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Today: January 27, 2005 at 13:45:12 PST

Settlement Unlikely in Right-To-Die Case
By VICKIE CHACHERE
ASSOCIATED PRESS

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - While the two sides in the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case have been fighting bitterly in court, all along they have been quietly exchanging offers of a settlement.

But as the court case nears a critical point, there appears to be little chance they can come to terms over the fate of the 41-year-old woman who has suffered such severe brain damage she must be fed through a tube.

Attorneys said in interviews this week there that is too much distrust and there are too many sticking points between husband Michael Schiavo and his in-laws, Bob and Mary Schindler.

Michael Schiavo wants to have his wife's feeding tube removed, arguing that she is in an irreversible vegetative state and that she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means. Her parents have struggled to keep her alive in a court fight has raged for more than seven years and involved scores of court decisions and appeals.

"It's been made very clear to me by the Schindler attorneys that there is no possible settlement that the parents would agree to that might result in Terri's death," said George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney.

The Schindlers have offered to give their son-in-law whatever money remains in their daughter's medical trust fund if he were to walk away.

"They offered to give him everything and they would pay all the costs of her rehabilitation and her care - even if he wanted to stay married to her and inherit everything," said Barbara Weller, the Schindlers' attorney.

But Michael Schiavo's attorney said the legal fight is not about money, but about Michael Schiavo's vows to his wife to carry out her wishes. Terri Schiavo is not "chattel," to be bargained away, Felos has said.

A key hearing on her fate is set for Friday in a Florida court.

Terri Schiavo, 41, suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped beating because of an eating disorder.

Michael Schiavo has twice been granted permission to remove the feeding tube that keeps her alive, and twice has had her death interrupted by legal maneuvers.

Her parents do not believe she is in a persistent vegetative state, and contend she interacts with them.

Michael Schiavo never mentioned his wife's wishes until after the couple were awarded more than $1 million in medical malpractice claims. He stood to inherit that money if his wife died, though after years of litigation most of it is gone.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to step in and keep Schiavo hooked to a feeding tube. The ruling effectively ended Gov. Jeb Bush's efforts to use his authority to keep her alive.

As recently as Thanksgiving, the two sides have offered proposals that would involve bringing in new, independent medical experts to evaluate Terri Schiavo.

While both sides at different times might have agreed to that review, they have never been able to find common ground on the details of how those exams would take place, who would do them and how the information would be used once the doctors reported back, the attorneys said.

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On the Net:

Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation: http://www.terrisfight.org