Battle Over Terri Schiavo Hits Collective Nerve in America
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta. CNN's ON THE STORY begins in a moment. But first, headlines "Now in the News." Terri Schiavo is in her final hours of life. That's according to a spokesman for her parents and siblings. He says Schiavo is said to be showing signs of starvation and dehydration. Her feeding tube was removed March 18. The family is pleading with Florida governor Jeb Bush to intervene. If he doesn't, doctors have said Schiavo will likely will die by Friday. The thousands gathered for Easter mass at St. Peter's Square received a silent blessing from Pope John Paul II from his window. The ailing 84-year-old pontiff followed along as a cardinal read the blessing. It was the first time in his 26-year papacy that the pope did not celebrate the mass in person. The condition of Monaco's Prince Rainier has improved. A palace spokesman tells CNN Rainier has regained consciousness and the functions of his vital organs have stabilized. The 81-year-old monarch was admitted to the hospital earlier this month for a lung infection. More news in 30 minutes. CNN's ON THE STORY starts right now.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to CNN's ON THE STORY, where our journalists have the inside word on the stories we covered this week. I'm Barbara Starr, on the story of how changing conditions in Iraq could mean the start of thousands of U.S. troops returning home.</s>ROSE ARCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rose Arce, in New York, on the story of how the Terri Schiavo case is hitting a collective nerve across America.</s>ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alina Cho, in New York, on the story of how the Schiavo saga is bringing back agonizing memories for two Michigan families.</s>DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Dana Bash, on the story of the political fallout from the Schiavo case for President Bush and for Congress. And we will also go to Rome, where Delia Gallagher is on the story of an ailing Pope John Paul II on this Easter Sunday. And we'll spotlight's one artist's tribute to the fallen heroes from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Email us at ONTHESTORY@CNN.com. Now straight to the battle over Terri Schiavo.</s>ROBERT SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: Terri is weakening, and, you know, she's down to her last hours. So something has to be done and it has to be done quick.</s>BASH: Bob Schindler making a last-ditch plea for his daughter. Legal options have all but run out for the Schindler family's fight to have Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. The case was rejected numerous times this week all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and it's Terri Schiavo's ninth day today without a feeding tube. And now we're going to go straight to Florida. CNN's Randi Kaye is outside the office of Michael Schiavo's attorney. And Randi, tell us what the latest is this morning there in Florida.</s>RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In terms of the legal battle, it appears the final round took place yesterday. We had a state court judge here in Florida, Judge George Greer, denying a motion from the Schindlers. They were requesting that their daughter receive some fluids over this holiday weekend while they buy some time to have her reevaluated. And they believe that her will to live, her intent to live has changed, and that she does, indeed, want to live. They then filed -- after that motion was denied, they filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court, asking for the feeding tube to be reinserted and their daughter be reevaluated. And then into the evening last night, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed that, saying that the petition was out of their jurisdiction and they would have nothing to do with it. So that is the latest on the legal battle from here. Certainly still a very emotional issue when it comes to Terri Schiavo's condition.</s>STARR: And Randi, one of the things that's so emotional to watch is both sides, the Schindler family, the Schiavo family, and their differing views even in these final days about what they see going on. Now, we have seen representatives of both sides talk about this, Michael Schiavo's attorney and the Schindler family. Let's have a listen.</s>GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: She is calm. She is peaceful. She is resting comfortably. Her lips are not chapped. They are not bleeding. Her skin is -- her skin's not peeling. Frankly, when -- when I saw her -- and it's the first time I've seen her since the artificial life support was removed eight days ago -- she looked beautiful.</s>BOBBY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: My sister is being dehydrated and starved, is being killed by dehydration and starvation. This is ninth day. And it isn't painless, it isn't peaceful.