March 15, 2005

Leading Bioethicist To Argue Against Passage of
H.R. 1151 -- Triggered by Terri Schiavo Case

(Philadelphia, PA) -- Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will testify at 2:00 PM tomorrow before the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee against the passage of House Bill 1151 -- which would require federal intervention in some termination-of-life-support cases now handled by state courts. If passed, the proposed legislation would effectively delay or prevent the removal of a feeding tube from Terri Schiavo -- a measure recently authorized, once again, by the Florida court system. According to Caplan, "If enacted, the proposed legislation will threaten the ability of Americans to exercise a well-established right to refuse medical treatment. If enacted, it threatens to deny this right to those who are unable to communicate their wishes and values about medical care. And the proposed legislation inappropriately calls for the intrusion of Federal courts into matters that have historically been given to states to manage."

During his testimony, Caplan, who also serves as Director of the Center for Bioethics at Penn, will note that H.R. 1151 will immediately undermine existing advance directives and living wills; will give interloping family members and third parties too much authority; will inappropriately undermine the authority of state courts; and will rob patients of their rights by adding more due-process factors. "There is an insufficient foundation for the view that existing protections in hospitals and nursing homes -- in the form of family meetings and ethics committees -- along with review by the appropriate levels of state courts, subject to review by the United State Supreme Court, are insufficient to protect the liberty and privacy interests of incompetent patients," adds Caplan.

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