McCollum Statement on Private Bill for Schiavo

McCollum Statement on Private Bill for Schiavo
Monday, March 21, 2005

Congresswoman Betty McCollum is presently in Panama as a member of an official Congressional delegation led by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), chairman of the House International Relations Committee. The bipartisan delegation is unable to return to Washington in time to vote on the unscheduled Terri Schiavo private bill before Congress.
McCollum issued the following statement:

"After fifteen years Ms. Terri Schiavo continues to live in a vegetative state with no hope for recovery from her severe brain damage. Ms. Schiavo, her husband, her entire family and her health care providers deserve our prayers as they continue to confront the difficult decisions surrounding this tragic situation. The medical decisions that are being made regarding end-of-life care for Ms. Schiavo are a matter for Terri's husband, her family and her doctors to make. In my opinion, it is absolutely inappropriate for Congress to be acting to direct medical attention on behalf of any individual regardless of the circumstances.

Ms. Terri Schiavo deserves the right to human dignity and respect. Instead, this brain damaged woman and her family are being used as political pawns. Republican Leader Tom Delay has decided it is in his interest to exploit Terri Schiavo's misery and the anguish of her loved ones for political gain. Nothing I have witnessed in Congress has been more cynical or distasteful."

http://mccollum.house.gov/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={2ECCE2A9-11A9-4E77-B2CA-83F74BF2DD44}&DE={F9D914C6-77FF-4AC3-BA4E-A55CA35722A6}