mr. speaker , it is sunday evening , a time when those of us in the house of representatives are usually not in session . 
but tonight is an unusual night and the circumstances before us are unusual . 
it goes without saying that we of course are discussing the life and death of terri schiavo . 
the situation that terri is in has been discussed here on this floor tonight already , and you only have to turn on the news or pick up a newspaper to learn about it . 
however , as i have watched , as i have listened , as i have read the news , i have been shocked at some of the inaccurate statements that have been made about terri 's condition . 
the bottom line is that once terri is dead , it will be too late to reconsider what else we will do . 
the truth is terri is not brain dead . 
she is awake . 
she is aware of her surroundings . 
terri is not on artificial life support . 
no extraordinary measures are being taken . 
she does need assistance in being fed , but that is not unusual . 
i have a perfectly healthy 1-year-old little boy , and he needs assistance in being fed , perhaps not through a feeding tube , but nonetheless he needs help . 
as i said , this is an unusual situation . 
usually congress writes laws with a broad brush , but every once in a while an unusual situation will require special legislative action . 
that is a situation for us tonight , mr. speaker . 
tonight , the possible life or death of terri schiavo is before us . 
i ask my colleagues to support this legislation , and may we as a nation continue to protect the most innocent and most vulnerable among us so that the united states of america will continue to be that light on the hill , that beacon of hope for all mankind . 
