By Times Staff Writer
Published September 24, 2003
TAMPA - A federal judge has set an Oct. 10 hearing date in the case of a disabled woman whose husband wants her disconnected from a feeding tube.
U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara ordered the hearing Tuesday, a day after Robert and Mary Schindler filed a federal lawsuit against their son-in-law, Michael Schiavo.
The Schindlers are seeking to block the Oct. 15 removal of the feeding tube that has been keeping their daughter, Terri Schiavo, alive.
Lazzara also set an Oct. 6 deadline for Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist to notify the court on whether the state will intervene in the case.
Terri Schiavo, 39, suffered severe brain damage more than a decade ago after a heart attack. A Pinellas Circuit Court judge last week ordered the feeding tube's removal in the legal battle between her husband and her parents.
The Schindlers seek a federal court injunction blocking the removal and having their son-in-law removed as their daughter's guardian.
Michael Schiavo has said his wife never wanted to be kept alive artificially.
