St. Petersburg FL Bishop Robert Lynch reacts to the news of Terri's next battle with starvation

Schiavo could ask a court to lift an automatic stay in the case that prevents him from removing the feeding tube so his wife can die, attorney George Felos said.

If the stay were lifted, Terri Schiavo's feeding tube could be removed without further court action, Felos said.

For six years, Michael Schiavo has been battling in-laws Bob and Mary Schindler over his assertion that their daughter would not want to be kept alive with the help of a feeding tube inserted into her stomach.

Twice before, Michael Schiavo has won court permission to remove the tube, only to have it reinserted, preventing his wife's death. In October, Gov. Jeb Bush stepped in and ordered feeding to resume.

On Thursday, Circuit Judge Douglas Baird declared unconstitutional the hastily drafted legislation, known as Terri's Law, that allowed Bush to intervene.

Bush immediately appealed and got an automatic stay while Baird's ruling is reviewed by higher courts. Both Felos and Bush attorney Ken Connor said they expect the state Supreme Court to eventually decide whether Terri's Law conforms to Florida's Constitution.

Felos said Thursday that he agreed not to try to remove the feeding tube before Bush could appeal. ``The last thing we want is a situation where her feeding would be started and stopped repeatedly,'' he said then.

On Friday, Felos said some news organizations misinterpreted his comments to mean he would wait until the Supreme Court had the final say on the constitutionality of Terri's Law.

If Baird or an appeals court agrees to lift the stay, Terri Schiavo could die before the high court rules, Felos said.

``It's disgusting to think they could take action to cause her death during the pendency of the appeal,'' Connor said. ``It shows the goal is not to be governed by the rule of law but to facilitate the agenda they have that Terri should die.''

Michael Schiavo contends his wife lost all brain function and has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990 when she suffered heart failure at the age of 26. A succession of courts has agreed and ruled that testimony from Schiavo and his relatives proves Terri Schiavo made statements prior to her illness indicating she would not want to be kept alive with no hope of improvement.

The Schindlers contend their daughter made no such statements and is a devout Catholic who would not want to go against the teachings of the church. Pope John Paul II said in March that it would be immoral to deny liquid nutrition to a person in a persistent vegetative state.

The Schindlers say their daughter reacts to them when they visit and could improve with therapy. They have been barred from visiting their daughter since March, when Felos said nurses at the facility where Terri Schiavo lives found what he described as needle marks on her arms.

On Friday, Michael Schiavo offered to allow the Schindlers to visit if they hired an off-duty police officer to accompany them.

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Reporter David Sommer can be reached at (727) 799-7413.