New legal blow to Schiavo parents

The US is deeply divided over Mrs Schiavo's case

The parents of the brain-damaged woman Terri Schiavo have lost another appeal as they fight to keep her alive.

A US appeals court in Atlanta turned down a request by the woman's parents for an emergency review of its earlier decision not to intervene.

The White House, which has tried to help the couple in their battle, says it has run out of legal options.

Mrs Schiavo, 41, has been in a vegetative state for 15 years. She has received no food or water since Friday.

Her husband Michael says she should be allowed to die, but her parents say her feeding by tube should continue.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has said Mrs Schiavo's condition might not be irreversible, and he is looking at ways to take her into the protective custody of his state.

In a further setback to Mrs Schiavo's parents, Florida's senate rejected a bill that would have forced doctors to restore Mrs Schiavo's nourishment.

The proposed legislation would have prohibited the denial of food and water to patients unless they had expressed their wishes in writing.

Last chance?

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Mrs Schiavo's parents - Bob and Mary Schindler - for the second time within hours.

TERRI SCHIAVO CASE Feb 1990: Mrs Schiavo collapses May 1998: Mr Schiavo files petition to remove feeding tube, triggering legal battle Feb 2000: Court rules to remove feeding tube Oct 2003: Florida's lower house passes "Terri's Law", allowing governor to order doctors to feed Mrs Schiavo Sept 2004: Florida Supreme Court strikes down law Dec 2004: Case goes to US Supreme Court Jan 2005: Court rejects petition 18 Mar 2005: Florida court again allows removal of tube 22 Mar 2005: Federal judge turns down parents' appeal 23 Mar 2005: Appeals court backs federal ruling Timeline: Terri Schiavo case Q&A: US feed-tube case

Mr and Mrs Schindler may now turn to the Supreme Court in Washington.

But the BBC's Washington correspondent, Justin Webb, says the odds seem stacked against them.

Congress and President George W Bush intervened over the weekend to allow federal courts to review the case.

But on Wednesday White House spokesman Scott McClellan said there were no "other legal options available to us".

Mr Bush's brother, Jeb, meanwhile, has suggested doctors might have misdiagnosed Mrs Schiavo's condition, which he says might be one of minimal consciousness rather than vegetative.

According to the Associated Press news agency, the governor and the state's social services agency say they have filed a petition with a Pinellas County trial court seeking to take custody of Mrs Schiavo.

'Starving to death'

The Schindlers had asked for a rehearing in front of all 12 judges of the appeals court after three of its judges earlier voted 2-1 against ordering doctors to reconnect a feeding tube to Mrs Schiavo.

Please, someone out there, stop this cruelty. Stop the insanity. Mary Schindler Terri Schiavo's mother

Reacting to that decision, Rex Sparklin, a lawyer for the couple, said they would take their fight all the way to the nation's highest judicial authority, Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has traditionally avoided intervening in cases involving the fate of terminally-ill patients, deferring such decisions to the states.

Outside Florida's Woodside Hospice, Mrs Schindler pleaded for her daughter's life.

"When I close my eyes at night, all I can see is Terri's face in front of me, dying, starving to death.

"Please, someone out there, stop this cruelty. Stop the insanity. Please let my daughter live."

It is thought Mrs Schiavo could survive for up to two weeks before dying.