A dispute over the fate of Terri Schiavo neared its end today as the brain-damaged Florida woman moved closer to death and her parents gave up their long and bitter legal battle to prolong her life.
"I'm not saying we wouldn't be open to any idea that comes up. But at this point, it appears that time has finally run out," David Gibbs, an attorney for Schiavo's parents, said late last night.
The tube feeding that has sustained Schiavo for 15 years was halted on March 18th under a state court order, setting off a flurry of efforts to get feeding restored by the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.
The effort brought in the US Congress, President George W Bush and his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush. But a string of judicial rebuffs, including from the US Supreme Court, effectively ended the Schindlers' seven-year legal dispute with Schiavo's husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, over whether she should live or die.
A failed appeal yesterday to the Florida Supreme Court probably was the last significant legal opportunity to extend her life, Mr Gibbs said.
A state court first ruled in 2000 that Schiavo should be allowed to die. It declared that she was in a "persistent vegetative state" since suffering a heart attack that deprived her brain of oxygen in 1990 and sided with her husband in ruling that she would not have wanted to live in that condition.
Bob Schindler urged supporters to continue their vigil outside the hospice caring for their daughter, after earlier telling them they should go home and celebrate Easter Sunday with their families.
"What I meant to have announced was that people should go home and go to church with their families on Easter Sunday," he said. "But not to stay home. We want people to continue to be here with Terri, and with us."
The Schindlers have attracted passionate support from an array of conservative Christians, right-to-life and anti-abortion activists. A few dozen people have maintained a constant vigil in front of the hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, in recent days.
Michael Schiavo and the parents were alternating time at Schiavo's bedside - having long ago stopped speaking to each other in a bitter family feud that escalated into a highly-politicized dispute.