Brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube removed

US doctors last night removed Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to keep the brain-damaged woman alive.

It is expected it will take one to two weeks for Schiavo to die if the tube is not reinserted. Earlier, a Florida court cleared the way for the feeding tube to be removed.

Following a flurry of legal activity in the courts and in the US Congress, Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer reinstated his order that Terri Schiavo’s food and water be stopped.