Wyden Statement on Objection to Unanimous Consent
For Legislation Related to the Case of Mrs. Terri Schiavo
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden
March 17, 2005
M. President, I am announcing my intention to object to any unanimous
consent request to move legislation related to the case of Mrs.
Terri Schiavo. I would object because the process being followed
for these bills would by-pass regular procedure for Senate consideration
of legislation and would potentially wreak havoc on the constitutional
right of states to regulate medicine and medical practice within
their borders.
The United States Senate has not held a single hearing on these
bills. Without a single hearing to examine the very complex and
widespread implications of this case for the practice of medicine
and without a single hearing to understand the possible effects
of the federal judiciary reaching into an area traditionally reserved
to the states, an effort is being made to ram these bills through
the Senate in one day. These are bills that had not even been introduced
and did not even have numbers this morning. This is not the way
the Senate should conduct its business on a matter that has been
on the hearts and minds of Americans for a long time and that could
set a very dangerous precedent.
The practice of medicine and the regulation of it throughout our
nation’s history have properly been the preserve of state
interest. The failure to hold even a single hearing on this legislation
means there has been no examination of the implications of the Federal
Government stepping into an area that the Constitution has reserved
for the states. Regardless of how a Senator might feel about this
matter – and feelings run high on both sides – Senators
should at least know the implications of such Federal intrusion
before being asked to cast a vote on it.
Respect for state sovereignty is a cornerstone of our federal system.
Those who on other occasions have carried high the banner of states
rights in marriage, divorce, child custody, education, social matters
and the “taking” of private property would now seek
to abandon the Constitutional prerogative states have been given
in the field of medical practice. I cannot let that happen. There
are too many unknowns and too little time to explore them, so I
will object to any unanimous consent request to move this legislation.
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