- Florida Governor Jeb Bush acted illegally by intervening
to keep a brain-damaged woman alive against her husband's wishes, a court
has ruled.
-
- The decision by the Florida Supreme Court means Terri
Schiavo's fate is again uncertain, 14 years after she fell unconscious
after a heart attack.
-
- Mrs Schiavo's parents have battled to keep her alive,
and gained the support of Mr Bush. He may yet go to appeal.
-
- He brought in a law last year allowing him to insist
she be kept alive.
-
- After "Terri's Law" was passed, her feeding
tube was reinserted, six days after it had been removed with a judge's
approval.
-
- But the Supreme Court on Thursday declared the law "unconstitutional
as a violation of separation of powers, as a violation of the right of
privacy and as unconstitutional retroactive legislation".
-
- Mrs Schiavo's husband Michael has argued for years that
he wants her to be allowed to die humanely.
-
- Florida's state constitution protects the right of terminally
ill patients to die "with dignity."
-
- Guardian status
-
- The woman's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, have
long fought to keep her alive, saying she has given signs of consciousness,
and could recover over time.
-
- But the court said on Thursday: "Medicine cannot
cure this condition. Unless an act of God, a true miracle, were to recreate
her brain, Theresa will always remain in an unconscious, reflexive state."
-
- A spokeswoman for Mr Bush, the brother of President George
Bush, said lawyers were considering whether to ask the Florida Supreme
Court to rehear the case, or appeal to the US Supreme Court.
-
- Even if that does not happen, Mr Schiavo may not be able
to allow his wife to die immediately.
-
- Lawyers for her parents are trying in another case to
have his status as her legal guardian removed.
-
- © BBC MMIV http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3686016.stm
-
|
