How many lives did Ted Kennedy save?

Written by: Maureen Stabile on Aug 27, 2009 10:34 AM EDT

In the obituaries for Senator Edward Kennedy, the Chappaquiddick incident is invariably mentioned, as it should be. That dark night in 1969, he left a passenger for dead after driving – probably while intoxicated – off a bridge, and then he failed to notify authorities for many hours. Kennedy plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was given a suspended sentence. But was that shameful incident the sole defining moment of his moral existence, as some detractors on the right would have it? I would prefer to judge Kennedy on the entirety of his time on this earth. While Kennedy directly caused the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, he indirectly saved many other lives by way of his public service and the legislation he helped to pass. Consider the following:

- the children and seniors who have received medical treatment thanks to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) and Medicare

- the racial minorities spared intimidation and violence because of the Civil Rights Act

- the legions of homeless who have found refuge through programs funded by the McKinney-Vento Act

- the handicapped who lead safer, more independent lives thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act

- the newborn babies and ailing relatives who received life-sustaining care from workers granted time off through the Family and Medical Leave Act

- the women who have escaped domestic abuse thanks to the provisions of the Violence Against Women Act

- the people of color who have received new health information and treatment options because of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act

- the sufferers of mental illness who will receive insurance coverage for the treatment they need thanks to the Mental Health Parity Act

- the future ranks of American and allied soldiers, as well as Iraqi civilians, who will be spared death because the Iraq War, to which Kennedy rallied opposition, may finally be drawing to a close.

Ted Kennedy did not save one precious life when he very well could have. But he did save the next life. And the next, and the next, and the next…

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