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CNN Live Today
Looking into the Minnesota Shooting Rampage; Schiavo Case Sparks Memories for One Mother
Aired March 23, 2005 - 10:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking once again at live pictures. This from San Jose, California. 90 firefighters on the scene of this five alarm fire. About 100 people living had to evacuate this three-story apartment complex earlier today. No injuries reported so far. And no estimate on when the firefighters will have the fire under control. We continue to monitor that story out of San Jose.
Meanwhile, we are right at the half hour. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's look at what else is happening "Now in the News."
The parents of Terri Schiavo are vowing to file their next appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. Early this morning, a federal appeals court denied their emergency request that a feeding tube be restored to their daughter Terri. In two days, two federal courts have sided with Michael Schiavo, who maintains his wife did not want to be kept alive under these conditions.
An extradition hearing is set today for this man. He's -- let's start that over. For 20 years, he has been on the run from the law. It came to abrupt end in Chicago yesterday. Police say Norman Porter is a twice-convicted murder who escaped from Massachusetts, from a prison there, back in 1985. In Chicago, he was known as Jacob Jameson, an anti-war protester devoted to his church. A tipster reportedly turned him in.
In Arizona, former POW Jessica Lynch is in Phoenix to honor the memory of her best friend and fellow soldier. Lori Piestewa and Lynch served together in Iraq. Piestewa was killed two years ago today in the brutal attack that led to Lynch's capture. Tomorrow, Lynch plans to visit her friend's grave for the first time.
One hour from now, the U.S. Treasury Department will release a report on Social Security that will provide both an assessment of the current health and projections for its future. Social Security reform has emerged as a major priority for President Bush's second term.
Want to check in on Red Lake, Minnesota, now. A clearer picture is emerging of the teenage gunman Jeff Weise and his deadly school shooting rampage. The details are simply chilling. Keith Oppenheim has more on this developing story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Investigators say the violent trail of 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise began sometime before 3:00 p.m. Monday at the home of his grandfather, Daryl Lussier.
MICHAEL TABMAN, FBI: There, armed, we believe, with a .22 caliber weapon, Mr. Weise shot and killed Mr. Lussier and his companion, Michelle Sigana.
OPPENHEIM: Weise's grandfather worked for the tribal police department. And investigators say Jeff Weise grabbed other guns, a .40 caliber handgun and 12-gauge shotgun.
TABMAN: Mr. Weise, then, we believe, took the police bullet proof vest and gun belt of his grandfather, donned those, got into the police vehicle his grandfather had, and drove to the school, driving up right to the door.
OPPENHEIM: At the school door, FBI agents say, it is almost 3:00 p.m. and this is when they say Weise shoots and kills an unarmed security officer, then goes inside the building, guns firing randomly at students.
TABMAN: He fired some shots in their direction. Understandably, they fled and ran to a classroom.
OPPENHEIM: Alicia Neadeau described how her teacher tried to get kids to safety behind closed doors.
ALICIA NEADEAU, WITNESS: So everybody got in a classroom and then she said, lock the doors, and then she picked up a desk and she pushed it over to the door, and had to barricade the door.
OPPENHEIM: FBI agents say Weise followed a different group and went into a classroom.
TABMAN: It's there that he opened fire, killing a number of students and the teacher.
OPPENHEIM: Four police officers then enter the school. One exchanges fire with Weise, but no officers are hurt.
TABMAN: Shortly after that exchange, Mr. Weise went back into the classroom where he previously fired upon those people, and he took his own life.
OPPENHEIM: The FBI said the entire assault at the school lasted for less than ten minutes.
SHERRY BIRKELAND, NORTH COUNTRY REGIONAL HOSPITAL: We've never dealt with anything like this before.
OPPENHEIM: Seven people were rushed to the hospital, two with gunshots to the head. Eventually, the death toll, including the gunman, rose to 10.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was her.
OPPENHEIM: And by Tuesday, relatives were left to show pictures of the people they loved. Orville White offered a picture of his niece, Thurlene, on the right in this photo.
