PINELLAS Park, Fla. — The U.S. Supreme Court turned aside the case of Terri Schiavo on Thursday, dimming her parents' hope of keeping her alive, while religious activists made a final appeal to Gov. Jeb Bush to defy the courts and intervene.
"I can't go beyond what my [legal] powers are, and I'm not going to," said a frustrated Bush, who expressed sympathy for Schiavo's family.
Schiavo's condition deteriorated visibly seven days after her feeding tube was removed by court order. Death was expected within a few days.
Mary Schindler visited her daughter early Thursday and left in tears. Terri Schiavo "looked like she just got out of Auschwitz," antiabortion activist Randall Terry said her sister told him.
The brother of Schiavo's husband disagreed, telling CNN that she "does look a little withdrawn" but insisting she was not in pain. "I'm sure you saw all the video of her before she had the tube removed," Brian Schiavo said. "She didn't look all that well."
George J. Felos, the lawyer for Terri Schiavo's husband, said Michael Schiavo was saddened by the protracted legal maneuvering but "very grateful" for Thursday's court action.
Bush's tone of resignation sparked anger and disappointment among protesters standing vigil outside the hospice where Schiavo was being cared for. Terry, who has been advising the Schindlers, said "there will be hell to pay" if the politicians whom religious conservatives had helped elect let Schiavo die.
The high court did not explain its decision to turn aside the case, just as it had declined to do in four previous appeals. None of the justices registered a dissent.
That action was followed by rulings Thursday from Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer, who barred the state from trying to take custody of Schiavo, 41, and reaffirmed that she would not want to be kept alive through artificial means.
In 1990, a potassium imbalance brought on by an eating disorder caused Schiavo to have a heart attack, which cut off oxygen to her brain. She has been in what doctors say is a persistent vegetative state ever since. Schiavo can breathe on her own, but cannot eat or drink.
For seven years, Schiavo's husband and parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have waged a court battle over her care.
The Schindlers maintain that her condition could improve.
But in 2000, Greer sided with Michael Schiavo and issued his first order to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. The tube has since been removed and reinserted twice, after court challenges.
