The oral feeding is denied on the grounds that Michael R. Schiavo, George F. Felos, and George W. Greer "believe" that her food, if taken by mouth, would go to the lungs (causing asphyxiation Sp.?)instead of the stomach.
That may be their position, but supercat is right that there is no law that allows her husband to deny Terri the right to receive food and water orally, if she is capable of swallowing.
There evidently hasn't been a recent test to see if she can be fed orally. I wonder how many people who are given this test and like Terri, have the ability to swallow their own saliva without any help, are still given the diagnosis that they cannot be fed orally. It doesn't make sense to me. I believe Terri was getting communion in the past, until Michael put a stop to it.
We need to find out why they ordered the tube in the first place. Was it Michael's order or was it for the convenience of the nursing home staff, or can they prove that Terri was having trouble swallowing? Since her brother tried to feed her pudding once, and was caught and not allowed to visit Terri for ahwile, I bet there isn't anything in the records that Terri quit eating orally. I bet it was for the convenience of the nursing staff and as one poster said to allow Michael to have a tube to pull later.