Posted on 03/25/2005 10:59:25 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
ATLANTA - For the third time in four days, Terri Schiavo's parents asked the same federal appeals court to order the reinsertion of their brain-damaged daughter's feeding tube. Their move came hours after a federal judge refused the same request.
In their latest appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Bob and Mary Schindler argued that their daughter's due process and religious rights were being violated.
Attorneys for Schiavo's husband, Michael, have until about 5 p.m. to respond to the appeal. Michael Schiavo has said his wife has no hope for recovery and wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially.
The parent's latest appeal, which opens with the sentence, "This is a mercy killing case," asks the court to order the Florida hospice where Terri Schiavo is staying to immediately transport her by ambulance to a hospital for medical treatment to sustain her life.
The appeal also asks the case be returned to district court with orders for an evidentiary hearing.
In Florida earlier, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore ruled against the Schindlers, who had asked him to grant their emergency request to resume their daughter's nourishment while he considers a lawsuit they filed.
The Schindlers then went to the 11th Circuit in Atlanta to review Whittemore's ruling. The Atlanta court refused earlier this week to overturn a previous Whittemore ruling.
Bob Schindler visited his daughter for about 15 minutes Friday morning. "Terri is weakening; she's down to her last hours," he said. "So something has to be done, and it has to be done quick."
He said the arguments presented to Whittemore were "very, very viable, and we're encouraging the appellate court to take a hard look at this thing and to do the right thing."
Gov. Jeb Bush has ordered his legal team to scour state laws for a way to reconnect Schiavo's feeding tube. There were calls from a supporter of the parents for him to take further action.
The tube was removed a week ago on a state judge's order that agreed with Schiavo's husband, Michael. The Schindlers believe their daughter could improve and wouldn't want to die.
In his 11-page ruling, Whittemore wrote that the Schindlers couldn't establish "a substantial likelihood of success on the merits" of their case. He also noted "the difficulties and heartbreak the parties have endured throughout this lengthy process" and praised the lawyers' civility, saying it was "a credit to their professionalism ... and Terri."
George Felos, attorney for Michael Schiavo, did not return a call seeking comment on the ruling.
As of Friday, Terri Schiavo, 41, had been without food or water for seven days and was showing signs of dehydration — flaky skin, dry tongue and lips, and sunken eyes, according to attorneys and friends of the Schindlers. Doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of the tube being pulled.
She has now been off the tube longer than she was in 2003, when it was removed for six days and five hours. It was reinserted when the Florida Legislature passed a law later thrown out by the courts.
The governor's request to let the state take Terri Schiavo into protective custody was denied by a Pinellas Circuit judge on Thursday.
On Thursday, Bush said his powers "are not as expansive as people would want them to be. ... I cannot go beyond what my powers are and I'm not going to do it."
But Paul O'Donnell, a supporter of the parents, contended the governor still has the power to take her into protective custody.
"Bob and Mary are begging Governor Bush to save their daughter on this Good Friday day," O'Donnell, a Franciscan monk, said after Friday's ruling. "Now is the day. Now is the time for the governor to have courage. The governor needs to take action and take action soon. She's dying."
A spokeswoman for the governor, Alia Faraj, said Friday he was "saddened by the decision. ... Judge Whittemore's willingness to take a look at Terri's case gave us a ray of hope."
Felos said he hoped the woman's parents and the governor would finally give up their fight.
"Jeb Bush does not own the state of Florida and just cannot impose his will on Terri Schiavo," he told CBS' "The Early Show."
The Schindlers' emergency request to have the feeding tube reattached included claims that Schiavo's religious and due-process rights were violated.
"It's very frustrating. Every minute that goes by is a minute that Terri is being starved and dehydrated to death," said her brother, Bobby Schindler, who said seeing her was like looking at "pictures of prisoners in concentration camps."
Michael Schiavo's brother, Brian Schiavo, strongly disagreed with that assessment, telling CNN that Terri Schiavo "does look a little withdrawn" but insisting she was not in pain. He added that starvation is simply "part of the death process."
In the federal court hearing Thursday, Schindler lawyer David Gibbs III argued that Terri Schiavo's rights to life and privacy were being violated. Whittemore interrupted as Gibbs attempted to liken Schiavo's death to a murder.
"That is the emotional rhetoric of this case. It does not influence this court, and cannot influence this court. I want you to know it and I want the public to know it," Whittemore said.
A perimeter around the federal courthouse was evacuated during the hearing after a suspicious backpack was found outside. The hearing was not interrupted, and the package was safely detonated using a remote device.
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.
The resulting dispute between parents and husband has led to what may be the longest, most heavily litigated right-to-die case in U.S. history.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites), without explanation, refused to order the feeding tube reinserted. The case worked its way through the federal courts and reached the Supreme Court after Congress passed an extraordinary law over the weekend to let the Schindlers take their case to federal court.
Terri Shindler Schiavo.......talk about....'Hate Crimes'.....
No matter how much I think about it, I'll never understand Terri's court ordered death by starvation and dehydration or those that want Terri dead!
On a radio show today I happened to catch that the hosts were up in arms that people were calling Terri by her first name as if they actually know her. According to them we should refer to her as Ms. Schiavo. They went on to add insult to injury by saying that none of Ms. Schiavo's supporters even cared about her, it's all about pandering. They were having a contest to pick out the biggest panderer...George Bush, Delay etc. It made me SICK!
I wish every person that has rallied for Terri would not watch those talking heads. They continually report lies - we know it. Less TV views. We can't do much for Terri personally but we can take same small action - even if it is inconvenient.
I tuned into to Hannity - Colmes opened his mouth - and off went the TV. The distortion is abominable. I feel as I watch they are making a mockery of viewers intelligence.
Did the host know Terri? It's a PR trick - use 'his name' for us to see the connection (as if married). Same like Hillary - uses Clinton or drops Clinton - whatever her suits her.
I'm rambling - sorry. Need to go out for a walk.
The sorry is immense -
You are so right! The truth shines!
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