Schiavo battle hints at larger culture war

Battle reflects evangelical push
The Schindlers’ hopes of getting relief in federal court were dashed when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by her parents to keep their daughter alive. The decision marked the end of a dramatic four-day-dash through the federal court system.

Political watchers say the Terri Schiavo case draws on the activism from other social issues that are part of the larger cultural battle that emerged in the 1980s when evangelical leaders began calling on their followers to become politically active.

Fresh off the November elections in which religious conservatives were key in returning President Bush to the White House, the political forces were ready to swing into action again when the Schiavo case hit a critical point this month.

Already both sides have been energized by the national debate over gay marriage, stem cell research and abortion. There is also the looming U.S. Supreme Court arguments on Oregon’s assisted suicide law in the session which begins in October.

The Interfaith Alliance and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State have accused lawmakers of cynically manipulating Schiavo’s plight to advance the agenda of Christian conservatives on issues including banning gay marriage and appointing conservative federal judges.

Case of 'selective morality'?
A group of 150 religious leaders issued a related statement Friday accusing policy-makers of promoting a “selective morality” that ignores broader social issues such as health care and the environment.

“The language today coming from Florida from the religious right is language about midterm elections and the political consequences people will pay for not adhering to their agenda,” said the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the alliance, a liberal-leaning Washington advocacy group.

But Carrie Gordon Earll, a senior policy analyst for Focus on the Family, which has been one of the most influential conservative groups in rallying the faithful to political action, said what is at hand in the Schiavo case is nothing more than democracy in action.

“Terri is a person we can see and we can rally around her,” Earll said. “She is a silent spokesperson for the value of life and she doesn’t even know it. She represents the medically vulnerable, the disabled and she also represents the tiny embryos at the center of the stem-cell debate. It’s the same value for human life.”

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