QUESTION: Do you know what the family is going to do about a funeral?
ORVILLE WHITE, VICTIM'S UNCLE: No, I don't know right now. Find out in a couple of days or so.
OPPENHEIM: The words did not come easy for him, and perhaps for many in Red Lake, they won't for a long time.
(on camera): One thing that may help in this timeline is videotape, security pictures, which apparently show Jeff Weise in the hallway of the school at the time of the incident. FBI agents haven't released the tape yet, and they say on it, Weise isn't shooting anybody. Still his demeanor may give investigators a clue as to what would have led him to this deadly assault.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Red Lake, Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Now we want to update you on a couple stories we've been following here at CNN over the last couple days.
Authorities are expected to announce today whether anyone will be charged in connection with the New Jersey stand-off. Authorities say a teenager called 911 yesterday to say she had been raped. Later, police say, they received a call from a man who threatened to kill the girl and anyone who tried getting into the house. A SWAT team was dispatched. The six hour stand-off ended peacefully, with two men being taken into custody.
And a suspect in Georgia in an abduction here is being held in Greensboro, North Carolina. Terrance McDowell surrendered to police about 10 hours after an amber alert was issued. Police say McDowell entered his girlfriend's -- his ex-girlfriend's home in suburban Atlanta, sexually assaulted her, shot her father eight times in the head and the chest. McDowell allegedly then took the woman's two young children. The children, one of them is Mcdowell's daughter, were dropped off unharmed at his sister's home in North Carolina. The girlfriend's father is in critical condition.
Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life," has rocketed back to the top of booksellers' charts. The book's revival, if you will, is being attributed to Ashley Smith. She is the young, widowed mother who read from the book to Atlanta courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols. As you know, Nichols released her and surrendered to police. Warren talked about the incident on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK WARREN, AUTHOR, "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE": I think there's two messages out of this story. One of them is that God can use anybody. Ashley will tell you, she's just an ordinary person. She wasn't some saint, she wasn't some preacher or some theologian. God uses normal, ordinary people in daily life.
And if God only used perfect people, nothing would get done, because none of us are perfect. We've all got our faults, mistakes, our backgrounds. And I think that's the -- the story is that God uses us in spite of ourselves and in spite of our weaknesses and faults. And I think the other thing is that opportunities are all around us, but a lot of times we're just unaware of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Warren says he speaks on the phone daily with Ashley Smith. He prays with her, reads scripture and counsels her on dealing with the media.
In other news from coast to coast, family members are pleading for help in finding a missing couple. Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo vanished more than a month ago, after a night on the town in Philadelphia. Authorities say their cell phones and credit cards haven't been used and their pick-up truck hasn't been found. A reward for information has grown to $50,000.
A burglar in Massachusetts is apparently asking for God's forgiveness, but he or she might have to deal with the police first. Police say they found a box that was filled with jewelry, other stolen items, outside of a church. There was also a note inside of the box asking for forgiveness. Police are analyzing the note for fingerprints.
And in California, a record rainfall and a mountain of mud caused a hillside to give way, destroying this home. A new storm dropped more rain on Southern California on Tuesday. Today several counties are under flash flood and mudslide warnings.
A new bathing suit and a strict diet. Did her actions trigger a vegetative state? Still ahead, one mother remembers the fight over her brain-damaged daughter and tells how she can relate to the Schiavo family's ordeal.
Plus, is there more cause for concern about inflation? We're going to tell you why Wall Street is worried, coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: Another personal business matter here, April 15th, just over three weeks away, but even as that IRS tax deadline bears down, there are tips to help ease the pain.
CNN's Christina Park with some online advice from CNNmoney.com.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNNmoney.com is here to help put more money in your pocket instead of Uncle Sam's. That can really come into play if you work out of a home office. A third of American workers do, but most don't claim a deduction. Assuming you qualify, the IRS allows you to deduct a portion of your home expenses, including mortgage, rent, repairs, utilities and even insurance.
