Published January 13, 2015
President Bush (search) said Wednesday he is watching how federal courts deal with theTerri Schiavo (search) case and defended actions by himself and Congress to try to prolong her life.
"This is an extraordinary and sad case," Bush said.
He spoke during a news conference with his counterparts from Canada and Mexico.
Schiavo's parents have asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' (search) full court to review a three-judge panel's decision that her feeding tube not be hooked up again.
Schiavo's parents vowed to take their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida legislature.
This is the fifth day that the brain-damaged woman has not received nourishment from a feeding tube.
Bush was asked what options he had and he did not suggest any.
"I believe that in a case such as this, the legislative branch, the executive branch, ought to err on the side of life, which we have," Bush said. "Now we'll watch the courts make their decisions."
While not saying what remaining options there might be, Bush said that he had "looked at all options prior to taking the action we took last weekend in concert with Congress."
Over the weekend, Republicans in Congress pushed through unprecedented emergency legislation aimed at prolonging Schiavo's life by allowing the case to be reviewed by federal courts.
Bush rushed from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, to Washington and signed the bill in the early-morning hours of Monday.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in Tampa rejected the parents' request to have the tube reinserted. That decision was upheld by the federal appellate panel in Atlanta.
The president said he had not discussed the case recently with his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (search). White House aides said he had talked to his brother on Friday.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/bush-watching-schiavo-case-closely