Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 1, 2005; Page A01
PINELLAS PARK, Fla., March 31 -- Terri Schiavo slipped away Thursday, dying with a stuffed animal tucked under her arm as a national debate raged about the ethics, politics and spiritual significance of her life and death.
She was pronounced dead at 9:05 a.m. on a breezy central Florida morning, a bouquet of lilies and roses -- a gift from an anonymous supporter -- scenting the room and demonstrators on the sidewalk praying for her soul. Schiavo's husband, Michael, cradled her in those last minutes -- 13 days after her feeding tube was removed, his attorney George Felos said.
Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, whose emotional appeals for political intervention carved unforgettable images of the case, were not at the hospice. Schiavo's sister, Suzanne Vitadamo, and her brother, Bobby Schindler, were banned from the room by Michael Schiavo after a loud confrontation between Schindler and police in the hallway about 15 minutes before her death.
Once the room was cleared, Felos called Schiavo's passing a "calm, peaceful and gentle death." Her parents' spiritual adviser, the Rev. Frank Pavone, his eyes moist and red, called it "a killing."
"Millions of Americans were saddened by Schiavo's death," President Bush said. He lamented that Schiavo could not have been kept alive by a law he signed after it was passed by Congress during a historic Palm Sunday session. "The essence of civilization," Bush said, "is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak."
Some of America's most powerful figures and institutions -- the president, his brother Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), Congress and the Roman Catholic Church -- tried to stop her death. But, in the end, it was an array of federal and state judges, spanning the ideological spectrum, who declared that what happened here Thursday morning is what Terri Schiavo, 41, would have wanted.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), who led the effort for Congress to intervene, called Schiavo's death "a moral poverty and a legal tragedy."
"This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change," DeLay said in a statement. "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today."
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) described DeLay's remarks as "reprehensible" and questioned whether he was advocating violence against judges who ruled against Schiavo's parents. "At a time when emotions are running high, Mr. DeLay needs to make clear that he is not advocating violence against anyone. People in this case have already had their lives threatened."
DeLay spokesman Dan Allen said the House leader was not advocating violence but was "stating disappointment at the way the judiciary ignored the intent of Congress and the president."
The political drama swirling over Schiavo -- who died three days before her husband's birthday -- was matched by the religious passions her case stirred. The Vatican took a particular interest, issuing statements that narrowed the range of acceptable conditions under which a Catholic can stop tube-feeding. After Schiavo's death Thursday, Jose Saraiva Martins -- head of the Vatican's office for sainthood -- called the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube "an attack on God."
Effect on the Crowd
Within moments of Schiavo's passing, the plaintive notes of "Amazing Grace" filled the air, twisting out of a scuffed trumpet as an impromptu choir formed outside her hospice. A man slumped against a metal post, shaking his head and murmuring a prayer. A woman in a purple nurse's smock sobbed, unable to speak.
Demonstrators hefted posters into the air of the Virgen de Guadelupe, the Virgin Mary image most beloved by so many of Florida's Hispanics. Others kneeled and bent their foreheads to the ground.
Jak poinformował prasę rzecznik rodziców Terri Schiavo, Paul O'Donnell, ich córka zmarła dziś rankiem o 10:00 lokalnego czasu (17:00 czasu polskiego) po 13 dniach od odłączenia tuby dostarczającej jej pożywienie. Jej rodzice nie mieli wstępu do jej sali w chwili zgonu. Miała 41 lat.

Michael Schiavo, mąż Terri, wnosił do sądu Florydy o odłączenie jego żony od tuby, aby ''nie cierpiała i zmarła''. 18 marca, sąd wyraził zgodę na jej odłączenie, jednak rodzice Terri, Robert i Mary Schindler, odwoływali się od decyzji. Pomimo zgody kongresu Stanów Zjednoczonych na ponowne podłączenie Terri, podpisanej przez prezydenta Stanów Zjednoczonych 21 marca nie wykonano tego. Wcześniej sąd stanowy i sąd federalny nie zgodził się na podłączenie aparatury umożliwiającej sztuczne odżywianie Terri, a Najwyższy Sąd Stanów Zjednoczonych nie zgodził się na taką samą prośbę Schindlerów 24 marca.

Pomimo licznych protestów, które odbyły się pod szpitalem, nie udało się uratować Terri. Otrzymała ona ostatnią komunię w Niedzielę Wielkanocną.

Michael Schiavo chce, aby jego żona została poddana kremacji i spoczęła w rodzinnym grobie rodziny Schiavo, pomimo protestów jej rodziców. Przedtem jednak zostanie wykonana sekcja zwłok, aby udowodnić publice ''ogromne i nieodwracalne uszkodzenie mózgu'' Terri.

Na temat śmierci Amerykanki wypowiedział się także George W. Bush. "''Nalegam, aby wszyscy, którzy szanują Terri Schiavo kontynuowali pracę nad tworzeniem kultury życia, w którym wszyscy Amerykanie będą szanowani i chronieni, w szczególności ci, którzy żyją na łasce innych. W przypadkach gdy mamy wątpliwości i pytania, powinniśmy założyć dobro innych, by żyli dalej''." - Powiedział prezydent Stanów Zjednoczonych.

Jak powiedział George Felos, adwokat Michaela Schiavo, Terri Schiavo sama chciała umrzeć w obecnym stanie i została spełniona jej wola. Sprawa Terri wywołała dyskusję na temat eutanazji i leczenia osób sparaliżowanych.