Posted: March 22, 2005
8:37 a.m. Eastern
 

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

A federal judge early Tuesday morning refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, leaving the fate of the severely brain-damaged Florida woman unresolved.

U.S. District Judge James Whittemore of Tampa said the 41-year-old woman's parents had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial on the merits of their arguments.

Whittemore wrote that Terri Schiavo’s ''life and liberty interests'' had been protected by Florida courts. Despite ''these difficult and time strained circumstances,'' he wrote, ''this court is constrained to apply the law to the issues before it.''

Judge Whittemore, who was appointed by President Clinton in 1999, was chosen by lottery to investigate whether Terri Schiavo's constitutional and statutory rights have been violated since she suffered a severe brain injury 15 years ago under disputed circumstances.

After emergency intervention by Congress and President Bush, the judge heard a request by the parents of Terri Schiavo to restore the brain-injured Florida woman's feeding tube.

The life-sustaining feeding tube was removed Friday afternoon after Florida courts rejected a flurry of motions by Schiavo's parents Robert and Mary Schindler to keep her alive.

Rex Sparklin, an attorney with the law firm representing Terri Schiavo’s parents, said lawyers were immediately appealing to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to ''save Terri’s life.'' That court was already considering an appeal on whether Terri Schiavo’s right to due process had been violated.