mr. speaker , tonight i join millions of floridians and americans hoping and praying for terri and her family at this incredibly difficult time . 
terri schiavo 's case is a tragedy we all hope and pray our own families will never go through . 
and tonight this congress is about to commit a travesty . 
i think we can agree the impact of this legislation extends far beyond terri schiavo . 
tonight , congressional leaders are poised to appoint this congress as a judge and a jury . 
these actions are a threat to our democracy . 
more than 200 years ago , our forefathers designed government with three separate , yet equal , branches . 
this congress is about to overturn the separation of powers by disregarding the laws of florida and the decision of a judge that have never been reversed . 
this congress is on the verge of telling states and judges and juries that their laws , their decisions do not matter . 
multiple courts have had an opportunity to rule in terri 's case , including the united states supreme court , federal district courts , and the florida supreme court . 
as justice scalia has said himself in end-of-life cases like this , `` the federal courts have no business in this field . 
american law has always accorded this power to the states. '' this congress should respect the law and the rulings of courts and not trample the constitution . 
if we do not draw a line in the sand tonight , what limit is there to the democratic principles that this congress is prepared to violate ? 
what limit is there to the liberties that we might trample upon ? 
for those of us that are floridians , this is a very painful issue . 
not just because we represent many , many people , democrats , republicans or people that are not particularly political who have living wills , who have wishes they expect to be honored and not interfered with . 
we are also deeply saddened because we have been in the middle of this saga for quite some time , and it is very important you know this is just the latest chapter . 
in 2003 , unhappy with the decisions of the court , the governor and the state legislature in florida attempted to change the rules that controlled terri 's wishes and to pass what was referred to as terri 's law , giving governor bush the authority to reinsert the feeding tube . 
the florida supreme court ruled that law unconstitutional , and the united states supreme court refused to hear governor bush 's appeal . 
last week , the florida legislature and the governor attempted yet a second time to change the rules that would cover the enforcement of what was found to be terri 's wishes . 
for the good of floridians , for the good of the country , after the house had passed the bill and the governor continued to pursue it , very courageous members of the florida senate and the florida house , on both sides , democrats and republicans , refused to make the same mistake a second time . 
one of the top republicans in the florida house said , `` the legislature should stay out of family court issues. '' the state legislation that failed in the state senate died when some of the leading republican senators said , `` we can not and should not sacrifice our oaths as political officers on the altar of political convenience. '' these were state legislators recognizing the limits of their power . 
here tonight in the united states congress , will we recognize the appropriate limits of our power ? 
leading the charge in this debate are several physicians who are members of congress . 
i think it is fair to say none of them have examined terri schiavo . 
i seriously doubt any of them had a chance to review the medical records . 
instead , many of them , many members of congress , are forced to rely upon a videotape that is several years old that does not begin to tell the story . 
let us keep in mind neither this house nor senate has had a single hearing , has heard from a single witness , has provided any meaningful opportunity for the public to participate in this very important debate . 
the bill under consideration tonight essentially does one thing : it starts the process all over again with a different judge , an attempt to achieve a different result , a different finding as to terri 's wishes or simply to delay the enforcement of her wishes . 
it has been described by the chairman of the committee that what this bill does , if i heard him correctly , is to provide an opportunity for terri 's parents to assert their rights under the united states constitution . 
they have always had that right . 
they had that right in state court . 
they had that right in federal court . 
they had that right in the united states supreme court , which turned down the appeal . 
this bill does not create any new rights . 
it simply creates a new judge in an attempt to achieve a different result or to delay a different decision . 
one of the chief senate sponsors of the bill said earlier today that the purpose and the effect of the bill in his judgment was to cause the federal judge who will hear this case to reinsert the tube . 
before we vote tonight , i would like to ask the members to ask one question of themselves . 
if this were their family , if they some day , and i hope they do not and i hope i do not , find themselves in this tragic situation , one of the most tragic we will ever experience in our lives , and they and their wife had come to a conclusion about what they want as a couple or individually as to how they end their life , how would they feel if elected officials they had never met who did not know them thought their judgment was superior to theirs ? 
how would they feel if that affected them and their spouse ? 
i have followed this case for years . 
my views tonight are the same as they have been always . 
this case is about terri 's will as interpreted by the courts , god 's will , and it should not be about the will of the united states congress . 
sadly , regardless of what this congress does tonight , everyone may lose . 
terri 's husband may lose his wife . 
their parents may lose a daughter . 
my hearts and prayers go out to terri and her family . 
