[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 43 (Monday, April 14, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        H.R. 1003, THE ASSISTED SUICIDE FUNDING RESTRICTION ACT

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                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 14, 1997

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, April 10, 1997, I was absent 
from this Chamber to be home in North Dakota attending to the flooding 
crisis plaguing large areas of my district. On the 10th, I accompanied 
Mr. James Lee Witt, Director of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, on a visit to North Dakota to coordinate the Federal response 
to the disaster declared in the State in the wake of recent blizzards 
and flooding.
  Unfortunately, attending to the flooding crisis back home caused me 
to miss the vote on H.R. 1003, the Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction 
Act. I strongly support this legislation, and had I been in the House 
on Thursday, would have voted for its passage. The debate over assisted 
suicide implicates some of the most troubling moral and ethical 
questions in today's society. Issues such as whether vulnerable 
populations might be targeted for assisted suicide and whether patients 
grappling with depression and severe illness can make sound choices on 
this matter demonstrate the troubling consequences of an embrace of 
assisted suicide. In addition, many Americans' strong religious 
convictions lead them to abhor suicide in any situation. These 
factors--and the resulting extreme controversy of the practice--make it 
abundantly clear that the Federal Government should not be in the 
business of using taxpayer dollars to fund assisted suicide. H.R. 1003 
ensures that this will not occur and consequently has my strong 
support.

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