Bush once had different view

As Texas governor, George W. Bush signed a law that allows hospitals to pull the plug on critically-ill patients despite family objections 8212; the kind of court-authorized move the president and fellow Republicans are challenging in the Terri Schiavo case.

Last Tuesday, the Texas law resulted in what some call a US first, when a Houston hospital cut off life support for a deformed 6-month-old baby after his mother lost a court challenge. The baby died almost immediately. Democrats and medical ethicists are citing the 1999 law to charge that Bush8217;s position in the Schiavo case is hypocritical.

A lawyer who helped draft the Texas law said it would have allowed for the removal of Schiavo8217;s feeding tube if all legal challenges had been exhausted as it would make her husband the primary decision maker. The White House has said Bush8217;s position is consistent, and that the Texas bill focused on expanding the rights of the critically ill and their families to prevent hospitals from denying life-saving treatment. 8212;Newsday/LAT-WP