Schiavo ruling disappoints White House, DeLay
 |  Supporters of Terri Schiavo's parents rally outside her hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, on Monday. |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 A federal judge rules against restoring Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
 A look at the judge's reasoning in the latest Schiavo ruling.
 How the Terri Schiavo case got to a federal court.
|
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS |
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
|
|
|
(CNN) -- The Bush administration would have preferred a "different ruling" than a federal judge's decision Tuesday rejecting a request to restore a feeding tube for Terri Schiavo, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Speaking in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where President Bush was making his latest pitch to overhaul Social Security, McClellan said the administration stands on the side of defending life.
"The president's view has always been that we should be on the side of defending life at all stages, and that includes people that are incapacitated or people with disabilities," McClellan said.
Bush signed emergency legislation early Monday that gave the federal courts jurisdiction in the brain-damaged woman's case.
A Florida state judge ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed Friday at her husband's request, and her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, moved to federal court seeking to have it restored in the wake of Bush and Congress' action.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore in Tampa, Florida, declined to grant a temporary restraining order that would allow the tube's reinstatement. The parents then filed an appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia. (Full story)
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, called the judge's decision disappointing.
"Congress explicitly provided Terri Schiavo's family recourse to federal court, and this decision is at odds with both the clear intent of Congress and the constitutional rights of a helpless young woman," DeLay said in a written statement.
"Section two of the legislation we passed clearly requires the court determine 'de novo' the merits of the case -- or in layman's terms, it requires a completely new and full review of the case. Section three requires the judge to grant a temporary restraining order because he cannot fulfill his or her recognized duty to review the case 'de novo' without first keeping Terri Schiavo alive."
DeLay's statement said that "this fight is not over" as long as there is a chance to keep Schiavo alive.
"I firmly believe the circuit court will give the case a full and appropriate review," his statement said.
Another key Republican, Sen. John Warner of Virginia, indicated opposition to the legislation in the congressional record but didn't voice it on the floor during debate Sunday. The Senate passed the legislation under the chamber's unanimous consent rules.
In a statement, Warner wrote that Congress acted against the 10th Amendment, which reserves certain powers for states.
"I believe it unwise for the Congress to take from the state of Florida its constitutional responsibility to resolve the issues in this case," Warner wrote.
"This bill, in effect, challenges the integrity and capabilities of the state courts in Florida."
