U.S. National - AP By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - As Terri Schiavo drew closer to death Saturday, a state judge rejected another attempt by the brain-damaged woman's parents to reconnect her feeding tube, leaving the couple with little hope they could keep her alive.
Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, planned to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court later Saturday, family spokesman Gary McCollough said. The high court last week refused to intervene for the Schindlers.
Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer rejected the parents' argument that Schiavo tried to say "I want to live" before her tube was removed March 18. They argued that she said "AHHHHH" and "WAAAAAAA" when asked to repeat the phrase.
Greer said Saturday that "all of the credible medical evidence this court has received over the last five years" suggests Schiavo's behavior is not a product of cognitive awareness. Doctors have said Schiavo's past utterances were involuntary moans consistent with someone in a vegetative state.
When informed of Greer's rejection, Bob Schindler reacted with somber sarcasm: "He did? Great surprise."
David Gibbs III, the Schindlers' lead attorney, said the Schindlers had ended their federal appeals less than a week after Congress passed an extraordinary law to let them take the case to federal court.
"There is nothing that can be brought back to the court federally that will in any way help Terri," Gibbs said.
The Schindlers are still holding out hope for an unlikely intervention by Gov. Jeb Bush, who has said he has done everything in his power to take custody of Schiavo.
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