PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — With the simple act of shutting off a plastic feeding tube, doctors yesterday began the slow process of ending Terri Schiavo's life, a court-ordered move that trumped a day of legal maneuvers by congressional Republicans to prevent the death of the severely brain-damaged woman.

The procedure took place inside a quiet hospice room north of St. Petersburg, while the world outside roiled. As a Roman Catholic priest administered last rites to Schiavo, 41, and demonstrators prayed nearby, national political leaders sparred over Congress' unprecedented intervention in the battle over a woman whose story has roused the GOP's social-conservative base.

Over the course of a nerve-racking day, the leaders of two congressional committees summoned Schiavo, who doctors say is in a persistent vegetative state, to appear before lawmakers, an extraordinary attempt to stall the cutting-off of her food supply. A House lawyer flew to Florida to intervene in her case, only to be dismissed by a county judge who refused to retreat from his order to end Schiavo's life. Invective mounted, with Democrats denouncing the legal moves and religious leaders fuming at the judge.

And, after years of their own legal sparring over how to contend with Schiavo's 15-year ordeal, her husband and parents squared off yesterday with their lawyers inside the cramped brick hospice where she lay bedridden. Without nutrition, Schiavo is expected to die within two weeks.

"This is what Terri wanted. This is her wish," her husband, Michael Schiavo, said on CNN's "Larry King Live." He said he was angry that "government has just trampled all over my personal life."

David Gibbs, the lawyer for Bob and Mary Schindler, said Terri Schiavo's parents were devastated. "They would change places with her in a heartbeat, if there was any way that they could be the one that's sick and hurting, and give their health to Terri," Gibbs said. "It's a tough day for them."

Over the past few days, Republican leaders in both houses of Congress — responding to an outcry by right-to-life groups — passed legislation in an attempt to delay the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube. Democrats questioned the propriety of the moves, while legal and medical experts struggled to keep pace with a raft of ethical question raised by Congress' intervention.

A House panel issued subpoenas to Schiavo, her husband and medical personnel. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said they and other GOP leaders would work over the weekend to smooth out conflicts between the Senate and House bills that would allow federal courts to intervene in the Schiavo case.

Late yesterday, the Supreme Court denied without comment an emergency House request to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube while it appealed to have its subpoenas recognized.

White House officials said President Bush discussed the case with his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, during a stop in Pensacola. White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to detail the conversation, but said "the president believes that when there are serious questions or doubts in a case like this, that the presumption ought to be in favor of life."

But despite those efforts — and even a direct attempt yesterday by a lawyer for the House Committee on Government and Reform to serve Schiavo with a subpoena — the Florida judge overseeing her fate pressed ahead with his order granting Michael Schiavo's request to let her die.

"I have no cogent reason why the (House) committee should intervene," state Circuit Judge George Greer told attorneys in a conference call.

Schiavo has been in a vegetative state since 1990; she suffered brain damage after a chemical imbalance caused her to stop breathing temporarily. She can breathe but cannot speak or eat. Schiavo left no will, but her husband has said she did not wish to be kept alive through artificial means. The Schindlers maintain that their daughter has been misdiagnosed and could improve with therapy.

Five years ago, Greer approved a request by Michael Schiavo to remove her feeding tube. But legal appeals by her parents — and maneuvering by Florida legislators and Gov. Bush — delayed the move until the Supreme Court refused in January to intervene.

At 1:45 p.m. yesterday, on Greer's latest order, doctors and hospice workers disconnected the thin plastic tube that carried liquid nourishment directly into Schiavo's stomach.

Michael Schiavo was not present because he was emotionally unable to attend, lawyer George Felos said, but he arrived minutes later. Terri Schiavo's parents had been at her bedside earlier in the day, but were asked by officials to leave before the tube was shut off.

After the procedure was complete, Felos launched into a caustic attack on GOP leaders, describing their subpoenas directed to the Schiavos as "nothing short of thuggery."

"Apparently, according to the House of Representatives, any committee member can direct a subpoena to any American citizen, forcing them to have medical treatment against their will," Felos said. "It was odious, it was shocking."

DeLay said House Republicans would not be deterred by yesterday's events. He called Greer's order "barbaric" and cited Felos as "the personification of evil."

Los Angeles Times reporters Stephen Braun and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.