TALLAHASSEE -- Last-ditch efforts to block the removal of Terri
Schiavo's feeding tube foundered today as courts rebuffed her parents' appeals
and lawmakers failed to agree on legislation to intervene in the contentious
battle to keep the severely brain-damaged woman alive.
Unless a court or
lawmakers step in, Michael Schiavo can have doctors remove his wife's feeding
tube at 1 p.m. Friday against her parents' wishes, ending the long-running
right-to-die drama that has riveted people worldwide.
As lawmakers in
Tallahassee and Washington wrestled unsuccessfully with legislation intended to
keep her alive, legal avenues were shut down by the state and U.S. Supreme
courts, diminishing hopes for a solution to block her husband before the
deadline.
"Everything is a longshot," said David Gibbs, attorney for
Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.
The Florida House passed a
bill 78-37 to block the withholding of food and water from patients in a
persistent vegetative state who did not leave specific instructions regarding
their care. But hours later, the Senate defeated a different version 21-16, and
one of the nine Republicans voting against said any further votes would be
futile.
"As far as we're concerned we don't want anything to change the
existing law," said Sen. Jim King.
The Senate could consider the House
version of the bill on Friday, but the bill's sponsor in the upper chamber, Sen.
Daniel Webster, suggested there was so little support that he might withdraw
it.
"I can count votes," said Webster, R-Winter Garden.
In
Washington, both the House and Senate passed bills to move the case to federal
court, but the effort stalled over differences between House Republicans and
members of both parties in the Senate over how sweeping it should be. Schiavo's
parents and brother spent the day in the Capitol lobbying lawmakers to pass some
kind of legislation.
House Republicans insisted that federal courts be
given jurisdiction in similar cases questioning the legality of withholding food
or medical treatment from people incapacitated like Schiavo. The Senate limited
its bill to the Schiavo case only.
House and Senate leaders each sought
to put the blame the other for the stalemate.
"We've made our best effort
here and it does solve the problem," said Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum,
chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. "We tried the House language,
there was broad opposition on both sides of the aisle."
"House
Republicans knew we had a moral obligation to act and we did just that last
night," said Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Majority Leader Tom DeLay of
Texas in a joint statement. "As Terry Schiavo lays helpless in Florida, one day
away from the unthinkable and unforgivable, the Senate Democrats refused to join
Republicans to act on her behalf."
Republican Gov. Jeb Bush has strongly
urged the Legislature to pass a bill that would save Schiavo, as it did in 2003.
That law allowed Bush to order doctors to restore Schiavo's feeding tube six
days after it had been removed. But that law was later declared unconstitutional
by the Florida Supreme Court.
"It would be such a horrible tragedy for
Terri to have this delayed again," said George Felos, the attorney for her
husband, Michael Schiavo. "Either Terri's rights and wishes are going to be
carried out tomorrow at 1 p.m. or there is going to be another unconstitutional
intervention."
In Washington, House GOP leaders said the Senate is at
fault for not passing the House bill, which they approved on Wednesday. By the
time senators passed their legislation Thursday, many House members already had
headed home for Easter.
Bush also acknowledged Thursday that state
legislation had hit a snag.
"The bill is certainly not dead, but it does
appear that they're having some difficulty," he said. "I'm just disappointed,
but that's their decision."
Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990
when her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance, and court-appointed
doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband, Michael
Schiavo, says she told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her
parents dispute that, and say she could get better. They believe she interacts
with them, laughs and tries to speak.
Doctors have said it could take a
week or two for Schiavo to die once the tube that delivers water and nutrients
is removed.
The White House was cautious Thursday not to comment on any
specific legislation. Yet in a statement, President Bush left little doubt where
he stands.
"The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues," he said.
"Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and
substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a
presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our
special care and concern."
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from
Schiavo's parents to stop the removal of the feeding tube so lower courts could
consider whether their daughter's religious freedom and other rights have been
violated.
Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer also denied a request
Thursday from the Department of Children & Families to delay the removal of
the feeding tube while the agency investigates allegations Terri Schiavo was
abused.
The judge said the agency was not a party to the legal fight over
Terri Schiavo; a state appeals court has also denied the agency's request for a
stay. The state Supreme Court denied the DCF appeal in a one-sentence
opinion.
The White House was cautious Thursday not to comment on any
specific legislation. Yet in a statement, President Bush left little doubt where
he stands.
"The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues," he said.
"Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and
substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a
presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our
special care and concern."
