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New reprieve in Schiavo case
CLEARWATER -In yet another twist in a tortuous life-and-death legal battle, Terri Schiavo got a 48-hour reprieve Wednesday when a judge postponed a decision on whether her husband can order the removal of her feeding tube, an act that will begin her death. The judge wants more time to consider several last-minute requests, including one by Robert and Mary Schindler that their 41-year-old brain-damaged daughter be reevaluated by medical experts to see if she truly is in a ''persistent vegetative state'' without hope of recovery. She collapsed and her heart stopped cutting off oxygen to her brain in 1990. Lawyers and Circuit Judge Douglas Greer hinted that Friday's 5 p.m. deadline for a decision may not be the last delay either. At issue is at what point will the legal battles be over and when can Terri Schiavo's husband and guardian, Michael, be allowed to order medical workers to remove the feeding tube. Schiavo has said his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially; the Schindlers say their daughter's condition can improve and they want to care for her. In an 11th-hour development, the Florida Department of Children & Families tried to intervene in Wednesday's hearing and ask for a delay in removing the tube, presumably while it investigates the woman's case. Greer declined to allow DCF to participate in Wednesday's hearing, but that does not bar the agency from trying again. Bill Spann, DCF's chief of staff, declined to discuss the agency's actions Wednesday, citing the confidentiality of investigations involving elderly or disabled adults. George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, said DCF has investigated scores of complaints over the years and the agency has found them without merit every time. David Gibbs, the attorney for the Schindlers, defended the delay in ordering the feeding tube removed. ``With all these important questions there is no need to hasten the starvation and dehydration of Terri Schiavo.''
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