In the recent Presidential Election the exit polls showed something very interesting: Married people with children voted for Bush at a rate of 60% to 40%. That's landslide numbers by any means.

Which brings such to the Terry Schiavo case where some believe that the divide is amongst conservatives and liberals. But is it really? From just casual discussion with friends and neighbors it seems that the married people I know who have cihldren are much more likely to be horrified about what is happening to Mrs. Schiavo than those who do not have children.

This got me talking to my wife about this and indeed, I think that's part of the issue.  If my son married some woman and a couple years into their marriage some accident occurred that left him completely mentally disabled and the woman he married soon after moved on, had a couple kids with another man, we'd be outraged if the courts put the life and death decision in her hands.

As parents, we would feel that the decision should rest with us. If our son were in Terry's condition, I think we'd be in a better position to know what he would want. Certainly his new wife who was effectively in a common law marriage with someone else shouldn't be the one making the decision?