On the morning of March 31, after nearly two weeks of not receiving nourishment through the feeding tube that had kept her alive since 1990, Terry Schindler Schiavo died. This followed several days of emergency petitions, through which the parents of Terry Schiavo, Bob and Mary Schindler, asked the courts to intervene and save their daughter's life. On March 30, both a federal court of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court refused, once more, to intervene in the case of Schiavo, a severely brain-damaged woman who had been receiving nutrition and hydration via feeding tube for over a decade before its removal Friday, March 18.

Schiavo's parents filed a previous petition to the U.S. Supreme Court after the March 23 decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to not order the reinsertion of Terri Schindler Schiavo's feeding tube. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene March 24 in the case of Terri Schiavo. Later, a Florida judge denied a request to have Schiavo taken into state custody.

This followed a Florida federal judge's rule against reinserting the feeding tube into Schiavo. U.S. District Judge James Whittemore expressed in his March 22 ruling that Schiavo's parents had not demonstrated a likelihood of success in their arguments to the court.

Congress enacted special legislation that President Bush signed March 21 to empower the federal court in Florida to decide her case, and order her caretakers to reinsert the Schiavo's feeding tube. Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, and family have been at odds over her fate in this case that has received national media attention over the years. Her case is seen by many as a precedent for how our society will protect the lives of those who are unable to communicate their wishes.

Michael Schiavo wanted the tube removed, saying it was what his wife would want. But her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, opposed efforts to remove the tube. They said their daughter would want to live, based partly on her Catholic beliefs. Several issues of Catholic Update provide a background on Catholic teaching about end-of-life issues.

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (CNS) -- One Florida judge overruled another March 18, deciding that the decision to remove the feeding tube from brain-damaged Terri Schindler Schiavo should go forward.

A CNN report late in the day quoted Schiavo's sister as saying the tube had been removed.

While the court maneuvering went on, about 40 people gathered outside the hospice in Pinellas Park where the Florida woman resides to protest any removal of the tube, and a U.S. bishops' pro-life official in Washington praised congressional efforts to keep Schiavo alive.

Gail Quinn, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, supported separate legislation on Schiavo passed by the House and the Senate.

"We strongly support legislation to provide Terri Schiavo access to the federal court so she can present her case," Quinn said March 18.

House and Senate leaders, however, were unable to reconcile differences in the bills to get the legislation to President George W. Bush to sign into law before the March 18 court-imposed deadline for removing the tube.

On the deadline day, Pinellas Circuit Court Judge David Demers blocked the removal saying this would allow the presiding judge in the case, Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer, more time to examine conflicting legal issues in the case. Shortly after Greer ruled that the removal could take place.

The efforts of House and Senate members who supported keeping the tube in place went beyond passing legislation. House Republican leaders issued a subpoena for Schiavo to appear March 25, and Senate Republican leaders called her as a witness in a March 28 committee hearing.

"The Senate and the House remain dedicated to saving Terri Schiavo's life. While discussions over possible legislative remedies continue, the Senate and the House are taking action to keep her alive," said Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Senate majority leader.

On March 17, Bush issued a statement favoring "a presumption in favor of life" in complex cases such as that of Schiavo. "Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern," said Bush.

"In instances like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life," he said.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, favored keeping the tube connected.

Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, wanted the tube removed, saying it was what his wife would want. But her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, opposed efforts to remove the tube. They said their daughter would want to live, based partly on her Catholic beliefs.

On March 11, the Vatican's top bioethicist said removing the feeding tube would constitute "direct euthanasia" and be a "cruel way of killing someone."

The Florida bishops and Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, also called for the continuation of medical treatment that could benefit Schiavo.

Schiavo, 41, has been impaired for the past 15 years. She can breathe on her own but requires nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube. She was receiving food and water through a feeding tube since 1990, when she collapsed at her home in St. Petersburg because of what doctors believe was a potassium imbalance. Her brain was deprived of oxygen for several minutes.