Many Americans don't take deductions they qualify for because they fear it will be like wearing a sign that reads audit me. But don't worry, our special report gives you the top five ways to avoid an audit. To start, disclose all income, backup, itemized deductions and calculate earned-income credit with care.
But who's to say taxes can't be fun? Surf on over for some comic relief as we look at America's wackiest taxes. In certain states and cities, you'll pay special taxes for buying a deck of cards, possessing illegal drugs, and possibly buying things from naked people.
We know filing your taxes can rank right up there with a root canal, so make your filing season as painless as possible at cnnmoney.com/taxes.
I'm Christina Park, reporting from the dot-com desk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Just ahead, a visit with the woman who might know the Schiavo family and the Schindler family's pain too well. For 10 years, this woman watched her brain-dead daughter fade away. Still to come, how she coped with the pain and warded off the government's intervention.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's bring you up to date on the latest on the Terri Schiavo case. If you have been with us, you know that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals here in Atlanta early this morning turned down the request from the Schindler family, from Terri Schiavo's parents, to reinsert the feeding tube into Terri Schiavo. So her brother, Bobby Schindler, has gone to the state capital of Tallahassee to try to encourage lawmakers to pass a law that would cause that feeding tube to be reinserted.
Bobby Schindler stopping to talk to reporters just a short time ago. Let's listen to that sound. a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY SCHINDLER, BROTHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: I will do whatever I can to convince them to help save my sister. I don't know, just wait and see what happens when I get in front of them.
QUESTION: Is this the day in your mind? I mean, is there anything that can be done after this?
SCHINDLER: No, I mean, I'm not going to give up hope. Our family never has. And we'll just keep doing what we have to do until we somehow can get my sister out of this mess. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: We also have reporters at the U.S. Supreme Court to see if the family appeals to the nation's highest court.
Well, a generation before lawyers argued over Terri Schiavo's fate, the nation was focused on another woman who was being kept alive by artificial means. Karen Ann Quinlan's respirator was ultimately removed after a court ruling, but her story didn't end there.
CNN's Beth Nissen spoke recently with Quinlan's mother, who has advice for the Schiavo and Schindler family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is unclear exactly what happened to 21-year-old Karen Quinlan on that April night in 1975. She put herself on a strict diet to fit into a new bathing suit, hadn't eaten all day, had a few drinks at a friend's party, felt woozy and went to lie down.
JULIA QUINLAN, KAREN ANN QUINLAN'S MOTHER: All they can assume is that perhaps she may have choked on her vomit and then when someone went up to check her she wasn't breathing.
NISSEN: At first, Karen's family held out hope that she'd recover.
QUINLAN: We weren't really ever told that it was hopeless. The doctors just kept saying that the prognosis is not good.
NISSEN: Seeing pictures of Terri Schiavo now reminds Julia Quinlan of her daughter then although Karen, unlike Terri, was on a respirator that breathed for her and Karen had a nasal feeding line, not a feeding tube in her stomach. But both women had profound brain damage. Both, doctors said, were in a persistent vegetative state.
QUINLAN: Karen's hands were all bent like that but also her knees and her legs. Her knees were drawn up practically to her chest.
NISSEN: And, like Terri Schiavo, Karen Quinlan looked awake.
QUINLAN: Her eyes were open all the time. There were times in the beginning when I felt that Karen recognized me and I felt she looked at me and it's all part of hope and part of your love for your daughter. You don't want to let go. You just can't let go.
NISSEN: But the Quinlan's finally decided they had to let go.
QUINLAN: Every time the respirator would breathe for her, you could see that she was in agony and we finally realized that this is not the way that Karen would ever want to live. She had made the remark, not only to me but to her sister Mary Ellen and also to other friends, that she would never want to live that way.
NISSEN: Karen's doctors agreed to remove her from the respirator but the hospital refused. Julia and her late husband Joe Quinlan went to court and started the first fierce national debate about the right to die.
