Lessons of the Schiavo Battle

LIFE OR DEATH : Mary and Robert Schindler, the parents of Terri, speak to the media

CHRISTOPHER MORRIS / VII FOR TIME

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Some on the religious right think the Schiavo case shows that their agenda is more realistic than ever. "When I heard that Senate minority leader Harry Reid was with us, I thought I had died and gone to heaven," says the Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition. "[This] says that being pro-life is respectable and has political credibility. The issue is broadening; it isn't just abortion."

If people like Sheldon get their way, it will be about almost everything that encompasses the so-called culture-of-life movement, including restricting stem-cell research and assisted suicide. Social conservatives are almost certain to use the Schiavo case as another weapon in the coming war against what they castigate as judicial activism, the practice of creating new rights from the bench. As Frist contemplates the so-called nuclear option of trying to take away congressional Democrats' ability to filibuster President Bush's controversial judicial nominees, Schiavo is sure to be a rallying cry. In particular, critics fervently believe that the federal courts that heard the Schindlers' appeals largely ignored Congress's will by not following the bill's order to conduct a thorough re-examination of the case, formally called a de novo review. "In this instance, judges have essentially made themselves the supreme political power and simply aren't willing to listen to other branches of government," says Don Feder, communications director of Vision America, a Texas-based Christian conservative group.

Some Democrats tried to make political hay out of the fact that Republicans were rallying to the defense of Schiavo, much of whose care has been paid for by a malpractice settlement along with Medicaid, just when the G.O.P. was trying to limit such awards and cut Medicaid spending. Even if that doesn't help their case on specific issues, some Democrats believe the Schiavo episode may change voters' general perception of the two parties. "This is a cold, bracing slap in the face for a lot of Americans, as to the degree they want these very personal issues debated upon in a political forum," says Democratic political consultant David Axelrod.