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Washington, D.C. -- Congressman David Wu issued the following statement regarding today's early morning vote to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case:
"This is a profound tragedy for the Schiavo family and I sympathize with all the family members. It is also a deeply personal matter, which should be decided within the family. What no one wants is for this personal decision to be made by 536 politicians. 435 Members of the House, 100 Senators and the President of the United States.
"The facts of this tragedy, and the competing wishes of the family members, have already been determined by those best placed to do so. Those determinations have been repeatedly ratified over the past seven years by 19 judges, in more than ten trials, appeals or other proceedings. None of those decisions has been reversed until today. In an unprecedented procedure, the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate are voting to direct a federal court to relitigate this entire tragic matter.
"There are deeply personal and private issues that are discussed by every married couple. These discussions occur in bedrooms across America. Also, intensely personal decisions are made in hospital and hospice rooms across this country. By forcing this vote through the U.S. Congress, the Republican leadership is demonstrating that no bedroom in America and no hospital room in this land is beyond the reach and power of the federal government. This is wrong.
"The Republican leadership has transformed a profound tragedy for the Schiavo family into a tragedy for the entire nation. It is my hope that from this tragedy more people will understand the importance of determining their own futures
in the form of living wills."
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