The U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo March 24, and Florida Circuit Judge George Greer also denied a petition the same day of the state Department of Children and Families – and Gov. Jeb Bush – to put her in state custody, according to CNN.com.
The rulings came on the heels of a decision by U.S. District Judge James Whittemore March 22, who denied reinsertion of Schiavo’s feeding tube, then an appeal of that decision that was denied twice March 23 by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The courts ruled that the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, failed to show a “substantial likelihood of success” if the tube was re-inserted. The tube was removed March 18, and though Schiavo was still alive at press time, doctors predicted she would die soon if it stayed out.
For years her parents and her husband have been in a legal struggle over whether she should live or die.
Schiavo has been in what court appointed doctors call a “persistent vegetative state” since collapsing from a heart ailment 15 years ago and suffering brain damage.
While her husband, Michael, says she would not want to live in her present state, no written record exists. Shiavo’s parents say she has the capacity to swallow and could be fed orally if allowed. She is 41.
(BP, TAB)
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