continuing the Schiavo case......
With Schiavo Fading, Her Parents Press On
29 minutes ago Top Stories - AP
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - As Terri Schiavo's body continued its slow shutdown Friday, the severely brain-damaged woman's parents held out hope for unlikely help from Gov. Jeb Bush and further pressed the federal courts to have their daughter's feeding tube reconnected.
AP Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Terri Schiavo Case
Judge Won't Order Reinsertion of Feeding Tube
(AP Video)
The parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were running out of options and time in their bitter court fight against her husband, who has said she has no hope for recovery and wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially. The Schindlers believe their daughter could improve.
As of Friday afternoon, Schiavo had been without food or water for seven full days, and doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of her feeding tube being pulled. Dehydration has taken its toll on the 41-year-old woman, producing flaky skin, dry tongue and lips, and sunken eyes, according to attorneys and friends of the Schindlers.
"Terri is weakening. She's down to her last hours. Something has to be done and has to be done quick," said Bob Schindler, who visited his daughter Friday morning.
The Schindlers took their case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) in Atlanta on Friday - the same court that has ruled against them twice this week. Another emergency request is before Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer, who has handled the case for years.
The Schindlers asked the federal appeals court to overturn a ruling from a federal judge in Tampa, who for the second time refused to order the tube reinserted as he considers the parents' lawsuit. The newest plea argues that their daughter's due process and religious rights were being violated.
U.S. District Judge James Whittemore wrote earlier in the day that the parents could not establish "a substantial likelihood of success on the merits" of their case. He also noted "the difficulties and heartbreak the parties have endured throughout this lengthy process."
Gov. Bush has been a staunch supporter of the Schindlers, and his office was still clinging to hope Friday that the courts would allow the state to provide emergency care for Schiavo.
"We are continuing to do whatever we can and we are pursuing all the options available to us in this case," Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said.
But supporters of Michael Schiavo said the time for challenges had ended.
"All the politicians who injected themselves into this tragic and personal matter now need to begin respecting both the law and the legal process even if they disagree with the result that was reached in this case," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites)'s Florida chapter.
Terri Schiavo's tube was removed March 18 on a state judge's order. She has been without food and water longer than she was in 2003, when the tube was removed for six days and five hours. It was reinserted when Bush and the Legislature pushed through a law that was later thrown out by the state Supreme Court.
Many supporters of the Schindlers say Bush could simply ignore the courts and take emergency custody of Schiavo.
"Now is the day. Now is the time for the governor to have courage," said Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan monk and Schindler family supporter. "The governor needs to take action and take action soon. She's dying."
Bush said Thursday he is not willing to go beyond the boundaries of his powers.
An attorney for Michael Schiavo also rejected arguments that Bush could overturn years of court orders in the husband's favor.
"Jeb Bush does not own the state of Florida and just cannot impose his will on Terri Schiavo," George Felos told CBS' "The Early Show" on Friday. Felos declined comment to The Associated Press.
Outside the hospice where Terri Schiavo lay, eight more people - including a 10-year old boy and 13-year-old twin girls - were arrested Friday for trying to bring her water.
"I don't want her to die," Joshua Heldreth, 10, from North Carolina, said before his arrest. "I'm not afraid because God is with me."
Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly from a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder. She left no living will.
___
Associated Press writers Mark Long and Mitch Stacy in Clearwater, Vickie Chachere and Jill Barton in Tampa, and Jackie Hallifax and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.
29 minutes ago Top Stories - AP
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - As Terri Schiavo's body continued its slow shutdown Friday, the severely brain-damaged woman's parents held out hope for unlikely help from Gov. Jeb Bush and further pressed the federal courts to have their daughter's feeding tube reconnected.
AP Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Terri Schiavo Case
Judge Won't Order Reinsertion of Feeding Tube
(AP Video)
The parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were running out of options and time in their bitter court fight against her husband, who has said she has no hope for recovery and wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially. The Schindlers believe their daughter could improve.
As of Friday afternoon, Schiavo had been without food or water for seven full days, and doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of her feeding tube being pulled. Dehydration has taken its toll on the 41-year-old woman, producing flaky skin, dry tongue and lips, and sunken eyes, according to attorneys and friends of the Schindlers.
"Terri is weakening. She's down to her last hours. Something has to be done and has to be done quick," said Bob Schindler, who visited his daughter Friday morning.
The Schindlers took their case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) in Atlanta on Friday - the same court that has ruled against them twice this week. Another emergency request is before Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer, who has handled the case for years.
The Schindlers asked the federal appeals court to overturn a ruling from a federal judge in Tampa, who for the second time refused to order the tube reinserted as he considers the parents' lawsuit. The newest plea argues that their daughter's due process and religious rights were being violated.
U.S. District Judge James Whittemore wrote earlier in the day that the parents could not establish "a substantial likelihood of success on the merits" of their case. He also noted "the difficulties and heartbreak the parties have endured throughout this lengthy process."
Gov. Bush has been a staunch supporter of the Schindlers, and his office was still clinging to hope Friday that the courts would allow the state to provide emergency care for Schiavo.
"We are continuing to do whatever we can and we are pursuing all the options available to us in this case," Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said.
But supporters of Michael Schiavo said the time for challenges had ended.
"All the politicians who injected themselves into this tragic and personal matter now need to begin respecting both the law and the legal process even if they disagree with the result that was reached in this case," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites)'s Florida chapter.
Terri Schiavo's tube was removed March 18 on a state judge's order. She has been without food and water longer than she was in 2003, when the tube was removed for six days and five hours. It was reinserted when Bush and the Legislature pushed through a law that was later thrown out by the state Supreme Court.
Many supporters of the Schindlers say Bush could simply ignore the courts and take emergency custody of Schiavo.
"Now is the day. Now is the time for the governor to have courage," said Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan monk and Schindler family supporter. "The governor needs to take action and take action soon. She's dying."
Bush said Thursday he is not willing to go beyond the boundaries of his powers.
An attorney for Michael Schiavo also rejected arguments that Bush could overturn years of court orders in the husband's favor.
"Jeb Bush does not own the state of Florida and just cannot impose his will on Terri Schiavo," George Felos told CBS' "The Early Show" on Friday. Felos declined comment to The Associated Press.
Outside the hospice where Terri Schiavo lay, eight more people - including a 10-year old boy and 13-year-old twin girls - were arrested Friday for trying to bring her water.
"I don't want her to die," Joshua Heldreth, 10, from North Carolina, said before his arrest. "I'm not afraid because God is with me."
Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly from a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder. She left no living will.
___
Associated Press writers Mark Long and Mitch Stacy in Clearwater, Vickie Chachere and Jill Barton in Tampa, and Jackie Hallifax and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.