A quick morning note on how absurd the Schiavo case has become: Terri Schiavo’s parents filed an amended complaint in Federal court today, demanding a jury trial in part because her husband and the Florida state courts violated her Eighth Amendment rights banning cruel and unusual punishment. Seriously.

Not even dealing with the notion that the Eighth Amendment applies to something other than penalties imposed on a person who has violated the law, I again return to the fact that withdrawing life-supporting measures is only cruel, harmful, or whatever other pejorative term people invent if it violates the wishes of the person involved. Just because her parents feel that it’s cruel doesn’t make it so. And talk about a slippery slope — what would prevent Schiavo’s parents from making this exact same claim in the case that an actual living will was present?