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With a 1 p.m. deadline looming today, avenues to keep Terri Schiavo alive closed in Washington and Tallahassee.
Efforts by Terri Schiavo's parents to keep their daughter alive failed Thursday, as legislators and the
courts shut door after door on their attempts to prevent the removal today of the feeding tube that has sustained the brain-damaged
woman for more than a decade.
The action -- in the state Capitol, in Washington, D.C., and before the U.S. and Florida Supreme Courts
-- appeared to make it all but certain that the tube that has delivered water and nutrition to the 41-year-old at the center
of a high-profile, bitter family dispute will be removed at 1 p.m. today.
In Tallahassee, the state House of Representatives passed a measure to bar the removal of feeding tubes
from patients who leave no precise instructions on end-of-life care, but the Senate refused to go along, arguing that such
decisions belong with families. In Schiavo's case, her husband, Michael, has argued his wife would not want to be kept alive;
her parents disagree.
In Washington, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to move Schiavo's case to federal court, but it conflicted
with legislation the House had passed, and there was little time left for legislators to agree on language to send to President
Bush.
FEEDING TUBE
The courts, too, turned the family away: The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to stop the removal of
the feeding tube, and the Florida Supreme Court declared it had no jurisdiction to intervene on an appeal by the state...
LED THE CHARGE
Bush, the Republican governor who has led the charge in the state to help Schiavo's parents, called the
state Senate's action ''a huge disappointment'' and said he would ask senators to reconsider.
Schiavo's father, standing in a state Senate hallway with the Senate vote sheet clutched in his hand, said
he and his wife planned to personally lobby reluctant senators.
''I would hope the people who are voting on this would reflect some more, considering the fact my daughter's
life is at stake,'' Schindler said.
But the bill's sponsor acknowledged that the state Senate has little interest in reopening the hotly emotional
debate, which has raged in the courts for years.
''Maybe if I healed all the way up and I was looking to get run over again, I guess I could'' bring it up
again, said Webster, a Winter Garden Republican who quoted from the Scriptures as he made his case.
In Washington, the U.S. Senate passed a measure sponsored by Florida Sen. Mel Martinez to give Schiavo's
parents the chance to appeal before a federal court. But the House, which had passed a different measure earlier, had already
recessed. Without a compromise making the bills identical, the measure cannot move out of Congress.
NEGOTIATIONS
Late into the night, leaders from both chambers continued to negotiate, giving some hope that a last-minute
solution could be reached.
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum said on the Senate floor that there will be meetings today to
see if his chamber can pass the House version. Though the House is scheduled to be recessed for its two-week spring break,
Santorum said the House and the Senate would have sessions on Monday.
Like his brother, President Bush expressed support for the family, noting the case raises ''complex issues,''
but added that ``where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have
a presumption in favor of life.''
Doctors say that Schiavo, who collapsed in 1990, has been in a persistent vegetative state for more than
a decade. She did not have a living will expressing whether she wanted to be kept alive by a feeding tube or other measures.
Her husband, Michael, says she wouldn't want to be, but her parents believe their daughter, a devout Catholic, not only would
want to live, but can be rehabilitated.
Schiavo's case has become a cause celebre for disability rights activists and Christian conservatives. Members
of the Florida Catholic Conference, Christian Coalition and other religious groups watched from the galleries at the state
Capitol.
RELIGIOUS RIGHT
The push to save Schiavo by the GOP-led Legislature has led her husband to accuse Bush and state legislators
of pandering to the religious right. An attorney for the parents warned Thursday that the state senators who voted against
the bill -- a coalition of Democrats and nine Republicans -- won't escape their votes.
''They need to understand that they will be known as someone who voted to kill Terri Schiavo and they will
hear that for many campaigns to come,'' said attorney David Gibbs.
WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS
But senators said they feared the legislation would have made it impossible to have feeding tubes pulled
-- even from people who had talked about not wanting to live by artificial means. Both versions of the state legislation would
require ''clear and convincing evidence'' that a patient ''expressly and unequivocally'' didn't want to be hooked up to a
feeding tube. That would mean only patients with written instructions would be allowed to die without intervention, senators
warned.
''This is a very personal type of thing. It transcends Republican and Democrat,'' Sen. King said. ``No one
is killing Terri Schiavo. What the nine of us [Republicans] are doing is saying Terri Schiavo had the right to make the declaration.''
Rep. Dennis Baxley, the Ocala Republican and funeral home director who has led efforts on Schiavo's parents'
behalf in the state House, tried to stay optimistic that some version of legislation would be sent to the governor before
the feeding tube is removed today.
