Q&A on the case

The fight over Terri Schiavo's care has a long history, twisting together a medical tragedy, a family's breakdown and a legal battle over end-of-life issues.

Q: What happened to Terri Schiavo?

A: In 1990, when Schiavo was 26, she collapsed at home. Her heart stopped beating because of a possible potassium imbalance that was believed caused by an eating disorder. Her brain was deprived of oxygen for 10 minutes before she was revived, doctors estimated. Left brain-damaged, she can breathe on her own but depends on a feeding-and-hydration tube to get nutrition and stay alive.

Q: Who is fighting over her fate?

A: On one side is her husband, Michael Schiavo: The couple met in college and had been married five years when Terri Schiavo collapsed. On the other side are her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. Michael Schiavo wants to have his wife's feeding tube removed, allowing her to die. He has testified that his wife told him she would never want to be kept alive artificially.

Q: But her parents don't agree?

A: Schiavo's parents dispute that their daughter would have expressed a desire to die, partly because of her religious faith. They also say Terri Schiavo could get better and that their daughter has laughed, cried, smiled and responded to their voices.

Q: Did Terri Schiavo have a living will?

A: No.

Q: What do doctors say?

A: Court-appointed physicians have testified that her brain damage was so severe that there is no hope she will ever have any cognitive abilities. They say that removing the feeding tube will bring about her death in seven to 14 days. Doctors who testified on behalf of her parents say they believe she can regain some functioning.

Q: If she's been in this condition for almost 15 years, why is her case being debated now?

A: The case has been fought in the courts since 1998, when Michael Schiavo began seeking to remove his wife's feeding tube. That's when he first said she had told him she wouldn't want to be kept alive mechanically.

Q: What has happened in the courts?

A: Michael Schiavo has repeatedly won temporary victories as he has tried to get his wife's feeding tube removed but until now has seen those decisions disputed, blocked and reversed by further court action, the Florida Legislature and now Congress. Her feeding tube has been removed twice before, each time for a few days before a court ordered it put back — in 2001 and in 2003.

Q: What's the latest twist?

A: Last week, a Florida appeals court upheld a state judge's order that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube be removed, and it was — on Friday. But then Congress passed a bill over the weekend, which President Bush signed early yesterday, that allowed the Schindlers to take the case to federal court. The parents asked U.S. District Judge James Whittemore in Tampa, Fla., to order Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. He did not immediately make a ruling after a two-hour hearing, and he gave no indication on when he might act on the request.

Q: Is money involved in this case?

A: Yes. Both sides have accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical-malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance that caused Terri Schiavo to stop breathing. However, that money, which Michael Schiavo received in 1993, has all but evaporated — spent on his wife's care and the court fight. Just $40,000 to $50,000 remained as of mid-March.

Q: Are there any other personal details relevant to the case?

A: Michael Schiavo has a longtime girlfriend with whom he has young children but has declined to divorce his wife. He and his wife's parents had a falling out in 1993 over Terri Schiavo's care and the malpractice money. The Schindlers tried unsuccessfully to have Michael Schiavo removed as her guardian.