WASHINGTON — Capping a day and night of political, legal and emotional drama, Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation early this morning permitting the parents of a brain-damaged Florida woman to ask a federal judge to order her feeding tube reconnected.
The president, who traveled Sunday from his Texas ranch to the White House for the sole purpose of signing the bill, did so less than an hour after the House voted at 12:45 a.m. EST to pass the legislation, 203 to 58. The Senate passed the bill Sunday afternoon by unanimous consent, with only three senators present.
"In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life," Bush said in a statement. "This presumption is especially critical for those like Terri Schiavo who live at the mercy of others."
Outside the hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., where Schiavo has lived for several years, her family was exultant after the vote was announced. "We're very, very, very thankful to have crossed this bridge," said Suzanne Vitadamo, Schiavo's sister, "and we are very hopeful that the federal courts will follow the will of Congress and save my sister's life."
The legislation would give Schiavo's parents the standing to file suit in federal court on their daughter's behalf.
"Our petition will be quite simple," said David C. Gibbs III, an attorney for the parents. "Please get the food and water back to Terri immediately."
At 2:15 a.m., Gibbs said he had prepared a lawsuit and a request for a restraining order and was leaving from the hospice on the 20-minute ride across Tampa Bay to file both at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
"I'm moving really quickly because Terri's waiting." Gibbs said. He said a judge was on his way to the court and that a ruling was expected sometime overnight.
If a judge agreed to order that the feeding tube be reinserted, the decision has to be hand-delivered to the hospice. As soon as it is received, officials planned to whisk Schiavo to a hospital for the procedure.
Schiavo, 41, has been in what court-appointed doctors have described as a persistent vegetative state since 1990, although some physicians disagree that her condition is that dire. She can breathe on her own but is unable to eat or speak.
