Schiavo parents take case to next level
Attorneys for parents petition appellate court
Tuesday, March 22, 2005 Posted: 11:09 AM EST (1609 GMT)
TAMPA, Florida (CNN) -- A federal judge on Tuesday denied an emergency request to reinsert a feeding tube for Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman at the center of a national legal battle over her life.
Attorneys for Schiavo's parents appealed the ruling to a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Schiavo has been without food or water since a Florida state judge ordered her feeding tube removed Friday at her husband's request.
Tuesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge James Whittemore in Tampa came after Congress and President Bush enacted legislation aimed at allowing federal courts to review Schiavo's case. (Full story)
The Bush administration would have preferred a "different ruling," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said while accompanying the president on a trip to New Mexico.
McClellan said the administration hoped the Schindlers will find relief in the appeals process.
In denying the request for a temporary restraining order to restore the tube, Whittemore wrote that Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, didn't have a "substantial likelihood of success" on the merits of their arguments.
"This court concludes that Theresa Schiavo's life and liberty interests were adequately protected by the extensive process provided in the state courts," the judge wrote.
He acknowledged the "gravity of the consequences of denying injunctive relief."
"Even under these difficult and time strained circumstances, however, and not withstanding Congress' expressed interest in the welfare of Theresa Schiavo, this court is constrained to apply the law to the issues before it," the ruling said.
Schindler spokesman Gary McCullough called the decision "extremely cruel."
"Here's a woman whose life is hanging. She's being slowly starved," he said.
"This judge could have made his decision and give the family's attorney time to appeal this. From what I understand, the attorneys will appeal this."
Scott Schiavo, brother of Terri's husband, Michael, told The Associated Press that the ruling was "a good thing" and that Congress shouldn't have intervened.
"There's not a law that's made for this," he told the AP. "This is something that goes on 100 times a day in our country, that people, their wish to die with dignity is not a federal issue."
Michael Schiavo insists that his wife would never want to continue to live in her condition -- what Florida courts have deemed a persistent vegetative state.
People in such a condition cannot think, speak or respond to commands and are not aware of their surroundings.
Terri Schiavo, 41, collapsed in her home in 1990, suffering from heart failure that led to severe brain damage. Michael Schiavo said his wife suffered from bulimia that resulted in a potassium deficiency that triggered the heart failure.
He vowed to carry through with what he calls his wife's wish not to live in such a condition, saying, "I will stick by Terri."
"When Terri's wishes are carried out, it will be her wish. She'll be at peace, she'll be with the Lord," Michael Schiavo said Monday.
"This is what Terri wants. She does not want to be in this condition. She does not want to exist in this condition, and I'm going to carry out what she wanted."
But Schiavo's parents point to the absence of a living will, or written document, clearly spelling out her wishes. They argue that their daughter's due process rights have been violated and that she would not have wanted to die this way due to her faith as a Roman Catholic.
They also contend that their daughter's condition could improve with treatment.
An uphill legal battle?
Doctors have said Schiavo could live for one to two weeks without a feeding tube.
Her parents are facing an uphill battle. Repeated court rulings have held that Michael Schiavo is his wife's legal guardian and has the right to make decisions regarding her care.
At the federal court hearing Monday, the judge grilled the Schindlers' attorney about the constitutionality of their case.
Michael Schiavo, who was not at the hearing, visited his wife at a hospice in Pinellas Park on Monday. He said it is going to be hard when she finally dies.
"I've cried many tears so far, trust me," he told CNN's Larry King. "I made a promise to Terri. I'm going to stick by her side, and I'm going to do this for her. Terri is not a piece of property that you pass back and forth. She didn't say, 'Well, when I become sick, give me back to my parents.' "
He and his attorney, George Felos, said Terri made it clear years ago that she would not want to live in such a condition -- even though she never made a living will. They said she once made the comment to her best friend after seeing a movie in which a character was in such a state.
"She said, 'No tubes for me,' " Michael Schiavo said.
Asked if he would feel bad if his wife died and medical experts later figured out a way for her to have had a better life, he said that was a medical impossibility.
"Let's be realistic, Larry. You can't regrow a brain," he said.
Meanwhile, outside the hospice, Terri's brother thanked supporters on his family's behalf and said they remain optimistic the feeding tube will be reinserted.
At the same time, he said it is disturbing to visit his sister without the feeding tube.
"She's still alert, but we're going on four days now, and we're slowly watching my sister being starved to death," Bobby Schindler said.
"It's a surreal situation when you walk in there, and you realize you're watching a loved one slowly being starved to death and dehydrated to death. It's hard to describe."
Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/22/schiavo/index.html
Never underestimate the power of parents' love for their child. =P
.
