- PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP)
- The parents of Terri Schiavo asked a judge to reinsert the brain-damaged
woman's feeding tube Monday, following an extraordinary political fight
that consumed both chambers of Congress and prompted the president to rush
back to the White House.
-
- An attorney for Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler,
arrived at federal district court in Tampa and filed a request for an emergency
injunction to keep their daughter fed.
-
- It was assigned to U.S. District Judge James Whittemore
www.flmd.uscourts.gov/jg__whittemore.htm , who was nominated to the court
in 1999 by President Clinton. He set a hearing for Monday afternoon, according
to a court Web site.
-
- David Gibbs II, attorney for the parents, said the judge
had sent a message saying he was reviewing the filings in the case.
-
- Earlier Monday, the House, following a move by the Senate,
passed a bill to let the parents ask a federal judge to prolong Schiavo's
life by reinserting her feeding tube. President Bush (news - web sites)
signed the measure less than an hour later.
-
- Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, said he was outraged
that lawmakers and the president were intervening in the contentious right-to-die
battle. He has fought for years with his wife's parents over whether she
should be permitted to die or kept alive through the feeding tube.
-
- "This is a sad day for Terri. But I'll tell you
what: It's also is a sad day for everyone in this country because the United
States government is going to come in and trample all over your personal,
family matters," he told ABC's "Good Morning America" on
Monday.
-
- Michael Schiavo has not responded to repeated interview
requests from The Associated Press.
-
- The lawsuit alleges a series of rights violations, including
that Terri Schiavo's religious beliefs were being infringed upon, that
the removal of the feeding tube violated her rights and that she was not
provided an independent attorney to represent her interests.
-
- Outside the hospice where his daughter entered her fourth
day without food or water, Bob Schindler told reporters "I'm numb,
I'm just totally numb. This whole thing, it's hard to believe it."
-
- A shout of joy was heard from the crowd outside the hospice
when news of the House bill's passage came. Among those cheering was David
Bayly, 45, of Toledo, Ohio: "I'm overjoyed to see the vote and see
Terri's life extended by whatever amount God gives her."
-
- When dawn broke Monday, fewer than a dozen demonstrators
remained at the hospice, but the area bustled with television lights, cameras
and reporters covering the saga.
-
- The 41-year-old woman's feeding tube was removed Friday
on a Florida judge's order. Schiavo could linger for one or two weeks if
the tube is not reinserted " as has happened twice before, once on
a judge's order and once after Gov. Jeb Bush signed "Terri's Law,"
which was later declared unconstitutional.
-
- George Felos, a lawyer for Michael Schiavo, did not return
repeated phone messages seeking comment Monday. The voicemail box of George
Greer, the Florida circuit judge who presides over the case, was full and
didn't accept messages.
-
- Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her
heart stopped briefly because of a possible potassium imbalance brought
on by an eating disorder. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on
the feeding tube to keep her alive.
-
- Court-appointed doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative
state with no hope of recovery. Her husband says she would not want to
be kept alive in that condition, but her parents insist she could recover
with treatment.
-
- Bob Schindler visited his daughter late Sunday and said
he noticed the effects of dehydration on her. He said she appeared to be
getting tired, but eventually responded to his teasing by making a face
at him.
-
- "It tells us she's still with us," he said.
-
- Brian Schiavo, Michael's brother, said he spent Sunday
afternoon with his brother and Terri at the hospice, but Terri did not
move or make any noises. "Anybody that thinks that she talks and responds,
they need to have a mental health examination," he said.
-
- The bill passed in Congress applies only to Schiavo and
would allow a federal court to review the case. The House passed the bill
on a 203-58 vote after calling lawmakers back for an emergency Sunday session.
The Senate approved the bill Sunday by voice vote. President Bush cut short
a visit to his Texas ranch to return to the White House.
-
- "In cases like this one, where there are serious
questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts
should have a presumption in favor of life," President Bush said in
a statement after signing the bill.
-
- A crowd of about 50 people prayed and sang outside the
hospice on Sunday. One man played "Amazing Grace" on a trumpet,
as a pickup truck pulled a trailer bearing 10-foot-high replicas of the
stone Ten Commandments tablets and a huge working version of the Liberty
Bell.
-
- Gov. Bush, praised the actions of Congress. "We
in government have a duty to protect the weak, disabled and vulnerable,"
he said in a statement Monday. "I appreciate the efforts of state
and federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have taken this duty
to heart."
|
