ACLJ Disappointed Supreme Court Refuses to Take Terri Schiavo Case.

WASHINGTON -- The American Center for Law and Justice, which represents the parents of Terri Schiavo in a legal battle to keep their daughter alive, said it is very disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court today refused to take the Florida case in which the Florida Supreme Court declared unconstitutional "Terri's Law" - a state law enabling Florida Governor Jeb Bush to save Terri from starvation and dehydration. The ACLJ filed a brief with the high court on behalf of Mary and Robert Schindler - Terri's parents - in support of Governor Bush's petition asking the high court to take the case.

"It is very disappointing that the Supreme Court has refused to enter into a critically important case involving the life and death struggle of Terri Schiavo," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which represented the Schindlers at the Supreme Court in their efforts to defend the emergency Florida legislation that saved their daughter's life. "With the Supreme Court refusing to take the case, there are now fewer options available to protecting the life of Terri Schiavo and that's a real tragedy. By declaring 'Terri's Law' unconstitutional, the Florida courts have handed down a death sentence for her. We believe the Florida Governor and legislature acted constitutionally and appropriately in passing 'Terri's Law' - life-saving legislation that is at the center of the legal dispute. While there are still legal options available in Florida, the Supreme Court's refusal to take the case makes it more difficult for those legal options to prevail."

In its brief, the ACLJ said the decision by the Florida Supreme Court is an "astonishing and unprecedented ruling" and encouraged the high court to send the case back to the Florida Supreme Court for further clarification prior to accepting the case. The brief also argued that the Florida Supreme Court acted unconstitutionally in its decision when it determined that once any court has issued a decree regarding the care and treatment of an incompetent person, neither the legislature nor the executive branch can take independent steps on behalf of the incompetent person's welfare.

The brief also asserted that Terri Schiavo, a disabled woman whose husband wants her life to end, is not in a persistent vegetative state, as alleged by her husband, that her condition is not terminal and untreatable, and that she is aware of her surroundings and does not want to die - especially by starvation and dehydration.

Governor Bush acting under "Terri's Law," ordered feeding and hydration tubes to be restored to Terri after a Florida trial court had ordered them removed. On behalf of the Schindlers, the ACLJ urged the state's highest court in Bush v. Schiavo to reverse a lower court ruling that struck down "Terri's Law" as unconstitutional. In September 2004, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the lower court decision.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law and the protection of human life, is based in Washington, D.C. and its website address is www.aclj.org.