A Candle for Terri

Schiavo Case In Appeals Court
Family Fears She May Die Before Case Fully Argued
Mar 22, 2005 8:50 pm US/EasternTAMPA (CBS)

Warning that Terri Schiavo was "fading quickly" and might die
at any moment, her parents begged a federal appeals court
Tuesday to order the severely brain-damaged woman's feeding
tube reinserted. Where, as here, death is imminent, it is hard to
imagine more critical and exigent circumstances," Gibbs said in
the appeal filed electronically with the court. "Terri is fading quickly
and her parents reasonably fear that her death is imminent." There
was no immediate indication of when the appeals court might rule.
Even before the parents' appeal was filed, the woman's husband urged
the 11th Circuit not to grant an emergency request to restore nutrition.
"That would be a horrific intrusion upon Mrs. Schiavo's personal liberty,"
said the filing by Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos. He filed a
response to the Schindlers' appeal and said he would go to the U.S.
Supreme Court if the tube were ordered reconnected.

"We still ought to expect a ruling sooner rather than later. The appeals
judges know as well as anyone else the time factor involved here,'' notes
CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen "No matter what this court decides,
the case will go next to Justice Anthony Kennedy at the U.S. Supreme Court.
He will have the option of rejecting the case himself or of granting the
injunction, even temporarily, or getting his colleagues to decide whether to
take the case outright. This process, too, could take a few hours at minimum,''
said Cohen. The Schindlers have been locked for years in a battle with
Schiavo's husband over whether her feeding tube should be disconnected.
State courts have sided with Michael Schiavo, who insists his wife told him
she would never want to be kept alive artificially. Late in the afternoon, the
Schindlers arrived at the hospice, and Terri's mother again pleaded with state
lawmakers to save her daughter's life.

"Please, senators, for the love of God, I'm begging you, don't let my daughter
die of thirst," Mary Schindler said. With that, she broke down and was escorted
away. In court documents, the couple said their daughter began "a significant
decline" late Monday. Her eyes were sunken and dark, and her lips and face
were dry. "While she still made eye contact with me when I spoke to her, she
was becoming increasingly lethargic," Bob Schindler said in the papers. "Terri
no longer attempted to verbalize back to me when I spoke to her." The feeding
tube was disconnected on Friday. Doctors have said Terri Schiavo could survive
one to two weeks without water and nutrients. Louise Cleary, a spokeswoman
at Woodside Hospice, said she could not discuss Terri Schiavo's condition for
reasons of privacy. Over the weekend, Republicans in Congress pushed through
unprecedented emergency legislation aimed at prolonging Schiavo's life by
allowing the case to be reviewed by federal courts.

However, early Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore of Tampa
rejected the parents' emergency request under that legislation to have the
tube reconnected, saying they had not established that they would probably
prevail at a trial on their claim that Terri Schiavo's religious and due process
rights have been violated. Bobby Schindler, her brother, said his family was
crushed. "To have to see my parents go through this is absolutely barbaric,"
he said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "I'd love for these judges to sit in
a room and see this happening as well." And although the politicians claim only
the noblest intentions in getting involved, CBS News Correspondent Wyatt
Andrews reports that some politicians see the benefits of framing her case in
pro-life terms. One memo circulating in the Senate last week touted how the
"pro-life base will be excited by the issue," Andrews reports. Republican
leaders strongly disavowed that, but last Friday House Leader Tom DeLay
told the Family Research Council --a leading Christian group -- the Schiavo
case was sent by heaven to focus attention on the helpless. "On thing that
God has brought to us is Terry Schiavo, to help elevate the visibility of what's
going on in America,'' DeLay said Friday.

By mid-afternoon, about 75 protesters gathered outside the hospice, virtually
all of them upset with Whittemore's decision. They carried signs and shouted
through bullhorns, and a Catholic Mass was celebrated. One woman was
arrested for trespassing after trying to bring Schiavo a cup of water. Among
those supporting the federal judge's decision was Richard Avant, who lives
down the street from the hospice and carried a sign reading "Honor her
wishes." "We represent the silent majority, if you look at the polls," Avant
said. "We agree that Congress overstepped their bounds." The Bush
administration "would have preferred a different ruling" from the
federal judge, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in
Albuquerque, N.M., where the president was visiting a senior center. "We
hope that they would be able to have relief through the appeals process."
The Justice Department also filed a court statement, saying an injunction
was "plainly warranted" to carry out the wishes of Congress to provide
federal court jurisdiction over the case. Unless the feeding tube is reinserted,
the department said, Schiavo may die before the courts can resolve her
family's claims. "No comparable harm will be caused" by letting Schiavo live
while the case is reviewed, the filing said.

At the same time, Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Florida, praised the ruling. "What this judge did is protect
the freedom of people to make their own end-of-life decisions without the
intrusion of politicians," he 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. Court-appointed doctors say she
is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. Her parents argue
that she could get better and that she would never have wanted to be cut off
from food and water.

(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Article and Photo taken from:
www.kyw.com
(CBS 3-Philadelphia)
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Dear Lord, Please be close to Terry and her family during this
tragic time. Please be a strength and light to them, and guide
them during this time of trial. Please show your light to the
millions who are moved by and touched by Terry, and her
parents plight. I pray for a revival-a revival for what is just
and right. Please bless her soul.
In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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http://www.terrisfight.net/