Schiavo’s parents appeal to U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - Terri Schiavo’s parents made a desperate appeal to the Supreme Court late Wednesday, asking justices to order resumption of nourishment for their severely brain-damaged daughter.

In the emergency filing, Bob and Mary Schindler say their 41-year-old daughter faces an unjust and imminent death based on a decision by her husband to remove a feeding tube without strong proof of her consent. They alleged constitutional violations of due process and religious freedom.

The filing also argues Congress intended for Schiavo’s tube to be reinserted, at least temporarily, when it passed an extraordinary bill last weekend that gave federal courts authority to fully review her case.

Time is of the essence. Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed last Friday and doctors have said she likely would die within a week or two at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla.

The filing is seen as a long shot. The Supreme Court has declined other opportunities to get involved in the Schiavo case and legal experts say there is little reason to believe justices will intervene this time.

No timetable
The Schindlers’ request goes first to Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee who has staked a moderate position on social issues. He has the option to act on the petition alone or refer it to the entire court, which he did on the last emergency request involving Schiavo.

There was no immediate word when the Supreme Court might act on the petition.

Earlier in the day, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by Schiavo's parents to rehear her case, leaving as a last judicial option the high court.

Republican leaders in Congress also were preparing arguments for the Supreme Court in support of the parents.

In Florida, meanwhile, Gov. Jeb Bush tried to build support for Schiavo's parents by saying new evidence suggests her condition was misdiagnosed, even though doctors have said for years that Schiavo is severely brain-damaged and in a persistent vegetative state. His legal effort to gain custody of Schiavo was also rebuffed in court.

Republicans in the Florida Senate tried to pass a law that would prohibit patients like Schiavo from being denied food and water if they didn’t express their wishes in writing, but their effort was defeated.

The state Senate vote Wednesday came after a bitter debate, with Terri Schiavo’s brother, Bobby Schindler, watching from the gallery above the floor. He covered his eyes with his hands and lowered his head during the debate.

“I’m here pleading for mercy. Have mercy on Theresa Marie Schiavo,” said bill sponsor Sen. Dan Webster, a Republican.

But Senate Democratic Leader Les Miller warned: “By the time the ink is dry on the governor’s signature, it will be declared unconstitutional, just like it was before.”

The 10-2 ruling by the entire federal appeals court came just 12 hours after a three-judge panel from the same court ruled against the parents. Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, has consistently convinced courts that she would not have wanted to be kept alive in her condition.

The ruling was the latest legal blow for Schiavo’s parents as their daughter’s life hangs in the balance. 

‘Please let my daughter live’
Supporters of Schiavo’s parents grew increasingly dismayed, and 10 protesters were arrested outside her hospice for trying to bring her water.

“When I close my eyes at night, all I can see is Terri’s face in front of me, dying, starving to death,” Mary Schindler said outside the Pinellas Park hospice. “Please, someone out there, stop this cruelty. Stop the insanity. Please let my daughter live.”

Jeb Bush and Florida’s social services agency filed a petition in state court to take custody of Schiavo and, presumably, reconnect her feeding tube. It cites new allegations of neglect and challenges Schiavo’s diagnosis as being in a persistent vegetative state. The request is based on the opinion of a neurologist working for the state who observed Schiavo at her bedside but did not conduct an examination of her.

The long-shot custody request by Bush was made before Judge George Greer, the same judge who has presided over the case for several years and issued the ruling last month that allowed the feeding tube to be removed. Greer planned to decide by noon Thursday on whether the case would go forward.

But Ronald Cranford of the University of Minnesota, a neurologist who was among those who made a previous diagnosis of Schiavo, said “there isn’t a reputable, credible neurologist in the world who won’t find her in a vegetative state.”

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