Judge Refuses to Reinsert Terri Schiavo's Feeding Tube
A US federal judge refused today to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from the severely brain-damaged woman's parents.
The ruling by district judge James Whittemore follows an intervention by President George Bush and the US Congress to try to prevent a hospital from allowing her to die.
Ms Schiavo, 41, has been in a persistent vegetative state since a heart attack in 1990 starved her brain of oxygen. The state court ruled that her feeding tube should be removed after medical testimony that her cerebral cortex had atrophied, and that her only movements were reflexes triggered by the brain stem.
Ms Schiavo's fate has split her family. Her husband, Michael, has long called for her to be allowed to die, while her parents insist she communicates with smiles and facial expressions and could recover.
Legal experts predict the case could go to the supreme court in Washington.
The ruling by district judge James Whittemore follows an intervention by President George Bush and the US Congress to try to prevent a hospital from allowing her to die.
Ms Schiavo, 41, has been in a persistent vegetative state since a heart attack in 1990 starved her brain of oxygen. The state court ruled that her feeding tube should be removed after medical testimony that her cerebral cortex had atrophied, and that her only movements were reflexes triggered by the brain stem.
Ms Schiavo's fate has split her family. Her husband, Michael, has long called for her to be allowed to die, while her parents insist she communicates with smiles and facial expressions and could recover.
Legal experts predict the case could go to the supreme court in Washington.
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