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Schiavo case spurring statehouse debate THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The arguments surrounding Terri Schiavo will live on in statehouse debate and new laws if an emerging coalition of disability rights activists and right-to-lifers succeed in turning the national agony over her case into a re examination of when and how our lives come to an end. So far, only a few legislators in a handful of states have sought significant changes to their laws, which define the fundamental elements at stake — how a person can set limits on their medical care, who gets to decide what their wishes are, what evidence is needed to prove it. None have yet become law and the chances for most, if not all, are slim this year, with some legislatures finished and many far along in their work for this session. But both Republicans and Democrats say the arguments aren’t going away. The debate is an effort to strike a new balance between one stance that argues that medical care and morality mean life must be pursued in nearly all cases, and another stance, crafted over decades of changing views about death, that some may choose to end drastically damaged lives that depend on artificial means. “I really wanted to make sure we gave a default for life and not for death,” said Kansas state Rep. Maty Pilcher-Cook, a Republican who helped revive a measure that would give courts a greater chance to review decisions to end life sustaining care, lessening the role of guardians or doctors. “Our most vulnerable citizens are in fact in the most danger of losing their life without any recourse.” She was joined in her effort by disability activists, many aligned with liberal causes, and Democrats in the state House. The measure stalled in the Kansas Senate, however, as the session ended for the year last Friday. “We don’t want to get into the politics of the right or the left or whomever,” said Michael Donnelly at the Disability Rights Center of Kansas. “This isn’t about politics, this is about how we value or don’t value the lives people with disabilities have.” His group had been working for years to revisit the issue, and came together with several conservative legislators to move the bill forward. Elsewhere, the National Right to Life Committee has produced model legislation and is working with legislators in several states. Legislation has also been introduced in Alabama, Hawaii, Louisiana, Minnesota and South Dakota. The Louisiana bill is called the “Human Dignity Act”; Alabama’s is the “Starvation and Dehydration Prevention Act.” Many measures predate recent weeks of attention to Schiavo, though some' drew their inspiration directly from the agonized public debate over the 41-year-old woman’s death like one in Missouri introduced last Thursday, the day Schiavo died. “I was gripped by what 1 was watching and couldn’t believe the state of Florida would let this woman die in this manner,” said GOP state Rep. Cynthia Davis. Her bill would bar anyone from directing that artificially supplied food and water be withheld or withdrawn without a specific written directive from the patient. i nere s also a slew or legislation around living wills and other end of-life issues that wouldn’t further the aims of this emerging group like a Nevada measure that would let a guardian end life-sustaining measures even if it’s against a patient’s known wishes, as long as it’s in their best interests. The views of medical care and ending life have shifted over the past 30 years as the couhtry grappled with brain-damaged or coma-bound patients whose families said they shouldn’t be forced to live a life they wouldn’t want, starting with Karen Ann Quinlan in 1975, then to Nancy Cruzan in 1990 and now to Schiavo. Critics say the medical community and society have gone too far. “When original advance directives were created, nobody contemplated that hospitals would refuse to treat... It was usually just the opposite, doctors refusing to pull the feeding tube,” said Burke Balch, director of the National Right to Life Committee’s medical ethics center. WILFREDO LEE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Father Thomas Euteneuer holds up a Monstrance holding the Eucharist during an outdoor Mass last Friday outside Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., where Terri Schiavo died 13 days after her feeding tube was removed. Jfel_ Experts speculate about next presidential candidates By WILL LESTER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Politicians invariably answer the question about presidential ambitions by saying it’s too early. Or they’re too busy to be thinking about running. Or they’re too focused on being re elected senator or House member or governor. Don’t believe them. While sidestepping the question, they’re often hiring consultants and visiting places like Iowa and New Hampshire. No one has announced his or her candidacy for the White House in 2008, but there’s plenty of speculation about who might run. Of course, no potential presidential candidates let on that they’re after the top job. Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is using the “focused on the current job” approach. “I’m very happy being the senator from New York and I am looking forward, I hope, to win the favor of New Yorkers and be re elected in ‘06,” she said after a speech in January. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is using the “many options of service” approach: “I’m sure other avenues of public service will be part of the equation,” he said earlier this year. “There will be a time and place for that.” Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats’ 2004 nominee, said it’s unseemly to ask about 2008 so soon after the last election. “It’s too early,” Kerry said. “We just finished one presidential election ... and it’s nothing short of crazy to be speculating about the ngm next presidential election. The key is to pick an approach and stick to it a creative follow-up question could evoke a more informative response. Even the most skilled politician can stumble over the presidential question. Bill Clinton hobbled it in 1990 when he jan for re-election as Arkansas governor and said that if returned to the job he would serve a full four years. By the next year, he was touring the state asking for and receiving permission from supporters to run for president in 1992. The challenge for politicians is to leave the door open for a White House run without sounding too ambitious. The pressure to be specific intensifies in the heat of a re election campaign for Senate or governor, and White House hopefuls may drop more hints as time goes by. “If anybody categorically says they’re not going to run, they become less interesting to the press,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a University of Pennsylvania specialist in political communications. Some politicians don’t bother to try to quash rumors that they might run. “One of the issues is whether saying that you’re in the running for the White House compromises your current position,” said political scientist Charles Franklin of the University of Wisconsin Madison. “For some, it doesn’t matter.” So, for example, when Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., was asked by a TV reporter early this year if he would “rule out” running for president in 2008, he responded, “Why rule it out?” Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., told a TV reporter during the Republican National Convention, “I’d seriously consider a presidential run if I thought the Republican Party would want, and if I thought America was looking for, a president like me.” The classic case of a politician closing off the presidential option was the declaration by William Tecumseh Sherman: “If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.” A leading Union general in the Civil War, Sherman resisted efforts to persuade him to run for president in 1884. Sometimes politicians make a “Shermanesque” pledge to cut off talk about ambitions that could distract from a big new task. (run* Iexceiient~ choice. Selecting a place to work should be like choosing a fine wine. You want something pleasant that fits your tastes, and only gets better with time. Welcome to Olive Garden - where the authentic Italian dining experience is our passion. 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(803) 799-1442 1230 PENDLETON STREET ■ SCRIMMAGE Continued from page 1 long touchdown pass on the scrimmage’s second play to junior Noah Whiteside that was called back for an offensive penalty. However, Spurrier still has Rathe high on his list should he become eligible. “(He’d probably be number one) just on knowledge of the offense and ability to go from a good play to a bad play,” Spurrier said. “He’s the only one that’s made an audible in two weeks.” “Everyday somebody else is number one,” Rathe said. “We’re all just trying to get all the reps we can and learn.” None of USC’s other three quarterbacks stood out as an early favorite at starter; as they combined for just one touchdown pass on the day. r i r*I I \ £' i it oupuuillUlt L>iaav- iviuuiv.il, Spurrier’s self-proclaimed No. 1 quarterback entering the spring, completed 4-of-6 passes for 55 yards on the day. He led the team on its first scoring drive, completing two passes on the drive to push the team downfield. Walk-on junior Brett Nichols completed 3-of-4 passes Saturday, but for just 24 yards. Last in the rotation was redshirt freshman Antonio Heffner, who hit Noah Whiteside for the’game’s only touchdown pass, but also threw its only interception to corncrback Fred Bennett. Heffner finished 5-of-12 for a quarterback leading 72 yards. Whiteside led Gamecocks receivers with 47 yards on three catches. Spurrier called Whiteside the toughest player on offense. Former quarterback Syvelle Newton wowed the crowd with a stutter-step juke on his one catch for 21 yards, and sophomore Le’Moriell Williams made the most of his opportunity with three catches for 39 yards. The surprise of the day for the USC offense was redshirt freshman running back Albert Ashcraft. He led Gamecock rushers with 125 yards on 13 rushes, including a 70-yard touchdown run midway through the scrimmage. Ashcraft had two ' touchdowns on the day. Senior Daccus Turman finished with 59 yards on 13 carries. ^nnrripr cn^ flip ninrfprK-Jrlrc ' r i and the offensive line were equally responsible for the protection .breakdowns ., ‘ i The USC defense dominated the storylines Saturday, allowing ■ one touchdown in 16 offensive series that started from the offense’s 30-yard line. Transfer senior Seth Edwards had a mammoth day, recording three tackles, three tackles for losses and three sacks. Tight end convert David Laggis had two tackles for losses and two sacks from his defensive-end position. Offensive tackle Na’Shan Goddard had nothing but good things to say about the defense. “The defensive line is just playing real good right now,” Goddard said after the scrimmage. “I think if we can block our defensive line, we can block pretty much anybody.”# Linebackers Ricardo Hurley and Orus Lambert had six and five tackles, respectively. The defensive backfield put together a solid performance with defensive backs Chris Hampton and Trent Usher each recording more than five tackles. Injury Report Offensive guard Eric Stroman reinjured his foot and is listed as day-to-day. Defensive end Charles Silas, running back Cory Boyd and defensive lineman Matt Raysor are listed as day-to-day. The Gamecocks will play another scrimmage in the stadium at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknervs@gwrn. sc. edu Write ! for j INews. E-mail gamecockeditor @gwm.sc.edu | i