TALLAHASSEE, March 14 -- Lawmakers proposed a measure Monday aimed at preventing Friday's scheduled removal of a feeding tube that is keeping brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive.
The legislation, which could come up for final votes in the Florida House and Senate as early as Thursday, would block doctors from denying food or water to someone in a persistent vegetative state with the intention of causing death. Exceptions would be made for living wills and other instances.
Schiavo, 41, has been at the center of a bitter court battle between her parents and her husband, who wants to remove her feeding tube so she can die.
This is the second time the legislature has considered measures aimed specifically at keeping Schiavo alive. In 2003, lawmakers passed a bill that allowed Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to order doctors to restore Schiavo's feeding tube. That law was thrown out by the state Supreme Court.
