By Vickie Chachere / The Associated Press
Court clears way for husband to remove feeding tube from Terri Schiavo
DUNEDIN -- A Florida appeals court cleared the way Tuesday for the husband of a severely brain-damaged woman to remove the feeding tube which has been keeping her alive for 15 years.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal offered no specific instructions in a one-page mandate issued in the case of Terri Schiavo. That means Michael Schiavo could order his wife's tube removed within hours of the appeals court action, which ended the last judicial stay blocking the tube's removal.
Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were seeking an emergency stay from a Pinellas County judge in hopes of keeping their daughter alive long enough for them to file additional legal pleadings in the case. It would likely take several days for Terri Schiavo to die if the tube is pulled.
The appeals court's mandate allowed Michael Schiavo to act under previous court rulings. The appeals court has consistently upheld lower court rulings that Terri Schiavo had expressed wishes not to be kept alive artificially, although she left no written directive.
Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer, who twice has granted Michael Schiavo permission to remove his wife's feeding tube, was asked to issue an emergency stay that would keep Terri Schiavo alive while her parents seek to oust their son-in-law as her guardian and additional medical tests which might back their assertion that their daughter has some mental capabilities and reacts to them with tears and smiles.
George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, did not have any immediate reaction.
The internationally watched legal battle which pitted Michael Schiavo against his in-laws over the fate of his 41-year-old wife prompted protests Tuesday _ including the picketing of Michael Schiavo's home _ and pleas in Tallahassee for lawmakers and Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene.
Michael Schiavo's anticipated direction for doctors to remove the tube comes almost exactly to the day of the 15th anniversary of Terri Schiavo's collapse.
She suffered severe brain damage on Feb. 25, 1990 when a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder caused her heart to stop beating and cut off oxygen to her brain. While she breathes on her own, she relies on the feeding tube to survive. Doctors have ruled she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery.
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fl-222schiavo,0,7509469.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Posted by Editor at February 22, 2005 01:49 PM
