- CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) --
A judge on Tuesday denied a bid by the parents of a severely brain-damaged
woman to intervene in the legal battle over a hastily passed state law
that empowered Gov. Jeb Bush to keep her alive.
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- Terri Schiavo's husband is challenging the law that allowed
Bush to order her feeding tube reinserted six days after the husband had
it removed.
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- The American Center for Law & Justice, founded by
religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, sought to intervene on behalf of Terri
Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who want the feeding continued.
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- Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird rejected the motion, but
allowed the conservative law firm to file a friend-of-the-court brief.
The firm issued a release calling the decision ``unfortunate.''
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- Michael Schiavo has been battling in court for years
to carry out what he says is his wife's wish not to be kept alive artificially.
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- The Schindlers have said their daughter expressed no
such wishes and is not in a permanent vegetative state, as a probate judge
has declared. They say she is responsive and could improve with therapy.
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- Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when
her heart temporarily stopped because of a chemical imbalance. Doctors
have said she has no hope for recovery from a vegetative state.
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- George Felos, attorney for Michael Schiavo, called Baird's
decision ``sensible,'' saying that the woman's parents had no legal place
in a constitutional argument.
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- Schiavo's lawyers contend ``Terri's Law'' violates the
state constitution, infringing on Terri Schiavo's right to privacy and
the constitution's separation of power provisions
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- A hearing on the guardianship of Terri Schiavo is set
for Wednesday afternoon before Circuit Judge George Greer.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3349945,00.html
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