The Palm Sunday Compromise, formally known as the Act for the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo, is an Act of Congress passed on March 21, 2005, to allow the case of Terri Schiavo to be moved into a federal court. The name "Palm Sunday Compromise" was coined by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, referring to it having been passed on Palm Sunday. All of the federal petitions and appeals of Terri Schiavo's parents to maintain her life support were denied, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari. In addition to this specific United States federal legislation, there was extensive other government involvement in the Terri Schiavo case at the Florida state and federal levels, none of which ultimately prevented the removal of her feeding tube.

Passage of the Act

On March 19, congressional leaders announced that they were drafting a bill which would transfer the case from state court to federal court. In the early hours of March 20 and 21, Congress approved emergency legislation. The Senate first approved the bill (S. 686 CPS) on Palm Sunday, March 20, on a 3-0 voice vote of Senators Bill Frist (R-TN), Rick Santorum (R-PA), and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill was received in the House of Representatives at 9:02 p.m., and deliberation continued during the unusual Sunday session. When it came to a vote, the bill passed 203-58 (156 Republicans and 47 Democrats in favor, 5 Republicans and 53 Democrats against), with 174 Representatives (74 Republicans and 100 Democrats) not present on the floor at the time of the vote. The vote concluded at 12:41 a.m. EST; President Bush returned from vacation at his Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, to Washington, D.C., and signed the bill at 1:11 a.m., when it became Public Law 109-3.

Provisions

The act applied only to the parents of Terri Schiavo — not Terri Schiavo herself — and gave federal courts jurisdiction to review alleged violations of her constitutional rights, without regard to prior state court rulings (a review de novo, effectively wiping out the previous decade of litigation). However, Congress did not attempt to create any new substantive rights for Schiavo, or include any provision requiring the federal court to order reinsertion of the feeding tube pending review. In practice, the act only delayed the removal of the feeding tube. Like in state court, the parents' federal claims were denied, first by federal judge James D. Whittemore, and then by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Finally the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari, effectively bringing an end to the prolonged litigation.

Criticisms

The act was criticized on several grounds.

Cases and decisions

Some PDF files may be large and take time to download; alternate links provided in case one site is down or slow; "En banc" refers to the full court, not initial 3 judge panel.

Congressional record

Sunday, March 20 Monday, March 21

Other