Washington ? Using his own developmentally disabled son as an example, a Kansas University professor on Wednesday urged a U.S. Senate committee to steer clear of legislation that would define which cases deserve life-sustaining care.

“Those debates frighten me, and they should alarm you, too,” Rud Turnbull said during a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “The slippery slope is slick and awaits all of us.”

The testimony came as Congress began to discuss right-to-die issues in the wake of the March 31 death of Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman who sparked a fierce debate across the nation over whether her feeding tube should be removed, allowing her to die.

Turnbull said his family had discussed and agreed on long-term care for Jay, his 37-year-old son who is mentally retarded, bi-polar and autistic.

“As I lay dying, I will have confidence that Jay’s family and friends will do for him what he most would want done for himself, if he could decide,” Turnbull said.

Wednesday’s hearing on hospice care, legal tools for the disabled and whether any legislation might be warranted was an effort to move past Congress’ Palm Sunday vote intended to clear the way to reinsert Schiavo’s feeding tube.

State vs. federal

Schiavo, 41, died March 31 at a Florida hospice, almost two weeks after the March 18 removal of the feeding tube that had kept her alive since 1990, when she suffered brain damage that court-appointed doctors determined had placed her in a persistent vegetative state.

As Schiavo faded, congressional leaders called lawmakers back from Easter recess to pass a bill that would allow federal courts to review the decisions of state judges who turned down her parents’ efforts to resume her feeding. Federal judges all the way to the Supreme Court upheld those decisions; polls showed large majorities of the public disapproved of Congress’s involvement.

“Although Terri Schiavo very dramatically brought these issues to the attention of the nation, their importance did not fade or diminish with her loss,” said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

While Turnbull said he would avoid legislation spelling out specific circumstances for life-sustaining care, he and other witnesses urged Congress to consider legislation that would, in part, better inform disabled people and their families of their health care choices.

Proposed measures

Another witness, J. Donald Schumacher of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Assn., said Congress should pass a bill that would provide incentives for Medicare beneficiaries and their doctors to meet and discuss end-of-life care.

Other legislation being considered, including a bill by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, would let federal courts review cases like Schiavo’s — when there is no advance directive and a dispute over the person’s wishes.

Still other proposals include one by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who suggested an impeachment case could be made against judges who rebuffed Congress’ will.

“That to me should be of concern to Democrats and Republicans regardless of how you feel about the issue,” said Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.