QUINLAN: Suddenly, Karen's picture was on the front page of every newspaper. We had reporters in our home, sitting on the lawn, hiding in bushes to snap pictures of us as we would leave the house, parked outside of the nursing home, of the hospital. It was a terrible invasion of our privacy and it was a very difficult time for us.
NISSEN: In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court in The Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan issued the first landmark ruling affirming a person's right to die.
QUINLAN: We do have the right to refuse treatment. We have the right to say that we no longer want our life extended with that treatment. We did not ask for death. Death may have been expected but we never asked for death. My husband put it beautifully. He only wanted what we considered extraordinary means removed and she would be placed back in her natural state and she would die in God's time.
NISSEN: With her father appointed her legal guardian to make decisions for her, Karen was taken off the respirator.
QUINLAN: Once she was removed from the respirator you could see the change in her. She was far more relaxed and the nasal feeding tube never seemed to make her uncomfortable so there was no reason for us to ask for the removal of it.
NISSEN: Karen was moved to a nursing home where she remained in a vegetative state for nine more years before she finally died in 1985 of pneumonia.
QUINLAN: It's heartbreaking to watch your daughter die and I watched my daughter die for ten years just a slow death for ten years.
NISSEN: Watching another family go through the slow death of a loved one in the glare and shout of the media, the courts, the Congress has been hard for Julia Quinlan.
QUINLAN: I cam empathize with the parents, but I can also empathize with the husband and I really, really pray and wish that they could meet and have an agreement between the family. The decision must be theirs. I do pray that whatever is best for Terri will be done.
NISSEN: Beth Nissen CNN, Newton, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Another development now. This just in to CNN in the Terri Schiavo case: David Gibbs, an attorney for the Schlinder family, has confirmed to CNN the family will indeed appeal their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. This after earlier this morning, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals here in Atlanta denied their request to have the feeding tube reinserted into their daughter, Terri Schiavo. More on that at the top of the hour.
(WEATHER REPORT)
We're getting close to the top of the hour. Just seconds away. Stay with us as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 23, 2005 - 10:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking once again at live pictures. This from San Jose, California. 90 firefighters on the scene of this five alarm fire. About 100 people living had to evacuate this three-story apartment complex earlier today. No injuries reported so far. And no estimate on when the firefighters will have the fire under control. We continue to monitor that story out of San Jose.
Meanwhile, we are right at the half hour. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's look at what else is happening "Now in the News."
The parents of Terri Schiavo are vowing to file their next appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. Early this morning, a federal appeals court denied their emergency request that a feeding tube be restored to their daughter Terri. In two days, two federal courts have sided with Michael Schiavo, who maintains his wife did not want to be kept alive under these conditions.
An extradition hearing is set today for this man. He's -- let's start that over. For 20 years, he has been on the run from the law. It came to abrupt end in Chicago yesterday. Police say Norman Porter is a twice-convicted murder who escaped from Massachusetts, from a prison there, back in 1985. In Chicago, he was known as Jacob Jameson, an anti-war protester devoted to his church. A tipster reportedly turned him in.
In Arizona, former POW Jessica Lynch is in Phoenix to honor the memory of her best friend and fellow soldier. Lori Piestewa and Lynch served together in Iraq. Piestewa was killed two years ago today in the brutal attack that led to Lynch's capture. Tomorrow, Lynch plans to visit her friend's grave for the first time.
One hour from now, the U.S. Treasury Department will release a report on Social Security that will provide both an assessment of the current health and projections for its future. Social Security reform has emerged as a major priority for President Bush's second term.
Want to check in on Red Lake, Minnesota, now. A clearer picture is emerging of the teenage gunman Jeff Weise and his deadly school shooting rampage. The details are simply chilling. Keith Oppenheim has more on this developing story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Investigators say the violent trail of 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise began sometime before 3:00 p.m. Monday at the home of his grandfather, Daryl Lussier.
