Uncle Fred uncomfortable to discussed daughter's death.

TAMPA, Fla. - Republican Fred Thompson sidestepped a question about the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case last month, saying he didn't remember the details. On Monday he said he's uncomfortable discussing it because of his own daughter's death.

"Obviously, I know about the Terri Schiavo case. I had to face a situation with that in my own personal life with my own daughter," Thompson told reporters. The Republican presidential contender was asked about the case in Florida, where it occurred and where it is still a major issue.

"I know this is bandied about as a political issue, and people want to make it such and talk about it in the public marketplace a lot," Thompson said.

"I am a little bit uncomfortable about that because it's an intensely personal thing," he said. "These things need to be decided by the family, and I was at that bedside, and I had to make those decisions with the rest of my family."

Thompson's daughter, Elizabeth "Betsy" Thompson Panici, 38, died in 2002 of an accidental drug overdose, according to the Nashville, Tenn., medical examiner's office. She had been diagnosed as suffering from a bipolar disorder.

Thompson's remarks indicated that his daughter had been on life support, although his campaign declined to provide further information, saying the matter was too personal. Panici died on Jan. 30, 2002, six days after being brought unconscious to a hospital emergency room. At the time, then-Sen. Thompson released a statement saying she died of "severe brain injury resulting from cardiac arrest."More on the story.