Congress, Court Don't Act in Terri Shiavo Brain Damage Case

Congress, Court Don't Act in Brain Damage Case

1 hour, 39 minutes ago


Politics - Reuters

By Joanne Kenen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A brain-damaged Florida woman at the heart of a prolonged and emotional end-of-life case appeared set to have her feeding tube removed on Friday after state and federal lawmakers failed to agree on how to intervene and the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) declined to step in.

The House late on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday passed legislation aimed at prolonging the life of Terri Schiavo, 41, by allowing federal courts to review the case. Such cases have traditionally been the province of state courts, state legislatures and families.

The two bills were different in scope and the day ended with harsh political recrimination instead of compromise on the fate of Schiavo, who has been fed through a tube since she suffered a heart attack in 1990.

House Republican leaders blamed Senate Democrats.

"As Terri 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," House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas said in a statement.

But in the Senate, several conservative Republicans went out of their way to note that Democrats and Republicans had worked together without acrimony. Several lawmakers urged the House to accept the more narrowly drafted Senate bill.

Late Thursday night, several senators announced they were still holding talks and Congress -- which is supposed to start a two-week recess -- might return on Monday to work on the bill. Even if Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at 1 p.m. Friday, death would not be instantaneous.

"I just can't conceive that this is going to be the end of this story," said Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, lead sponsor of the Senate bill. "A life hangs in the balance, and I know people of good will are trying to make this happen."

In a statement released by the White House, President Bush (news - web sites) said, "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." He was due to visit Florida to talk about Social Security (news - web sites) on Friday.

NO LIVING WILL

In her mid-twenties when she became ill, Schiavo had no "living will" or written directive about end-of-life care. Florida courts have upheld the argument of Michael Schiavo, her husband and legal guardian, that she had expressed her wish not to be kept alive in her condition. Her parents dispute that.

Court-appointed doctors also found that Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state.

Brain scans that were part of the state court record showed the part of her brain that controls thought and voluntary movement had atrophied and filled with spinal fluid after the heart attack deprived it of oxygen. The brain stem, which controls involuntary movement such as breathing and blinking, remains.

But her parents dispute that too, saying she responds to them and could improve with rehabilitation. Several lawmakers described her as disabled but very much alive. Frist, a doctor who has seen video of Schiavo, called her a "living person who has a level of consciousness, but cannot feed herself."

The Schiavo case with its family pathos and complex questions about the ethics of end-of-life decision-making, has become a lightning rod for politicians and advocacy groups.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, has tried to intervene against removing the feeding tube.

In Pinellas Park, Florida, police guarded the Woodside Hospice, which is caring for Schiavo, and demonstrators held a prayer vigil.



The Florida legislature failed on Thursday to agree on legislation aimed at stopping or delaying removal of the feeding tube, and Republican leaders said prospects were bleak for an agreement on Friday.

The House passed its bill, giving federal courts a role in such end-of-life cases, after an unusually fierce and emotional 40-minute debate.

The Senate opted for a much narrower bill. Known as a "private relief" bill, it would give Schiavo's parents access to a federal court but not apply in other cases.