Replies

Schiavo case hinges on appeals court action to be seen Tuesday

VICKIE CHACHERE

Associated Press

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The dramatic legal battle over the life of a severely disabled woman hinges Tuesday on what, if any, instructions a Florida appeals court gives on when her feeding tube can be removed and her death can begin.

The attorney representing Terri Schiavo's husband Michael said Monday her husband will act as soon as legally permissible in having physicians remove the feeding tube that has kept her alive for 15 years.

But whether that means Michael Schiavo will start the process Tuesday depends on how the 2nd District Court of Appeals issues its final word on a legal filing from her parents which has blocked Michael Schiavo from acting earlier. The court could simply allow earlier rulings allowing Michael Schiavo to act despite his wife's family legal protests, or could instruct a lower court judge how to proceed in the legally volatile case.

Asked Monday if Michael Schiavo intended to order doctors to remove the tube Tuesday, Felos said: "I have no idea. My client is taking this case one day at a time."

Michael Schiavo has spent more than seven years battling his in-laws to win court approval to remove the feeding tube which keeps Terri Schiavo alive. Doctors have ruled Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery; her husband said she never wanted to be kept alive artificially.

Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have their own doctors who believe Terri Schiavo has some level of mental functioning and is not vegetative. The Schindlers have fought their son-in-law in a case which has drawn international attention, saying their son-in-law once had a financial motive to do away with his disabled wife.

Terri Schiavo left no written will when she collapsed at the age of 26 from what doctors said was a chemical imbalance that stopped her heart. She still breathes on her own, but relies on the tube for food and water.

"We don't need to rush to Terri's death," said the parents' attorney, David Gibbs. "I don't know why Mr. Felos and the guardian (Michael Schiavo) are so bent on just killing her. It's kind of barbaric."

Appearing at an afternoon news conference, Bob Schindler said his family can do nothing more than also take the case "day to day" and "pray for a miracle."

Terri Schiavo has twice had her tube removed only to have it reinserted in dramatic, last-minute developments.

In October 2003, she went without food or water for six days before Gov. Jeb Bush pushed through a new law letting him order the tube be reinserted. The Florida Supreme Court later struck down his action as unconstitutional.

The anticipated action from both the appeals court and Michael Schiavo prompted attorneys for the Schindlers to ask Circuit Court Judge George Greer of Clearwater for an emergency stay to prevent Michael Schiavo from acting before a hearing Wednesday on pending legal issues.

Gibbs said Greer said he would wait until the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland acts before deciding whether to issue a stay.

Late last year, Greer issued an indefinite stay blocking the tube's removal pending the Schindlers appeals. But those appeals are over as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, and Felos said he believes Michael Schiavo has the authority to act as of then.

Felos would not describe what preparations may have been made in anticipation of Tuesday's critical developments. He said that Michael Schiavo is legally obligated under the appeals' courts previous rulings to have the tube removed now that all legal barriers have been removed.

But Gibbs said there are still issues to be litigated and he wants to ask Greer to again delay the tube's removal under those matters are resolved. Chief among them is a motion to remove Michael Schiavo as his wife's guardian, with the Schindlers contending he has denied his wife therapy and had both financial and personal motives to end his wife's life.

Michael Schiavo has since started a new family with another woman. At one point, he also stood to inherit hundreds of thousands of dollars from Terri Schiavo's medical trust fund, but that money has now largely been spent on attorneys fees related to the battle over her life.

Gibbs said if Greer denies the request for an emergency stay he will seek one from the U.S. Supreme Court.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/10956408.htm