(UPDATED WITH VIDEO) Congresswoman: People Are Planning to Die Soon to Avoid New Estate Taxes

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis says some of her Wyoming constituents are so worried about the reinstatement of federal estate taxes that they plan to discontinue dialysis and other life-extending medical treatments so they can die before Dec. 31.

Lummis, a Republican who holds Wyoming's lone seat in the U.S. House, declined to name any of the people who have made the comments.

But she says many ranchers and farmers in the state would rather pass along their businesses to their children and grandchildren than see the federal government take a large chunk.

Lummis and other Republicans are fighting to renew the Bush-era tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year. The cuts exempt large inheritances as well as certain wage income, interest, dividends and capital gains.