''I've seen a lot of miracles,'' Baxley said. ``I just think it's not over. There's still a little bit of
time.''
Herald staff writers Marc Caputo, Gary Fineout, Mary Ellen Klas, Phil Long and Knight Ridder correspondent
James Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
By Lesley Clark and Pablo Bachelet, Miami Herald, Mar 18, 2005
GOP bill to save life of Schiavo
Republican leaders in the Senate are preparing to move legislation this week if necessary to give federal
courts jurisdiction over the life of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman on life support whose feeding tubes are to be removed
Friday at her husband’s insistence.
The leaders could decide to call up a bill that would allow parties to the case, which has been tried in
Florida courts, to petition to have it heard in Federal District Court. Alternatively, the GOP leaders could decide to try
to move a private bill dealing specifically with the Schiavo case.
Either method, if passed by Congress and signed by President Bush, would provide Schiavo’s parents
with another chance to keep their daughter alive. A Pinellas County Circuit Court judge ordered the tube to be removed by
5 p.m. Friday, although the Florida courts or Legislature could act before then.
Even if GOP leaders decide to act, they will probably face resistance from Democrats who are reluctant to
make changes to federal law on the subject on such an expedited basis. Democrats may, however, wish to avoid acting in a way
that passes up a chance to save Schiavo’s life if Republicans push for action on the floor.
Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state since she had a heart attack in 1990. She has no living
will, although her husband, Michael, has argued that she expressed her wish to him that she not be kept alive artificially.
Her father, Bob Schindler, has sought to keep her alive.
In October 2003, the Florida Legislature passed a law at the request of Gov. Jeb Bush allowing doctors to
restore Schiavo’s feeding tube while a guardian considered her case. That law was later struck down by the Florida Supreme
Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case.
Michael Schiavo was on Capitol Hill last week meeting legislators. Frist was in Orlando and met conservative
groups that are concerned about the case.
Frist, a physician, told The Hill he is “looking at” a bill by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) dealing
with the issue while consulting with members of the Judiciary Committee about it.
Referring to Schiavo, Frist said, “She is clearly alive today. Looking at the facts, I would think
that the Senate should speak if there is not some action at the state level.”
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) was more blunt. “My feeling is we need to do something to stop what is
an unconscionable act on the part of the Florida court,” he said.
Santorum said that Schiavo, based on brain activity, was close to equivalent of someone with the disease
cerebral palsy and that he wouldn’t let the courts allow her to die, adding, “That’s not going to happen
on my watch.”
Santorum said that if it was apparent by the end of the week that Florida courts wouldn’t stop the
removal of Schiavo’s feeding tube, “Then I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that they do.”
The Senate this week is considering the budget resolution under set procedures outlined in the Budget Act.
Turning to other legislation, therefore, would require the unanimous consent of all senators. Senior Democratic aides said
it was unlikely Democrats would agree to a request by the majority to take up the legislation, which would be controversial
and would lead to changes in an area of the law dealing with habeas corpus — an area of contention.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), when asked about the legislation, responded, “I’ve talked to Senator
Martinez and know his concerns, but this is a major step. We’d have to look at this very carefully.” Another Senate
aide said that the earliest GOP leaders could try to take up the bill would be late Friday night, when the budget may be completed.
The Martinez bill, which is identical to House legislation by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), refers to the 14th
Amendment, which guarantees all Americans the right of “due process” under the law. The bill grants habeas corpus
protections to people who are incapacitated, are in custody and subject to a court ruling ordering the withdrawal of feeding
devices or medical treatment, and have not signed a living will.
Under the habeas corpus protections, those representing the incapacitated person could sue to have the case
reviewed in federal court, much as prisoners on death row for state crimes can file habeas corpus appeals.
House action on the bill is also possible. There are 115 co-sponsors to Weldon’s bill.
House Republican aides say the GOP conference is split on whether to act. Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), who supports
the Weldon bill, said several Judiciary Committee Republicans don’t want to make habeus corpus changes and favored passing
a private bill.
“If the Senate gets it over here, then we’ll probably pass it,” Pitts said.
Weldon told the Tampa Tribune he decided to act on the issue after being approached by Ken Connor, an attorney
for Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush who used to head the Family Research Council, a conservative group.
Several conservative Republicans have co-sponsored the Martinez bill. Among them are Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.),
James Inhofe (Okla.), Santorum and Sam Brownback (Kan.). Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) also is pushing for action on the subject.
Coburn, another physician, said it is clear that Schiavo can register pain, grimace and occasionally smile...
But some neurologists who have examined the case say that Schiavo’s parents are being fooled by apparent
outward signs of cognition and that her level of brain activity is quite low.
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