Subcommittee Considers Issues Raised By Terri's Death.

By Dave Andrusko

The fallout from Terri Schiavo's death by dehydration will be felt for months and years to come. There will be innumerable hearings, countless witnesses, but probably little media attention, at least in the beginning, as the process gradually begins in earnest.

Such was the fate of an important hearing that took place April 19. The subject matter of the hearing, conducted by the House Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources Subcommittee, was "Federal Health Programs and Those Who Cannot Care for Themselves: What Are Their Rights, and Our Responsibilities?"

As Chairman Mark Souder (R-In.) explained in his opening statement, a primary question for the panel to address is the "support provided by federal Medicaid and Medicare programs for ordinary care of incapacitated citizens who are not in the dying process."

For example, what are the types of treatment options available to them? Are various legal mechanisms, such as advance medical directives or durable power of attorney, sufficient? And, as Rep. Souder pointedly asked, "what protections exist for incapacitated individuals to ensure that their constitutional rights of due process are met?"

In Souder's view, "At a minimum, our federal programs should protect patients rather than pave the way to hasten their death, but we do not have a federal presumption where a person's wishes are unknown and unknowable." The absence of this presumption, he argued, "creates a vacuum where someone else may determine that a patient's life is one not worth living, and this is most definitely a slippery slope."

A number of thoughtful witnesses weighed in, beginning with Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fl.), who is also a physician. Dr. Weldon noted a heightened interest in living wills following Terri's tragic death.