Schiavo feuding continues

PROTESTERS were gone yesterday from the hospice where Terri Schiavo died, but the feud between her parents and husband raged, with the families planning separate funerals.

Ms Schiavo, 41, died on Thursday, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by a judge's order after attempts by Congress and the White House to intervene.

Michael Schiavo said his wife had said she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, disagreed and held out hope for a miracle recovery for their severely brain-damaged daughter, whom they said still struggled to talk.

A medical examiner is conducting an autopsy that could help determine what Ms Schiavo's state of consciousness was and whether she was abused by her husband, as the Schindlers allege. Those results are expected in a few weeks.

The matter of burying Schiavo, though, is something her families have had to settle themselves. The Schindlers, who are devout Catholics, wanted their daughter's remains buried in Florida, where they live. Michael Schiavo, however, has custody of the body and plans to have his wife cremated.

His brother, Scott Schiavo, said her ashes will be buried in an undisclosed location near Philadelphia so that her immediate family does not attend and turn the moment into a media spectacle. A funeral Mass, a concession to the Schindlers, was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday.

George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, said Terri Schiavo died a "calm, peaceful and gentle death," cradled by her husband and with a stuffed animal under her arm. Michael Schiavo and Mr Felos were present when she died.