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Living will

If anything, the Terri Schiavo case underscores the need to have a living will, and to leave no ambiguity in one's preferences in the event of a similar situation. A living will is a document in which a person requests to be allowed to die rather than be kept alive by artificial means when no reasonable expectation of recovery exists. Wyoming Statute 35-22-101 defines a living will and provides a living will form.

Wyoming statutes are online at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/statutes/statutes.htm.

The Terri Schiavo case is a heartbreaking situation, but it's none of Congress' business.

After intervening in this specific case, where will Congress draw the line? Will Congress and the president intervene each time family members disagree about a loved one's medical care? Who will tell them that Terri Schiavo mattered enough for congressional action, but their loved one doesn't?

President Bush, who made a special trip from Texas to Washington to sign the bill allowing federal courts to review the case, said the measure would give Ms. Schiavo's parents another chance to save their daughter's life.

We don't question the motivation of Schiavo's parents. They're trying to keep their daughter alive. Nor do we question her husband's motives. Michael Schiavo says his wife, who has been in a "persistent vegetative state" for 15 years, would not choose to live that way.

In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, he said, "Terri died 15 years ago," when her brain was severely damaged by her collapse and cardiac arrest. He said he would stay at his wife's side throughout the ordeal.

The motivation of Congress is a bit murkier, however. It's hypocritical that so many in Congress would thrust themselves into such a politically charged issue at a time when Medicaid coverage - including the coverage that helps to pay for Schiavo's $5,000-a-month nursing care - is being cut.

The reality is that Schiavo's condition is not unique, even if her political situation is.

Congress' conflicting directives - to save Schiavo while cutting Medicaid - suggest that a "culture of life" extends no further than a sensational headline, and not to the other Terri Schiavos who linger beyond the public eye.

The conduct of several members of Congress has been particularly questionable. Physicians, including Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., and Phil Gingrey, R-Georgia, should have known better than to interject their opinions on Schiavo's care based on hearsay and video footage taped four years ago. And House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's statement was downright repugnant when he called letting Schiavo die an "act of medical terrorism." That sort of hateful blather provides no solace to a family suffering through a difficult time.

Wyoming's own Sen. Mike Enzi elbowed his way into the debate, too. Enzi called for Michael and Terri Schiavo to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which he chairs. An attorney for Michael Schiavo called Enzi's strategy to buy Schiavo more time "nothing short of thuggery." At the very least the graceless maneuver was a misuse of congressional authority.

Congress doesn't belong at Schiavo's bedside any more than Schiavo belongs in an appearance before a Senate panel.

The same fate that eventually awaits Terri Schiavo awaits us all, and there's little Congress can - or should - do about it.