Terri Schiavo unlikely to recover, doctor says

A court-appointed doctor who examined brain-damaged Terri Schiavo has concluded that she is in a permanent vegetative state with no meaningful chance of recovery.

An appeals court had ordered that five doctors examine Mrs. Schiavo and report back to a Pinellas-Pasco judge on whether unconventional treatment proposed by her parents could improve her condition.

Each side in the dispute selected two doctors, and the judge selected the fifth. A report by that physician, Dr. Peter Bambakidis, was filed Sept. 11 and supports the position of Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, that her condition is irreversible.

The doctors selected by Michael Schiavo's side also support that position. The doctors chosen by Bob and Mary Schindler, Mrs. Schiavo's parents, say her condition can improve.

A judge will hear testimony in the case at a hearing Oct. 11 to determine whether Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed, allowing her to die. She has been in a persistent vegetative state for more than 12 years.

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