MICHAEL TABMAN, FBI: There, armed, we believe, with a .22 caliber weapon, Mr. Weise shot and killed Mr. Lussier and his companion, Michelle Sigana.
OPPENHEIM: Weise's grandfather worked for the tribal police department. And investigators say Jeff Weise grabbed other guns, a .40 caliber handgun and 12-gauge shotgun.
TABMAN: Mr. Weise, then, we believe, took the police bullet proof vest and gun belt of his grandfather, donned those, got into the police vehicle his grandfather had, and drove to the school, driving up right to the door.
OPPENHEIM: At the school door, FBI agents say, it is almost 3:00 p.m. and this is when they say Weise shoots and kills an unarmed security officer, then goes inside the building, guns firing randomly at students.
TABMAN: He fired some shots in their direction. Understandably, they fled and ran to a classroom.
OPPENHEIM: Alicia Neadeau described how her teacher tried to get kids to safety behind closed doors.
ALICIA NEADEAU, WITNESS: So everybody got in a classroom and then she said, lock the doors, and then she picked up a desk and she pushed it over to the door, and had to barricade the door.
OPPENHEIM: FBI agents say Weise followed a different group and went into a classroom.
TABMAN: It's there that he opened fire, killing a number of students and the teacher.
OPPENHEIM: Four police officers then enter the school. One exchanges fire with Weise, but no officers are hurt.
TABMAN: Shortly after that exchange, Mr. Weise went back into the classroom where he previously fired upon those people, and he took his own life.
OPPENHEIM: The FBI said the entire assault at the school lasted for less than ten minutes.
SHERRY BIRKELAND, NORTH COUNTRY REGIONAL HOSPITAL: We've never dealt with anything like this before.
OPPENHEIM: Seven people were rushed to the hospital, two with gunshots to the head. Eventually, the death toll, including the gunman, rose to 10.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was her.
OPPENHEIM: And by Tuesday, relatives were left to show pictures of the people they loved. Orville White offered a picture of his niece, Thurlene, on the right in this photo.
QUESTION: Do you know what the family is going to do about a funeral?
ORVILLE WHITE, VICTIM'S UNCLE: No, I don't know right now. Find out in a couple of days or so.
OPPENHEIM: The words did not come easy for him, and perhaps for many in Red Lake, they won't for a long time.
(on camera): One thing that may help in this timeline is videotape, security pictures, which apparently show Jeff Weise in the hallway of the school at the time of the incident. FBI agents haven't released the tape yet, and they say on it, Weise isn't shooting anybody. Still his demeanor may give investigators a clue as to what would have led him to this deadly assault.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Red Lake, Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Now we want to update you on a couple stories we've been following here at CNN over the last couple days.
Authorities are expected to announce today whether anyone will be charged in connection with the New Jersey stand-off. Authorities say a teenager called 911 yesterday to say she had been raped. Later, police say, they received a call from a man who threatened to kill the girl and anyone who tried getting into the house. A SWAT team was dispatched. The six hour stand-off ended peacefully, with two men being taken into custody.
And a suspect in Georgia in an abduction here is being held in Greensboro, North Carolina. Terrance McDowell surrendered to police about 10 hours after an amber alert was issued. Police say McDowell entered his girlfriend's -- his ex-girlfriend's home in suburban Atlanta, sexually assaulted her, shot her father eight times in the head and the chest. McDowell allegedly then took the woman's two young children. The children, one of them is Mcdowell's daughter, were dropped off unharmed at his sister's home in North Carolina. The girlfriend's father is in critical condition.
Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life," has rocketed back to the top of booksellers' charts. The book's revival, if you will, is being attributed to Ashley Smith. She is the young, widowed mother who read from the book to Atlanta courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols. As you know, Nichols released her and surrendered to police. Warren talked about the incident on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK WARREN, AUTHOR, "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE": I think there's two messages out of this story. One of them is that God can use anybody. Ashley will tell you, she's just an ordinary person. She wasn't some saint, she wasn't some preacher or some theologian. God uses normal, ordinary people in daily life.
