From the AP story you posted:
"...Doctors have said Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery, but her parents believe she has mental abilities and can be rehabilitated..."
[only 'doctors' selected by those who want to kill Terri are allowed near her. Other doctors, seeing the videos
http://host85.ipowerweb.com/~friendso/vid.html say differently
http://www.wtlv.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=9362 ]
"...There has been an awful lot of judicial attention to this case," [Schindler attorney] Anderson said. "Judges don't like to second-guess each other."
[Is second-guessing worse than the chance that someone who is conscious and aware will be allowed to die a slow death?]
"...the attorney for Michael Schiavo... Felos has criticized such last-minute legal maneuvering as an attempt by the Schindlers and their supporters to negate repeated court approval of Michael Schiavo's actions..."
[Perhaps this 'last-minute legal maneuvering' is an attempt to save their daugher's life before it's too late]
"...Anderson met with FDLE agents in July to discuss the Schindlers' suspicions that broken bones detected in 1991 were caused by her husband. The broken bones were discovered in a routine bone scan, but have been explained by doctors to be brittle bone disease..."
[Again, which 'doctors' made this assessment? Did any doctors not approved by Michael Schiavo get to examine Terri? No. That was forbidden by Judge Greer.]
"Judges don't like to second-guess each other." Appeals courts exist only to decide matters of law rather than fact. Even if Terri were to somehow get up the strength to march herself into the appeals court room, appeals court procedure would dicatate that Judge Greer's finding that she's comatose outweigh any direct observation of her current state. To be sure, if that were somehow to happen many appeals court judges might be moved to pend procedures a little bit, but it would be a stretch.
I think the biggest problem in this case is that Terri's lawyers expected Judge Greer to act in good faith. Had they started earlier in working to discredit him, they might have had some chance on appeals. Unfortunately, the more times Judge Greer ignored the evidence, the stronger the fact-finding record became that Terri is permanently comatose.
Perhaps one thing that needs to change would be a rule allowing either party in a court case to demand that a case remanded on appeal be heard by a judge other than the one who heard the original case. Having dozens of cases all going before the same judge (until the "fact-finding" record becomes unbelievably strong) is crazy.
Other doctors, seeing the videos Have any doctors who have actually seen Teri, not just a video, agreed that she is not in a permanent vegative state?