Mar 22, 2005 / 22:00 pm
A second U.S. court of appeals today denied the replacement of brain-damaged Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. The latest decision comes hours after an Atlanta court of appeals denied the same request on behalf of Terri's parents this morning.
Today marks the fifth day that Schiavo has gone without food or water since a court ordered action to remove the feeding tube last Friday.
Likewise, the Florida State Senate today, voted 10-2 to turn back a bill, also aimed at saving the 41-year old woman's life.
An attorney for Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri's parents said that although doctors think their daughter could survive for up to two weeks without food or water, by late Tuesday, Terri was already showing physical signs of starvation.
Dismayed protesters have grown ever more troubled as events have unfolded over the past week bringing action from both the U.S. Congress and President Bush.
10 protesters were arrested today outside of the Pinellas Park hospice where Terri resides for trying to bring her water.
Although hope is growing dim, and exhaustion is running high, Schiavo's parents and other pro-life groups have vowed to fight until the last possible minute.
Mary Schindler, Terri's mother told reporters outside of the hospice today, "When I close my eyes at night, all I can see is Terri's face in front of me, dying, starving to death."
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Please, someone out there, stop this cruelty. Stop the insanity. Please let my daughter live."
Schindlers' only hope seems to hang on Governor Jeb Bush. The Governor and the head of the state's social services agency also said they have filed a petition with a Pinellas County trial court seeking to take custody of Schiavo. It cites new allegations of neglect and challenges Schiavo's diagnosis as being in a persistent vegetative state based on the opinion of a neurologist working for the state. The doctor observed Schiavo at her bedside but did not conduct an examination of her.
Bush and Department of Children & Families Secretary Lucy Hadi suggested they have authority to intervene on Schiavo's behalf regardless of the outcome of the bill in the Florida Legislature or a myriad of court decisions.