US appeals court denies Schiavo parents' appeal

ATLANTA - A US appeals court has rejected a last-minute request from the parents of brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo for a rehearing on a petition to reconnect their dying daughter's feeding tube.

A three-judge panel at the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta had last week rejected an appeal by parents Bob and Mary Schindler against a Florida court ruling denying them an order to have feeding resumed.

The court on Wednesday denied a request by the parents for the full court of 12 judges to review that ruling, the court said.

Schiavo's feeding tube was removed on March 18 under order from a state court that has long sided with her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, in ruling that she is in a persistent vegetative state and would not want to be kept alive in this state.

But her parents have battled with numerous legal appeals to try to have her feeding restored. After Wednesday's ruling from the Atlanta court, the Schindlers could now appeal to the US Supreme Court, which turned away an appeal last week.

Schiavo, 41, would likely live up to two weeks after removal of the feeding tube, and family members have said she is weakening so there was little time left for any court intervention.

- REUTERS