parents of severely brain-damaged woman Terri Schiavo to order doctors to resume feeding her. The case was closely watched by Christians, some of whom were seen praying and pleading for her life outside the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, where medics removed the tube last week.
Armed with a new law rushed through Congress and signed by President George W. Bush over the weekend aimed at keeping her alive, the attorney for Terri Schiavo’s parents pleaded with a judge Monday, March 21, to order the brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube re-inserted. The hearing came three days after it was removed by order of a local court on the request of her husband.
RE-INSERT TUBE
On Tuesday, March 22, United States District Judge James Whittemore said the 41-year-old woman’s parents had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial on the merits of their arguments to re-insert the tube, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
It came as a setback for her parents and politicians including House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a leader in crafting what has been dubbed the ‘Terri Law’. "As millions of Americans observe the beginning of Holy Week this Palm Sunday, we are reminded that every life has purpose and none is without meaning," he reportedly said over the weekend.
Doctors have said Schiavo could survive one to two weeks without the tube, AP reported. Schiavo’s parents disagree that their daughter has been in what some call "a persistent vegetative state" since 1990, when her heart stopped beating because of a chemical imbalance. The parents say she responds to them and appreciates a gentle touch.
"ARTIFICIAL LIFE"
But her husband, Michael Schiavo, claims she had previously told him she didn’t want to be kept alive artificially. Yet critics question his intentions, saying he is the sole inheritor of Terri’s insurance money and wonder why he refuses to divorce her, even though he now lives with another woman and has had two children with her.
He reportedly testified in a malpractice suit 15 years ago that he loved his wife and was going to spend the rest of his life with her. Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association said the battle for Terri’s future means more than the life of one woman.
"If Michael Schiavo and his supporters win their case and if the "right-to-die" proponents succeed in ending Terri’s life simply because — according to their standards — she does not enjoy a certain, prescribed "quality of life," then the frail, the elderly, and other vulnerable members of society — perhaps even children born with serious physical problems — could soon become endangered, he said in a statement distributed by Agape Press news agency.
US CONGRESS
"We applaud the US Congress and President Bush for working quickly through the night to protect the life of a vulnerable, disabled woman condemned to die by starvation and dehydration," Wildmon added. "As Christians who cherish the life that God has given us, we must stand strong with Terri at this critical hour to ensure no court or group is given the power to take life away from innocent people."
Outside the hospice reporters saw dozens of people praying and singing behind signs bearing such slogans as "Let Terri Live" and "President Bush Please Save Terri." One man was seen playing "Amazing Grace" on a trumpet, as a pickup truck pulled a trailer bearing 10-foot-high replicas of the stone Ten Commandments tablets and a huge working version of the Liberty Bell.
Outside the hospice where his daughter entered another day without food or water, Bob Schindler told reporters earlier: "I’m numb, I’m just totally numb. This whole thing, it’s hard to believe…" AP reported.
(With: BosNewsLife News Center, BosNewsLife Research, reports from the United States)
