Schiavo’s Parents Urge Appellate Court to Act Quickly for Starving Daughter
''Where, as here, death is imminent, it is hard to imagine more critical and exigent circumstances. Terri is fading quickly and her parents reasonably fear that her death is imminent''
In what may be the last bid to keep their daughter alive, the parents of Terri Schindler Schiavo pleaded with the federal appeals court Tuesday to reinsert the feeding tube that was removed from the severely disabled woman five days ago.
David Gibbs III, an attorney for Bob and Mary Schindler, told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that Schiavo is “fading quickly” and that she may die any moment.
"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, according to Associated Press. "Terri is fading quickly and her parents reasonably fear that her death is imminent."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Tuesday’s appeal was filed after a federal judge in Tampa rejected the parents’ emergency request to reinsert the tube, earlier that day.
The Schindlers have been locked in a nearly seven-year-long battle with their son-in-law, Michael Schiavo, over the fate of the daughter. Michael, who now lives with another woman with whom he has fathered two children, claims his wife did not wish to be kept alive “artificially.”
Terri Schiavo left no such written directive. She also breathes and swallows her saliva on her own; the only “artificial” life support she receives is the nutrition and hydration tube connected to her stomach.
In 2000, Pinellas Court Judge George Greer ruled in Michael’s favor and ordered Terri’s tube removed. His ruling has since then went into effect three times, but was twice overturned – once by a court order and another by a law backed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Friday’s removal of the tube marks the third such time.
Michael Schiavo has meanwhile been doing all he can to prevent the reinsertion of Terri’s tube.
According to AP, Michael filed that his wife’s rights would be violated if the judges ordered nutrition restored while considering whether the feeding tube should be permanently reconnected, even before the parents’ appeal was filed.
"That would be a horrific intrusion upon Mrs. Schiavo's personal liberty, and the status quo should therefore be maintained until this court issues its final ruling," said the filing by Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos.
The filing also argued that the “status quo” – Schiavo remaining without her feeding tube – could continue for several more days without harming Terri.
Doctors say Terri could survive for up to two weeks without food or water. However, health complications from a lack of water - such as dehydration and bladder infections - are likely to begin much earlier.
Meanwhile, the White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters that the Bush administration hopes the Schindlers “would be able to have relief through the appeals process.”
