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| Judge Denies Fla. Bid to Take Custody of Schiavo |
| Thursday, March 24, 2005 |
CLEARWATER, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida state judge on Thursday rejected a petition by the state welfare agency to take custody of brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo, a move that would have led to her feeding tube being restored.
Circuit Judge George Greer, who has handled a bitter seven-year legal dispute over Schiavo's fate, said a request to intervene by the state's Department of Children and Families appeared to be brought solely "for the purpose of circumventing the court's final judgment."
Greer, who ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed last Friday, also rejected a request from Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, for the tube to be restored based on what they said was new evidence from a neurologist contradicting his court's finding that she is in a persistent vegetative state.
The parents' options to keep their 41-year-old daughter alive were all but closed on Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) denied their appeal to order feeding resumed, and when Greer issued his ruling. State courts have consistently sided with Schiavo's husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, in finding she would not want to live in this condition.
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posted by J.R. @ 2:55:00 PM   |
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