Appeal court says woman must die

An appeal court has refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. The brain-damaged woman is said to be near death after four days without food or water. Her parents had asked the court in Florida to order doctors to reinsert the tube. Bob and Mary Schindler said their 41-year-old daughter is "fading quickly".

The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to deny the request, a day after a federal judge also refused an appeal. The Schindlers said they would launch another appeal. They have been locked in a seven-year battle with their daughter's husband, Michael Schiavo, who claims his wife, who was brain-damaged after collapsing at home 15 years ago, told him she never wanted to be kept alive.

Last Friday doctors removed the tube after the courts sided with her husband.

The case was taken up by Congress, which passed an emergency law allowing the courts to review the case