And if God only used perfect people, nothing would get done, because none of us are perfect. We've all got our faults, mistakes, our backgrounds. And I think that's the -- the story is that God uses us in spite of ourselves and in spite of our weaknesses and faults. And I think the other thing is that opportunities are all around us, but a lot of times we're just unaware of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Warren says he speaks on the phone daily with Ashley Smith. He prays with her, reads scripture and counsels her on dealing with the media.
In other news from coast to coast, family members are pleading for help in finding a missing couple. Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo vanished more than a month ago, after a night on the town in Philadelphia. Authorities say their cell phones and credit cards haven't been used and their pick-up truck hasn't been found. A reward for information has grown to $50,000.
A burglar in Massachusetts is apparently asking for God's forgiveness, but he or she might have to deal with the police first. Police say they found a box that was filled with jewelry, other stolen items, outside of a church. There was also a note inside of the box asking for forgiveness. Police are analyzing the note for fingerprints.
And in California, a record rainfall and a mountain of mud caused a hillside to give way, destroying this home. A new storm dropped more rain on Southern California on Tuesday. Today several counties are under flash flood and mudslide warnings.
A new bathing suit and a strict diet. Did her actions trigger a vegetative state? Still ahead, one mother remembers the fight over her brain-damaged daughter and tells how she can relate to the Schiavo family's ordeal.
Plus, is there more cause for concern about inflation? We're going to tell you why Wall Street is worried, coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: Another personal business matter here, April 15th, just over three weeks away, but even as that IRS tax deadline bears down, there are tips to help ease the pain.
CNN's Christina Park with some online advice from CNNmoney.com.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNNmoney.com is here to help put more money in your pocket instead of Uncle Sam's. That can really come into play if you work out of a home office. A third of American workers do, but most don't claim a deduction. Assuming you qualify, the IRS allows you to deduct a portion of your home expenses, including mortgage, rent, repairs, utilities and even insurance.
Many Americans don't take deductions they qualify for because they fear it will be like wearing a sign that reads audit me. But don't worry, our special report gives you the top five ways to avoid an audit. To start, disclose all income, backup, itemized deductions and calculate earned-income credit with care.
But who's to say taxes can't be fun? Surf on over for some comic relief as we look at America's wackiest taxes. In certain states and cities, you'll pay special taxes for buying a deck of cards, possessing illegal drugs, and possibly buying things from naked people.
We know filing your taxes can rank right up there with a root canal, so make your filing season as painless as possible at cnnmoney.com/taxes.
I'm Christina Park, reporting from the dot-com desk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Just ahead, a visit with the woman who might know the Schiavo family and the Schindler family's pain too well. For 10 years, this woman watched her brain-dead daughter fade away. Still to come, how she coped with the pain and warded off the government's intervention.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's bring you up to date on the latest on the Terri Schiavo case. If you have been with us, you know that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals here in Atlanta early this morning turned down the request from the Schindler family, from Terri Schiavo's parents, to reinsert the feeding tube into Terri Schiavo. So her brother, Bobby Schindler, has gone to the state capital of Tallahassee to try to encourage lawmakers to pass a law that would cause that feeding tube to be reinserted.
Bobby Schindler stopping to talk to reporters just a short time ago. Let's listen to that sound. a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY SCHINDLER, BROTHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: I will do whatever I can to convince them to help save my sister. I don't know, just wait and see what happens when I get in front of them.
QUESTION: Is this the day in your mind? I mean, is there anything that can be done after this?
SCHINDLER: No, I mean, I'm not going to give up hope. Our family never has. And we'll just keep doing what we have to do until we somehow can get my sister out of this mess. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: We also have reporters at the U.S. Supreme Court to see if the family appeals to the nation's highest court.
Well, a generation before lawyers argued over Terri Schiavo's fate, the nation was focused on another woman who was being kept alive by artificial means. Karen Ann Quinlan's respirator was ultimately removed after a court ruling, but her story didn't end there.
