SOUTH

SCHIAVO CASE SPURRING STATEHOUSE DEBATE

The arguments surrounding Theresa 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. Mary 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 Kansas state House. The measure stalled in the Kansas Senate, however, as the session ended for the year last Friday.

– Associated Press

WEST

CALIF. NANNY GOES TO TRIAL IN KIDS’ DEATH

MARTINEZ, Calif. – Carmen and Bob Pack lost both of their children when a car veered across traffic and onto a sidewalk, striking the youngsters as they were going for ice cream with their mother and friends.

The Packs have fought for prosecution of the driver for alleged intoxication and for state laws that make it harder for drunken drivers to expunge DUI convictions and regain their licenses.

“It’s very hard to live with,” Mr. Pack said in an interview on the eve of the trial. “To have to go through that with your children is just … unbearable.”

A nanny with a string of drunken driving convictions, Jimena Barreto, doesn’t dispute that she was driving the car that struck Troy, 10, and Alana, 7, as they rode their scooter and bike down a sidewalk in Danville, a suburb of San Francisco, on October 26, 2003. She does deny being drunk or drugged.

Ms. Barreto, 46, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, leaving the scene of a crime, possession of cocaine, and felony hit-and-run. Jury selection begins today. A native of Colombia, Ms. Barreto could be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

– Associated Press

TRAIN DERAILS, SENDING AT LEAST 26 TO HOSPITALS

HOME VALLEY, Wash. – The engine of an Amtrak train derailed yesterday along the Columbia River, sending at least 26 passengers to hospitals with mostly minor injuries, officials said.

The Portland, Ore.-bound train was carrying 115 people when the locomotive’s wheels left the track, leaving four passenger cars leaning upright against an embankment in the Columbia River Gorge, about 45 miles east of Portland, Ore., Amtrak spokeswoman Marcie Golgoski said. Two people remained in hospitals last night, including a pregnant woman who was admitted for observation. Twenty-four others were treated and released. Rail crews were clearing the track, but it was not expected to reopen until Monday, said Gus Melonas, a spokesman for BNSF Railway Co., which owns and operates the track.

– Associated Press

SOUTHWEST

BORDER VOLUNTEERS REPORT FIRST GROUP OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

PHOENIX – Volunteers for an effort to patrol the Mexican border reported their first sighting of suspected illegal immigrants, resulting in 18 arrests, authorities said yesterday. Participants in the Minuteman Project spotted the migrants Saturday near Naco as the volunteers were surveying the border to familiarize themselves with the area. When agents arrived, they apprehended 18 people, Border Patrol spokesman Andy Adame said.

The volunteers reported another illegal immigrant after he wandered onto the campus of a Bible college near the community of Palominas, where about 100 Minuteman participants were staying. The man walked in and said he needed food and water. Volunteers helped him and notified federal agents, who picked him up.

The man was weary from traveling but did not need medical attention, Mr. Adame said.

– Associated Press