ATLANTA — By a 2-1 vote, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals early today denied an emergency request to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
"No matter how much we wish Mrs. Schiavo had never suffered such a horrible accident, we are a nation of laws and if we are to continue to be so, the preexisting and well-established federal law ... must be applied to her case," the majority ruling said.
In a strong dissent, Judge Charles R. Wilson argued that the qualities of "mercy and practicality" weighed in the plaintiff's favor.
"The gravity of the irreparable injury Theresa Schiavo would suffer could not weigh more heavily," he said. "In contrast, there is little or no harm to be found in granting this motion."
The case now almost certainly will wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court, where appeals in life-or-death matters are commonplace.
Warning that Schiavo was growing increasingly weak, her parents Tuesday had asked the appeals court to order their daughter moved immediately to a hospital and her feeding tube reinserted.
"Terri is fading quickly, and her parents reasonably fear that her death is imminent," lawyer David C. Gibbs III said in his court filing.
The severely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube was disconnected by court order Friday. Deprived of nutrition and fluids, doctors say, Schiavo probably will die within 10 days.
The appellate court action came after U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore ruled Tuesday morning that a special law passed by Congress did not require him to act to keep Schiavo alive while her parents made their case in federal court.
Schiavo's husband, Michael, maintains that she did not want to be kept alive through artificial means. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have been fighting to gain control over her care.
As the drama moved into its fifth day since the gastric tube was removed, lobbying efforts increased in Tallahassee to pass a special state law to save Terri Schiavo (pronounced SHY-voh). Her mother pleaded with lawmakers to act.
"For the love of God, I'm begging you, please don't let my daughter die of thirst," Mary Schindler said, weeping outside the hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., where Schiavo is being cared for.
Mike Tammaro, Schiavo's uncle, visited her in Woodside Hospice on Tuesday afternoon; afterward, he said her condition had deteriorated.
"From last night till now, she seems weaker," Tammaro said. "She is not as responsive. Her color was not all that great."