CNN's Beth Nissen spoke recently with Quinlan's mother, who has advice for the Schiavo and Schindler family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is unclear exactly what happened to 21-year-old Karen Quinlan on that April night in 1975. She put herself on a strict diet to fit into a new bathing suit, hadn't eaten all day, had a few drinks at a friend's party, felt woozy and went to lie down.
JULIA QUINLAN, KAREN ANN QUINLAN'S MOTHER: All they can assume is that perhaps she may have choked on her vomit and then when someone went up to check her she wasn't breathing.
NISSEN: At first, Karen's family held out hope that she'd recover.
QUINLAN: We weren't really ever told that it was hopeless. The doctors just kept saying that the prognosis is not good.
NISSEN: Seeing pictures of Terri Schiavo now reminds Julia Quinlan of her daughter then although Karen, unlike Terri, was on a respirator that breathed for her and Karen had a nasal feeding line, not a feeding tube in her stomach. But both women had profound brain damage. Both, doctors said, were in a persistent vegetative state.
QUINLAN: Karen's hands were all bent like that but also her knees and her legs. Her knees were drawn up practically to her chest.
NISSEN: And, like Terri Schiavo, Karen Quinlan looked awake.
QUINLAN: Her eyes were open all the time. There were times in the beginning when I felt that Karen recognized me and I felt she looked at me and it's all part of hope and part of your love for your daughter. You don't want to let go. You just can't let go.
NISSEN: But the Quinlan's finally decided they had to let go.
QUINLAN: Every time the respirator would breathe for her, you could see that she was in agony and we finally realized that this is not the way that Karen would ever want to live. She had made the remark, not only to me but to her sister Mary Ellen and also to other friends, that she would never want to live that way.
NISSEN: Karen's doctors agreed to remove her from the respirator but the hospital refused. Julia and her late husband Joe Quinlan went to court and started the first fierce national debate about the right to die.
QUINLAN: Suddenly, Karen's picture was on the front page of every newspaper. We had reporters in our home, sitting on the lawn, hiding in bushes to snap pictures of us as we would leave the house, parked outside of the nursing home, of the hospital. It was a terrible invasion of our privacy and it was a very difficult time for us.
NISSEN: In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court in The Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan issued the first landmark ruling affirming a person's right to die.
QUINLAN: We do have the right to refuse treatment. We have the right to say that we no longer want our life extended with that treatment. We did not ask for death. Death may have been expected but we never asked for death. My husband put it beautifully. He only wanted what we considered extraordinary means removed and she would be placed back in her natural state and she would die in God's time.
NISSEN: With her father appointed her legal guardian to make decisions for her, Karen was taken off the respirator.
QUINLAN: Once she was removed from the respirator you could see the change in her. She was far more relaxed and the nasal feeding tube never seemed to make her uncomfortable so there was no reason for us to ask for the removal of it.
NISSEN: Karen was moved to a nursing home where she remained in a vegetative state for nine more years before she finally died in 1985 of pneumonia.
QUINLAN: It's heartbreaking to watch your daughter die and I watched my daughter die for ten years just a slow death for ten years.
NISSEN: Watching another family go through the slow death of a loved one in the glare and shout of the media, the courts, the Congress has been hard for Julia Quinlan.
QUINLAN: I cam empathize with the parents, but I can also empathize with the husband and I really, really pray and wish that they could meet and have an agreement between the family. The decision must be theirs. I do pray that whatever is best for Terri will be done.
NISSEN: Beth Nissen CNN, Newton, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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KAGAN: Another development now. This just in to CNN in the Terri Schiavo case: David Gibbs, an attorney for the Schlinder family, has confirmed to CNN the family will indeed appeal their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. This after earlier this morning, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals here in Atlanta denied their request to have the feeding tube reinserted into their daughter, Terri Schiavo. More on that at the top of the hour.
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