The legislative, executive, and judicial branches, of both the United States federal government and the State of Florida, were involved in the case of Terri Schiavo. In November 1998 Michael Schiavo, husband of Terri Schiavo, first sought permission to remove his wife's feeding tube. Schiavo had suffered brain damage in February 1990, and in February 2000 had been ruled by a Florida circuit court to be in a persistent vegetative state. Her feeding tube was removed first on April 26, 2001, but was reinserted two days later on an appeal by her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.
Florida Legislature
On October 10, 2003, the final remaining appeal filed by the Schindlers was dismissed. Five days later, on October 15, Schiavo's feeding tube was removed for the second time. On October 21, the Florida Legislature, in emergency session, passed "Terri's Law". This gave Florida Governor Jeb Bush the authority to intervene in the case. Gov. Bush immediately ordered the feeding tube reinserted.
On May 19, 2004, Florida Judge W. Douglas Baird overturned the law saying that it "summarily deprived Florida citizens of their right to privacy." Bush appealed the ruling to the Florida Supreme Court, and was supported by Schiavo's parents. The Schindlers obtained the legal services of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), and on June 14, the Schindlers asked the appeals court for the right to participate in the "Terri's Law" case. Michael Schiavo opposed the Governor's intervention, and was represented, in part, by the ACLU. After considering the Governor's reply, the Florida Supreme Court, on September 23, 2004, reached a unanimous decision, ruling that the legislative and executive branches of government unconstitutionally intervened in a judicial matter (against the separation of powers under the United States Constitution) and that Terri's Law was unconstitutionally retroactive legislation. The Schindlers immediately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. On January 24, 2005, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
Nineteen different Florida state court judges, at various times, considered the Schindlers' requests on appeal in six state appellate courts. While appellate courts do not consider new evidence, they do examine the evidence of the lower court for defects and rule on whether a trial is conducted properly; none of these courts found legal grounds to overturn the initial ruling; and, in seeming agreement, Florida Governor Bush, on October 17, 2003, admitted that "there is no way that he can overturn a judge's decision to remove the feeding tube." The final ruling came on February 25, 2005, when Florida Judge George Greer ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed on March 18, 2005.
On March 17, 2005, members of the Florida House and Senate debated separate bills relating to artificially provided sustenance and hydration. The House passed its bill, which would have prohibited removal of artificially provided sustenance and hydration from a patient in a persistent vegetative state if that patient did not have an advance directive indicating that was his or her wish. Florida Senators debated the issue, but did not pass their version of the bill. On March 23, the Florida Senate again debated a similar proposed law, which failed to pass.
U.S. Congress
Schiavo's feeding tube was removed again on March 18, 2005, at 1:45 p.m. EST. Around the previous midnight, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican from Tennessee, and Michael Enzi of Wyoming, also a Republican, announced that Schiavo would be called to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on March 28 in Washington. Frist served on the committee; Enzi was its chairman.
On March 21, Congress passed a bill, S.686, that allowed Schiavo's case to be moved into a federal court. The controversial law is colloquially known as the Palm Sunday Compromise. It passed the Senate on Sunday afternoon unanimously, 3-0, with 97 of 100 Senators not present. Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, deliberation ran from 9pm EST to just past midnight during an unusual Sunday session. The bill was passed 203-58 (156 Republicans and 47 Democrats in favor, 5 Republicans and 53 Democrats against), with 174 Representatives (74 Republicans and 100 Democrats) not present on the floor at the time of the vote at 12:41 a.m. EST. President Bush returned from vacation in Crawford, Texas to sign the bill into law at 1:11 that morning.
Congress also considered another bill to prevent Schiavo's death, called the "Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act" (H.R. 1151).
