Ron Wyden: “after the Senate's unfortunate debate about the tragic case of the late Terri Schiavo, I thought the Senate was unlikely…”

“after the Senate's unfortunate debate about the tragic case of the late Terri Schiavo, I thought the Senate was unlikely to debate this matter any time soon. Unfortunately, it seems there may be another discussion of this matter. In spite of the fact that the American people made it very clear that the Government ought to stay out of these tragic end-of-life matters, new legislation, S. 3788, has been introduced which would, in effect, throw Oregon's Death with Dignity Act into the trash can. As a result of the introduction of this legislation and my concern that the last thing we need is more Government stepping into these very difficult end-of-life decisions, I am announcing this afternoon that I am placing a hold on S. 3788 which would overturn Oregon's unique Death with Dignity Act and would, in my view, do great damage to the cause of pain management all across our country. In the past, the Senate has looked at this only in the context of what some describe as assisted suicide. Obviously, there are differences of opinion on this issue. The people in my State have been debating this for well over a decade and twice have made it clear that they believe these decisions ought to be left to the individual and to families trying to cope with these difficult circumstances. They have sent a strong message that death is an intensely personal and private matter and that the Government ought to leave our citizens alone.…”