"State" issue? That quaint notion was overturned by the 14th Amendment in 1868. This Amendment was in large measure a correction of the Supreme Court's Dred Scott ruling. It authorizes Congress to step in when the rights of an individual like Dred Scott or Terri Schiavo are being trampled by state government. Here are the key provisions:
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Well, this narrows it down to bad attorneys for Terri or bad Justices on the Supreme Court. We know the attorneys for Terri were at a disadvantage because of money. We also know that the Justices on the Supreme Court have speaking engagements to meet and can not be bothered.