- PINELLAS PARK, Fla.
(AP) -- The Roman Catholic priest of a brain-damaged woman whose feeding
tube was removed this week tried to give her a final communion Saturday
but was refused entry by police officers guarding the entrance to the hospice.
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- Bob and Mary Schindler, the parents of Terri Schiavo,
were joined by Monsignor Thaddeus Malinowski when they told officers they
wanted to administer the Catholic rite of Viaticum, the last communion
for a Catholic before death.
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- Police officers at the hospice told the family the rite
would violate a doctor's order that nothing be placed in her mouth to prevent
choking and aspiration.
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- Malinowski, a retired priest, told the officers that
he would use "a small piece of the wafer and dilute it with water
before giving it to her. It's a very important part of her faith."
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- George Felos, an attorney for Michael Schiavo, Terri
Schiavo's husband, said in a statement that Malinowski administered "spiritual
communion" commonly given to patients who are unable to receive the
host by mouth.
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- Relatives and supporters who oppose orders by Terri Schiavo's
husband to cut off her nourishment held a vigil outside the hospice where
the tube was disconnected Wednesday.
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- Her sister, Suzanne Carr, renewed a call for help from
Gov. Jeb Bush, saying, "You have the power to intervene on Terri's
behalf. This is more important and beyond politics and bad press."
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- Feedings have been keeping Terri Schiavo alive since
1990, when she suffered brain damage following a heart attack. Doctors
say she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery, but
her parents believe she has mental abilities and can be rehabilitated.
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- Two state courts rejected attempts by the parents Friday
to have the feeding tube reinserted.
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- Terri Schiavo is expected to live one to two weeks without
food. She was 26 years old when a potassium imbalance stopped her heart.
She went for 10 minutes without oxygen and was left severely brain-damaged.
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- Michael Schiavo collected more than $1 million in medical
malpractice claims against doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical
imbalance. The Schindlers allege their son-in-law said nothing about his
wife's wishes not to be kept alive artificially until he stood to inherit
her medical trust fund.
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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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