PINELLAS PARK, Florida (CNS): Death appeared imminent last week for severely brain damaged Terri Schindler Schiavo as recourse to courts and Florida Governor Jeb Bush evaporated in efforts to get her feeding tube reinserted.
On Easter Sunday, nine days after the tube was removed, Ms Schiavo was given Communion in the form of a drop of wine on her tongue.
Before that, state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court, refused to order the feeding tube reinserted and Governor Bush said he could no longer intervene given the numerous state and federal court rulings.
Supporters of reinserting the tube held a news conference on March 28 in Washington to urge President George W. Bush and Congress to take action to get the tube reinserted.
The legislative and legal battles involve her estranged husband who says his wife would not have wanted the feeding tube given her condition and her parents, who want the tube reinserted.
Catholic leaders have supported providing Ms Schiavo with food and nutrition.
Ms Schiavo should not be allowed to die through denial of food and water, said Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler, who is chairman of the US Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
‘God will call Terri Schiavo to himself when it is her time to die. It is not for us to determine when that time is,’ he said.
