Court: Schiavo feeding tube won’t be reinserted

updated 5:35 a.m. ET March 23, 2005

ATLANTA - A federal appeals court refused early Wednesday to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube, denying the latest emergency request by the severely brain-damaged woman’s parents to keep her alive.

A panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 ruling that the parents “failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims.”

“There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo,” the ruling said. “We all have our own family, our own loved ones, and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law.”

But Judge Charles R. Wilson said in his dissent that Schiavo’s “imminent” death would end the case before it could be fully considered. “In fact, I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube,” he wrote.

Parents vow to make new appeal
Schiavo’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, vowed another appeal Wednesday.

“The Schindlers will be filing an appropriate appeal to save their daughter’s life,” said Rex Sparklin, an attorney with the law firm representing the parents.

The Schindlers said Tuesday that their daughter was “fading quickly” and might die at any moment. Her feeding tube was disconnected on Friday, and doctors have said that Schiavo, 41, could survive one to two weeks without water and nutrients.

The latest court ruling came less than 24 hours after U.S. District Judge James Whittemore of Tampa, Fla., rejected the parents’ request to have the tube reinserted, saying they had not established a “substantial likelihood of success” at a trial on their claim that Schiavo’s religious and due process rights have been violated.

A man who answered Bob Schindler’s cellular phone declined comment Wednesday.

Fierce legal battle
The Schindlers have been locked for years in a battle with Schiavo’s husband over whether her feeding tube should be disconnected. State courts have sided with Michael Schiavo, who insists his wife told him she would never want to be kept alive artificially.

Even before the parents’ appeal was filed with the 11th Circuit, Michael Schiavo urged the court not to grant an emergency request to restore nutrition.

“That would be a horrific intrusion upon Mrs. Schiavo’s personal liberty,” said the filing by his attorney, George Felos. He filed a response to the Schindlers’ appeal and said he would go to the U.S. Supreme Court if the tube were ordered reconnected.

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