of his TV diagnosis."
But White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the autopsy "doesn’t change the position that the president took.
"The President believes we should stand on the side of defending and protecting life."
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