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Thompson: Life-Support Choice 'Personal'

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By WILLIAM MARCH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 23, 2007

TAMPA - Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson made a strong statement against government intervention in cases like that of brain-damaged Terri Schiavo during a news conference Monday in Tampa.

Citing his own personal experience with the death of his adult daughter in 2002, Thompson said the question is 'an intensely personal thing with me,' and added, 'It should be decided by the family. The federal government and the state government, too, except for the court system, ought to stay out of those matters as far as I'm concerned.'

That appears to set Thompson at odds with the actions of former Gov. Jeb Bush, pro-life forces in Congress at the time of Schiavo's death and President Bush.

All supported or enacted intervention to overturn court rulings that allowed discontinuing Schiavo's life support.

After state court decisions that allowed the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, Congress passed a bill in March 2005 to allow a federal court to review the case. Bush returned from his Texas ranch to sign the bill.

But a federal judge refused to order the tube reinserted, a decision upheld by a federal appeals court and the Supreme Court.

Thompson was no longer in the Senate at the time, but former Sen. Bill Frist from his home state of Tennessee was a leader in the battle to continue life support.

'I know this is bandied about as a political issue,' Thompson said. 'I am a little bit uncomfortable about that because it's an intensely personal thing with me. ... I was at that bedside and I had to make those decisions with the rest of my family. And, I will assure you one thing, no matter which decision you make, you will never know whether or not you made the right decision.'

When he was asked about the matter during a previous campaign tour of Florida in September, Thompson said, 'I can't pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best. ... That's going back in history. I don't remember the details of it.'

Thompson made his comments after a tour of the Port of Tampa that focused on security issues, where he cited the Tampa port as one of the nation's best-secured.

The visit was part of a campaign tour after his appearance at the Republican state convention and Sunday's televised debate in Orlando.

He was expected to pick up $150,000 in a fundraiser at the home of Michael Holley of Lakeland on Monday. Today he's expected to visit Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter, tour a Miami oil company, then attend another fundraiser sponsored by Fort Lauderdale cardiologist Zachariah P. Zachariah, a prominent GOP fundraiser who recently joined the Thompson campaign.

Thompson also promised more details 'in a few days' on his proposal to revise the Social Security program to make it more financially sustainable.

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761 or wmarch@tampatrib.com.

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