Schiavo Kin Wants Feeding Tube Reinserted

Schiavo Kin Wants Feeding Tube Reinserted


PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Hanging their hopes on a last-minute compromise in Congress, Terri Schiavo's parents notified her hospice to prepare to have her feeding tube reinserted on Sunday, her third day without food or water.





Congressional leaders from both parties hoped an agreement reached on a bill would allow the tube to be restored while federal courts review her case. The House and Senate were expected to take up the legislation by Sunday or early Monday. If passed, President Bush (news - web sites) planned to sign it.


"Everyone recognizes that time is important here. This is about defending life," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in Texas, where the president planned an early return to Washington to be able to sign the bill as soon as possible.


The development was the latest in a contentious right-to-die battle between Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and her husband, Michael Schiavo, over whether she should be permitted to die or kept alive by the feeding tube.


Michael Schiavo criticized congressional leaders Sunday for intruding in the fight.


"I'm outraged, and I think that every American in this country should also be outraged that this government is trampling all over a personal family matter that has been adjudicated in the courts for seven years," he told CNN. "I think that the Congress has more important things to discuss."


But Mary Schindler pleaded for parents nationwide to call their congressional representatives and pressure them to vote for a bill to prolong her daughter's life.


"There are some congressmen that are trying to stop this bill," she said outside her daughter's hospice. "Please don't use my daughter's suffering for your own personal agenda."


Schindler attorney Barbara Weller said a letter was faxed to the hospice and to the office of Michael Schiavo's attorney Saturday night notifying them of the action in Congress and that the tube could be reinserted as early as Monday.


She said the hospice and Terri Schiavo's doctor were asked to "take whatever measures necessary to prepare for the tube to be put back in."


The bill being considered in Washington would apply only to Schiavo and would allow a federal court to review the case. If it passes, attorneys would probably have to seek a federal court order to have the tube reinserted while courts review the decisions that allowed Michael Schiavo to remove the feeding tube, Weller said.


"We're going to be ready to do what we have to do immediately," she said.


Weller also learned Sunday that an appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on due process issues is still alive, with the court asking for additional briefs before noon Sunday. The same action was denied by a federal court in Florida Friday.


Bob Schindler said he visited his daughter Sunday morning at her hospice and she seemed to be doing well as supporters maintained a vigil outside.


The 41-year-old woman's feeding tube was removed Friday on a Florida judge's order. Schiavo could linger for one or two weeks if the tube is not reinserted — as has happened twice before.


Doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. Her husband says she would not want to be kept alive in that condition.


Michael Schiavo, who has not responded interview requests from The Associated Press, continued his criticism Sunday of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who helped broker the congressional compromise.





"Tom DeLay should be ashamed of himself," Michael Schiavo told CNN. "He's sitting up there, making comments and bashing people. ... He's found a cause to hide behind, to lighten the load of his other problems."

Passage of the congressional measure would require the presence of only a handful of lawmakers and would allow Schiavo's parents to take their case to a federal judge.

Opposition waned after House leaders agreed to give up broader legislation and accept a narrowly crafted bill that applied only to Schiavo's case. The Senate convened briefly Saturday evening to give formal permission for the House to meet Sunday, when it otherwise would be adjourned for spring recess.

Rep. Robert Wexler (news, bio, voting record), D-Fla., issued a statement late Saturday saying he will make an objection that would stop the vote Sunday. Any member can demand that a majority of members be present to do business. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., said he was trying to gather enough votes to defeat the bill Monday.

Meanwhile, emotions swelled outside the hospice. Four people, including right wing leader James Gordon "Bo" Gritz, were arrested Saturday on trespassing charges when they attempted to bring Schiavo bread and water — a symbolic move, since she is unable to eat.

A spokesman for Schiavo's parents, Paul O'Donnell, later told reporters that they do not want supporters to engage in civil disobedience on their daughter's behalf.

On Sunday, a small group of supporters congregated outside the hospice, including some who had camped out for days. New protest signs were put up Sunday saying "Save Terri Schiavo From State-Sponsored Murder!" and "Free Terri, jail the rest."

Guabe Garcia Jones, an attorney from Washington, said he's been on a hunger strike since the tube was pulled Friday, only drinking water for the roughly two days he has spent in a tent outside the hospice.

"I'm not going to eat until she can eat — or I break down," said Jones, 26.

Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly because of a chemical imbalance. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding tube to keep her alive.

In 2001, Schiavo went without food and water for two days before a judge ordered the tube reinserted. When the tube was removed in October 2003, Gov. Jeb Bush pushed through "Terri's Law," and six days later the tube was reinserted. The Florida Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled in September 2004 that Bush had overstepped his authority, declaring the law unconstitutional.