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View Full Version : Schiavo’s parents say no more federal appeals



Victorious
03-26-2005, 09:11 AM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7293186/

Schiavo’s parents say no more federal appeals
Florida state court to rule on latest challenge today

Bob Jordan / Reuters
Bob Schindler, father of brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo, addresses a news conference outside the Woodside Hospice, in Pinellas Park, Florida, late Friday night, as his daughter Suzanne Vitadamo looks on. free video


• No new appeal?
March 26: The attorney for Terri Schiavo's parents say there will be no further federal appeals. MSNBC's Alex Witt and NBC's Mark Potter report.

MSNBC


• 'Judicial homicide’
March 25: Terri Schiavo's parents decry a federal appeals court's third refusal to grant their request to reinsert their daughter's feeding tube and plead with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene.

NBC


• Humane death?
March 25: A doctor who treats the terminally ill says even those patients who are awake and aware do not suffer when a feeding tube is disconnected. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.

Nightly News


• Who is Terri Schiavo?
March 25: NBC's Mark Potter takes a look at the woman whose case has sparked a worldwide debate on right-to-die rights: Terri Schiavo.

MSNBC


• Schiavo parents continue battle
March 25: The parents of Terri Schiavo took their case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta — the same court that has ruled against them twice this week. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

Nightly News


• Schiavo protesters
March 24: Who are the protesters gathered outside Terri Schiavo's hospice, and why do they feel so strongly about their cause? NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

Nightly News


• Parents' supporter reacts
March 24: NBC'S Kerry Sanders reports from outside Terri Schiavo's hospice, where a supporter of her parents, the Rev. Pat Mohoney, said the battle was not over.

MSNBC


• World watches Schiavo case
March 24: MSNBC-TV's Chris Jansing is in Rome where she reports on the Vatican's and the world’s reactions to the Terri Schiavo case.

MSNBC


• Michael Schiavo's state of mind
March 24: Scott Schiavo, brother to Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael, talks with "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer about his brother's emotional state and the latest developments in the case.

Today show


• Schiavo's brother talks
March 22: Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo, talks about the legal battle over his sister.

Today show


• Schiavo's medical state
March 21: NBC's Robert Bazell takes a closer look at the medical state of Terri Schiavo. What is the brain-damaged woman's condition?

Nightly News


• Living wills
March 21: The Schiavo case focuses attention on living wills, the legal documents that spell out exactly how you want to be medically treated if you can't make the decision yourself. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

Nightly News


• Michael Schiavo interview
March 21: Terry Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, and his attorney Deborah Bushnell talk about the legal battle over his wife.

Today show




NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 10:57 a.m. ET March 26, 2005PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Terri Schiavo's parents will not ask a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision that left their brain-damaged daughter without her feeding tube, leaving one of their last hopes with a state judge who has ruled against them before, NBC’s Mark Potter reported on Saturday.

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"The federal Courts have ruled that the law passed by Congress is a nullity. There are no claims that could be brought forward for Terri, with how the courts have construed the law,” said David Gibbs III, attorney for Schiavo's parents.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta refused Friday to order the reconnection of the tube, which was removed March 18.

The parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had planned to ask the full appeals court to review that ruling, but later decided against it, attorney Barbara Weller said. She did not explain the decision.

The parents made another desperate plea to Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer on Friday to keep their daughter alive, saying she tried to say "I want to live" just minutes before her feeding tube was removed. Greer was expected to announce a decision by noon Saturday.

In their motion, the Schindlers claim their daughter said "AHHHHH" and "WAAAAAAA" when asked to repeat the phrase "I want to live."

The appeal is seen as a long shot because Greer was the judge who ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed. Doctors have said Schiavo's previous utterances were involuntary moans consistent with someone in a vegetative state.

Attorneys for Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband, argued the Schindlers had abandoned all pretense of the law and were simply making “a pure emotional appeal.” Michael Schiavo says his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially.

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Right-to-die court battles




Numerous rulings against Schindlers
State and federal courts have repeatedly ruled against the Schindlers, who grew increasingly anguished as their daughter entered her second week without the tube that sustained her for 15 years.

Doctors have said the 41-year-old woman would probably die within a week or two of the tube being removed. By Friday, dehydration was taking its toll. Terri Schiavo’s tongue and eyes were bleeding and her skin was flaking off, said Barbara Weller, the Schindlers’ attorney.

“Terri is weakening. She’s down to her last hours. Something has to be done and has to be done quick,” said Bob Schindler, who visited his daughter Friday morning. After a later visit, he added: “I told her that we’re still fighting for her, and she shouldn’t give up because we’re not. But I think the people who are anxious to see her die are getting their wish.”

Gibbs, the Schindlers' attorney, urged Greer to act quickly on the motion filed Friday because he expected “Terri to step into eternity this Easter weekend.” George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, said the belief Terri Schiavo can speak was “crossing the line” into an abuse of the legal system.

Earlier Friday, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied another appeal by the Schindlers, saying it had already ruled on most of the issues and other issues raised did not apply to the case.

It marked the third time in four days the court had denied an emergency request made by Schiavo’s parents. Attorneys for the Schindlers said they planned to appeal, but would wait until Saturday morning.

Bob Schindler also pleaded with Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene by taking temporary custody of their daughter while court challenges are argued.

“With the stroke of his pen, he could stop this,” Bob Schindler said. “He’s put Terri through a week of hell and my family though a week of hell. I implore him to put a stop to this. He has to stop it. This is judicial homicide.”

Schiavo’s parents say no more federal appeals

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< Prev | 1 | 2Bush, who has been a staunch supporter of the Schindlers, said Thursday he is not willing to go beyond the boundaries of his powers and that he was hoping the courts would provide relief.

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“We are continuing to do whatever we can, and we are pursuing all the options available to us in this case,” Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said.

Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly from a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder. She left no living will.

She went without food and water in 2003 when the feeding tube was removed for six days and five hours. It was reinserted when Bush and the Legislature pushed through a law that was later thrown out by the state Supreme Court.

Protesters hold vigil
Outside the hospice, eight more people — including a 10-year old boy and 13-year-old twin girls — were arrested Friday for trying to bring her water.



“I don’t want her to die,” Joshua Heldreth, 10, from North Carolina, said before his arrest. “I’m not afraid because God is with me.”

A handful of protesters remained outside Terri Schiavo’s hospice overnight.

“I’m so discouraged, I feel so helpless,” said Christine Ambrusko, a student from Atlanta. “I don’t know how in our civilized country we can allow a person to be starved to death with so many questions unanswered.”

Also Friday, the FBI said a man was arrested in Fairview, N.C., on charges of sending an e-mail threat, allegedly for offering a $250,000 bounty for Michael Schiavo’s death and $50,000 for that of a judge in the case. The FBI did not identify the judge.

Richard Alan Meywes allegedly sent the e-mail Tuesday to two Tampa-area news organizations and the host of a national conservative talk show, the FBI said.

Meywes was taken into custody at his home and charged with murder for hire and with the transmission of interstate threatening communications, the FBI said.

If convicted, Meywes could face up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $500,000, federal prosecutors said.