Reuters reports that state Circuit Judge Greer -- who has managed the Terri Schiavo case since the beginning in 1998 -- ruled that the a petition by the Jeb Bush's Executive branch (Department of Children and Families) to assume custody appeared to be only "for the purpose of circumventing the court's final judgment." Some news reports indicated that DCF agents were en route to the hopsice when Greer issued the emergency injuction.

This last-ditch appeal from the state Executive Branch followed the refusal -- without comment -- of the full US Supreme Court to either hear the case or direct that her feeding tube be re-inserted. It is by no means the last legal effort, however.

The state has filed another petition with Greer which asserts that Schiavo might not be in a "persistent vegetative state." And the family has filed yet another request, in a Tampa Federal Court, to have the feeding tube re-inserted.

According to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), a doctor who has never met or examined Schiavo, the decisions of the state and federal courts discount "a compelling case for reexamination of the medical evidence."

Frist and the Schindlers are basing their assertions on a visit by neurologist and bioethicist William Cheshire, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, who spent 90 minutes with Terri but who did not perform an examination or tests, according to news reports. ABC reports that Chesire "is also an active member in Christian organizations, including two whose leaders have spoken out against the tube's removal."

Several news reports have quoted Ronald Cranford, University of Minnesota, one of the neurologists who made prior diagnoses, as saying "there isn't a reputable, credible neurologist in the world who won't find her in a vegetative state."

CNN published a column by a FindLaw analyst that reviews the legal history of the case and an analysis of the issues raised by Congressional intervention:

The separation of powers issue is an important one in this case, but an equally pressing issue is raised by Congress's decision to act with primarily -- if not exclusively -- religious justification.

This case has elevated the wrenching decisions many families are forced to make in this era of high-tech medicine, where machines can carry out almost all bodily functions, whether or not consciousness or cognition remain. A Bloomberg columnist explores the issues in a column that starts with the sentiments of most Americans, if polling data are to be believed:

If I should wind up in a persistent vegetative state with no reasonable chance of recovery, please let me die in peace.

See also London Guardian, Miami Herald