Newswire

Another Legal Blow to Schiavo's Parents

'Judicial Homicide'

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A federal appeals court panel refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday, hours after the severely brain-damaged woman's father said she was weakening and down "to her last hours."

In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said it had already ruled on most of the issues raised in the latest appeal, and that other issues raised did not apply to the case.

It marked the third time in four days the court had denied an emergency request made by Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.

After Friday's appellate court ruling, Schiavo's parents again pleaded with Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene.

"With the stroke of his pen, he could stop this," Bob Schinder said. "He's put Terri through a week of hell and my family though a week of hell. I implore him to put a stop to this. He has to stop it. This is judicial homicide."

Doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of the feeding tube being removed, which was done March 18 after a judge sided with her husband's argument that she would not want to be kept alive artificially. 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.

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."

On Thursday, a Rockford, Ill., man was arrested in Seminole after trying to steal a weapon from a gun shop. Michael W. Mitchell, 20, told deputies he wanted to "take some action and rescue Terri Schiavo" after he visited the Pinellas Park hospice where she lives, an official said. Seminole is about 5 miles west of Pinellas Park.

Bush said Thursday he is not willing to go beyond the boundaries of his powers.

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."

Also, the FBI said a man was arrested Friday in Fairview, N.C., on charges of sending an e-mail threat, allegedly for offering a $250,000 bounty for Michael Schiavo's death and $50,000 for that of a judge in the case. The FBI did not immediately identify the judge.

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.


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Posted by Editor at March 25, 2005 10:42 PM