Schiavo's husband and legal guardian argued that Schiavo would not have wanted prolonged artificial life support without the prospect of recovery, and, in , he elected to remove her feeding tube. Schiavo's parents disputed her husband's assertions and challenged Schiavo's medical diagnosis, arguing in favor of continuing artificial nutrition and hydration.
Bush , the then U. On February 25, , at age 26, Schiavo went into cardiac arrest at her home in St. Petersburg, Florida. She was resuscitated, but had severe brain damage due to lack of oxygen to her brain and was left comatose. After two and a half months without improvement, her diagnosis was changed to that of a persistent vegetative state. For the next two years, doctors attempted occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy and other experimental therapy, hoping to return her to a state of awareness, without success.
The court determined that Schiavo would not have wished to continue life-prolonging measures, [ 4 ] and on April 24, , her feeding tube was removed for the first time, only to be reinserted several days later. On February 25, , a Pinellas County judge again ordered the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Several appeals and federal government intervention followed, which included Bush returning to Washington, D. After appeals through the federal court system that upheld the original decision to remove the feeding tube, staff at the Pinellas Park hospice facility disconnected the feeding tube on March 18, , and Schiavo died on March 31, The Schiavo case involved 14 appeals and numerous legal motions , petitions, and hearings in the Florida courts; five suits in federal district court ; extensive political intervention at the levels of the Florida state legislature, Governor Jeb Bush , the U.
Congress, and President George W. Bush; and four denials of certiorari from the Supreme Court of the United States. She was the oldest of three children. Her mother reported that, as a child, Schiavo would spend hours in her bedroom arranging her collection of stuffed animals.
The two began dating and married on November 10, They moved to Florida in , following her parents. Michael worked as a restaurant manager, while Terri took up a bookkeeping job with an insurance company.
