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Feb. 22 key date in Schiavo case

Her feeding tube may be removed then, her husband's lawyer says, but the parents of the woman have other legal avenues open to them.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published February 10, 2005

The feeding tube that has kept Terri Schiavo alive for 15 years might be removed Feb. 22, a lawyer for her husband says. But attorneys for Schiavo's parents think it unlikely anything will happen by then.

George Felos, attorney for Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, said Wednesday his client will order his wife's feeding tube removed on Feb. 22 absent any court order stating otherwise.

He said the 2nd District Court of Appeal is expected to issue a mandate on that date after it decided late Friday that it wouldn't reconsider its decision rejecting the latest appeal by the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.

The appeal had said a recent declaration by Pope John Paul II that people in vegetative states have a right to nutrition and hydration would mean Schiavo, as a devout Catholic, would not want her own feeding tube pulled. The Schindlers asked for a new trial to determine what Schiavo's wishes would be.

Once the mandate, which finalizes an order in a case, is issued on Feb. 22, a stay by Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer will automatically expire. The stay had prevented the tube from being removed.

But the Schindlers still have other open legal avenues. They await a ruling by Greer on Friday on a motion by their attorney saying the original order allowing Schiavo's feeding tube to be removed is illegal.

They say, among other arguments, that their daughter did not have legal representation at the trial in 2000 that decided whether she would want to be kept alive by artificial means.

Barbara Weller, an attorney for the Schindlers, said Greer will again be forced to delay the tube's removal because of pending legal issues.

"I think (a Feb. 22 removal) is unlikely, but you can't make any predictions in this case," Weller said. "There are still way too many legal issues outstanding to be considered."

Felos said he expects more appeals from the Schindlers.

"The question is whether the courts are going to permit this outrageous merry-go-round to continue or whether they will allow Terri's wishes to be carried out," Felos said.

Schiavo, 41, has been in what her husband says is an irreversible vegetative state for almost 15 years. Her parents oppose him and believe their daughter, who left no living will, has some level of consciousness, even saying she can communicate remedially.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer ruled after a trial in 2000 that Schiavo, based on statements she made before lapsing into her condition, would not want to be kept alive by artificial means.

If Schiavo's feeding tube is removed on Feb. 22, it would be the third time that has been done. The last time in October 2003, Gov. Jeb Bush and state lawmakers intervened, forcing doctors to resume feeding Schiavo.

Meanwhile, a new study showing brain activity in brain-damaged patients could add fuel to the case. In the study, published this week in the journal Neurology, brain scans of two men diagnosed as minimally conscious showed dramatic increases in brain activity when they heard audiotapes of loved ones.

The study "quite possibly" could prompt new legal motions from the Schindlers, Weller said. "It's very relevant to Terri," she said. "She interacts differently with each member of her family."

But Felos said the patients in the study had far less brain damage than Schiavo. Earlier brain scans on her showed no activity, and that parts of her brain had been replaced by spinal fluid.

Staff Writer Lisa Greene contributed to this report. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

[Last modified February 10, 2005, 04:12:26]