Caitlin
20.03.2005, 11:04
Congress to debate patient's fate
US President George W Bush
has cut short a holiday in Texas so that he can sign legislation to intervene in the case of a brain-damaged American woman.
On Friday, doctors removed the feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo, 41, alive, following a ruling by a Florida court.
She is expected to die within two weeks if the decision is not overturned.
Congressional Republicans have drafted a bill for the House of Representatives to debate on Sunday that would ask a federal judge to review the case.
"We should investigate every avenue before we take the life of a living human being," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said.
Mrs Schiavo lapsed into what doctors say is a persistent vegetative state after her heart stopped beating temporarily in 1990.
Mrs Schiavo's parents have spent seven years fighting to keep her alive. Her husband Michael, her legal guardian, has petitioned to let her die.
Mr Schiavo, who has since started a family with another woman, says his wife would not want to be kept alive in her current condition.
Rival pleas
Saturday's moves followed last-minute efforts earlier this week by Republicans in Congress to stop the removal of the feeding tube.
Mr Schiavo criticised the attempts.
"They should be ashamed of themselves," he said in an interview with CBS television before the news of the congressional deal.
"Leave my wife alone. Leave me alone."
Mrs Schiavo's mother, for her part, pleaded with officials and lawmakers to save her daughter's life.
"Please, please, please, save my little girl," Mary Schindler said outside the Florida hospice where her daughter lives.
Supporters kept up their vigil outside the building.
Three people were arrested after they symbolically tried to smuggle in bread and water, the Associated Press reports.
The case has galvanised activists from both sides of the euthanasia debate.
The feeding tube has been removed twice before. Both times campaigners successfully launched moves to have it replaced.
The president's spokesman said Mr Bush intended to sign legislation "as quickly as possible once it is passed".
"This is about defending life," Scott McClellan said.
Mrs Schiavo suffered brain damage after her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4365331.stm
US President George W Bush
has cut short a holiday in Texas so that he can sign legislation to intervene in the case of a brain-damaged American woman.
On Friday, doctors removed the feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo, 41, alive, following a ruling by a Florida court.
She is expected to die within two weeks if the decision is not overturned.
Congressional Republicans have drafted a bill for the House of Representatives to debate on Sunday that would ask a federal judge to review the case.
"We should investigate every avenue before we take the life of a living human being," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said.
Mrs Schiavo lapsed into what doctors say is a persistent vegetative state after her heart stopped beating temporarily in 1990.
Mrs Schiavo's parents have spent seven years fighting to keep her alive. Her husband Michael, her legal guardian, has petitioned to let her die.
Mr Schiavo, who has since started a family with another woman, says his wife would not want to be kept alive in her current condition.
Rival pleas
Saturday's moves followed last-minute efforts earlier this week by Republicans in Congress to stop the removal of the feeding tube.
Mr Schiavo criticised the attempts.
"They should be ashamed of themselves," he said in an interview with CBS television before the news of the congressional deal.
"Leave my wife alone. Leave me alone."
Mrs Schiavo's mother, for her part, pleaded with officials and lawmakers to save her daughter's life.
"Please, please, please, save my little girl," Mary Schindler said outside the Florida hospice where her daughter lives.
Supporters kept up their vigil outside the building.
Three people were arrested after they symbolically tried to smuggle in bread and water, the Associated Press reports.
The case has galvanised activists from both sides of the euthanasia debate.
The feeding tube has been removed twice before. Both times campaigners successfully launched moves to have it replaced.
The president's spokesman said Mr Bush intended to sign legislation "as quickly as possible once it is passed".
"This is about defending life," Scott McClellan said.
Mrs Schiavo suffered brain damage after her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4365331.stm