by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com
Editor
February 8, 2005
Clearwater, FL (LifeNews.com) -- A Florida appeals court has
again denied Terri Schiavo's parents an opportunity to argue before
the court that starving their daughter to death would violate her religious
liberties. Bob and Mary Schindler say that Terri is a Catholic and euthanizing
her would run contrary her religious beliefs.
The
2nd District Court of Appeal denied a handful of motions the Schindlers
filed and did not issue a written opinion in the case. That means they
are prevented from appealing the decision to the Florida Supreme Court.
By concluding the religious liberties case, the decision also means that Terri's estranged husband Michael can remove Terri's feeding tube -- perhaps as early as February 22.
George Felos, the euthanasia advocate who is Michael's attorney, wants the 2nd District Court to issue a mandate making the decision official, that would pave the way for Michael to ask doctors to remove the gastric tube.
Meanwhile,
the Schindlers are pursuing other legal avenues to prevent Terri's death.
Attorneys for Bob and Mary Schindler argued in a hearing late last month
that Terri should have had her own attorney during the decade-long legal
battle they have been fighting with her estranged husband Michael, who
wants to starve her to death.
"In reviewing the many boxes of court filings," Gibbs said, "we cannot find a single instance where Terri was afforded the right of every American to have a lawyer who would represent her own interests."
Schindler attorney David Gibbs argues that the court decision allowing Michael to end her life should be reversed.
Judge Greer gave Gibbs until Monday to submit further written evidence supporting his arguments.
The Schindlers also have a third motion in court that asks Judge Greer to remove Michael as Terri's legal guardian because of numerous conflicts of interest.
Terri's feeding tube was removed in October 2003, but doctors reinserted it at Bush's request after the legislature passed Terri's law.
Related
web sites:
Terri Schiavo's parents - http://www.terrisfight.org
