A US district court is hearing an appeal from the parents of brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo, as they fight to have their daughter's feeding tube reattached. The parents appealed to Judge James Whittemore, who earlier rejected a similar request.
Their battle to have their daughter's feeding tube reattached suffered two major setbacks earlier Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in the case, denying a request the parents made late Wednesday. And a Florida judge rejected an appeal from Governor Jeb Bush for the state to take Mrs. Schiavo into protective custody. Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube was removed last Friday, and her health continues to decline as the legal battle rages on between her parents and her husband, Michael. Michael Schiavo maintains that his wife told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially.