Say Anything Blog

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman who spent 15 years connected to a feeding tube in an epic legal and medical battle that went all the way to the White House and Congress, died Thursday, 13 days after the tube was removed. She was 41.

Schiavo died at the Pinellas Park hospice where she lay for years while her husband and her parents fought over her in the nation's longest, most bitter --� and most heavily litigated --� right-to-die dispute.

The feud between the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and their son-in-law continued even after her death: The Schindlers' spiritual advisers said the couple had been at their daughter's bedside minutes before the end came, but were not there at the moment of her death because Michael Schiavo did not want them in the room.

"And so his heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment," said the Rev. Frank Pavone. He added: "This is not only a death, with all the sadness that brings, but this is a killing, and for that we not only grieve that Terri has passed but we grieve that our nation has allowed such an atrocity as this and we pray that it will never happen again."

Attorney for Michael Schiavo, George Felos, held a news conference, Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Although he did not say which comments had upset him, Felos chastised a Schindler priest's statements by saying they were "filled with venom" and that his statements were "counterproductive" and "disquieting". Felos also said that Terri Schiavo's death was "beautiful" and that she died a "gentle death".