</s>KAYE: Now, the problem is here is that we haven't had a camera, nor has anybody else had a camera inside Terri Schiavo's hospice room, in sometime. We haven't seen fresh video of her, fresh pictures of her in years now. So that is something that Bobby Schindler, her brother, would like to have done, but Michael Schiavo is resisting that. Her husband is saying a camera will not be allowed in there, and that is a court order as well. So it's very hard to determine here which side is giving an accurate description of Terri Schiavo's condition. I mean, the brother yesterday coming out and saying his sister looked so awful to him that he's suggesting to his parents that they not even go and see their daughter. And then on the flip side here, at a press conference with George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, saying that she's beautiful, she's peaceful, never before looking more at peace, described sort of an unnaturalness about her. So it's really, really hard with all the emotion involved to determine what is the accurate description.</s>ARCE: Randi, what is it like inside that hospice? What do we know of when the parents can visit versus when the husband can visit? Is there any overlap at all? Has there been any, you know, face-to- face conversation between Michael Schiavo and the Schindler parents?</s>KAYE: From what we understand, the answer to that would be no. We know that they are not in the room at the same time. Michael Schiavo hasn't spoken to his in-laws and the family in years. And he has full control of Terri Schiavo's hospice room. He can decide when he wants to be there, he can decide when her parents, her brother and sister, get to see her. On one day the Schindlers were not allowed -- were not allowed into the hospice room until about 5:00 p.m. So we understand that he is there around the clock, we are being told, at the hospice facility, ever since the 18th, when her feeding tube was removed. And we can see the Schindlers go in and out. Where CNN is actually set up over there at the hospice, the family's private room, if you want to call it that, is right behind our live location. And so we see them go in and out and we know when they are going in. And it's just an awful scene because they have to make their way through the crowd of protesters and through the crowd of reporters and the media to get some privacy. And just last night we were over there late, and we watched them huddled in the room. And many of them hugging. This was after the Supreme Court had dismissed there petition. And it's just -- no matter where you stand on the issue, it's really just sad, the whole thing.</s>CHO: Randi, it's Alina in New York. And obviously this is sad for all parties involved, because it does appear to be just a waiting game at this point. But I think what some people don't realize is there's going to be a fight over burial rights now, right? If you could speak to that.</s>KAYE: Yes, there actually still is a fight. We double-checked with George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, yesterday to see if anything's changed. And it still appears that Michael Schiavo does plan to have his wife Terri cremated, and he plans to bury her ashes in Pennsylvania at the Schiavo family plot. That is not at all what the Schindlers would like. They would like for their daughter to be buried here in Florida. But that does still seem the case. The other question surrounding her death is, who will actually be in the room when that final moment comes? Because they are never in the room at the same time, and George Felos addressed that yesterday as well. He says that he does believe that we'll know, they will be able to tell when her final hours or final minutes are coming, and he thinks they will be able to come to an agreement for both sides that both sides will be satisfied with. And which probably means at some point both sides will be able to be in that room and say good-bye to Terri Schiavo.</s>BASH: Randi, you talked a little bit about the atmosphere outside where you are, the attorney for Michael Schiavo. We understand that there have actually been some potential death threats against him. Talk about the security aspect of this. This is so emotional, so highly charged on both sides.</s>KAYE: Yes, I was very surprised. Yesterday at the press conference I noticed four sheriff deputies here surrounding the press conference, and then they also escorted George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, to his car. We also understand, you know, just asking about Michael Schiavo and his whereabouts yesterday, he's very -- he would not say much about exactly where his client is, he would just say the hospice facility. So it does appear that security is a concern. There was a gentleman who was arrested by the FBI just on Friday for apparently soliciting people on the Internet to have Michael Schiavo killed. So there are certainly some concerns.</s>BASH: Randi, thank you. We will certainly be going back to you throughout the day to get the latest as things develop throughout the day. And up next, I am going to be on the story of how the Schiavo story may be inflicting some political damage on President Bush and perhaps on Congress. That's at the end of the hour. And "What's Her Story?" features a woman whose personal loss inspired a tribute to U.S. servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.