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COPYRIGHT 2006 Financial Times Ltd.
(From CNN News)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we pick it up right where you left it off, with Terri Schiavo, who died a year ago this Friday. Now, whether she knew it or not, her story touched off a national conversation on death and dying, not to mention family and the law -- that conversation goes on. Sadly, a year later, so does the family warfare that came with it -- all angles tonight.
In a moment, we will talk with Terri's parents about what they now think happened to their daughter. They're out with a book. So is Michael Schiavo, as you just heard on Larry's program, Terri's husband. We will hear more from him as well -- all sides tonight, in their own words.
First, though, Terri's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has been reported to us that Terri Schiavo has passed away.
ANNOUNCER (voice-over): It was that announcement, just a year ago, that ended a seven-year battle for the family of Terri Schiavo. It was a battle that few who witnessed will ever forget. Terri suffered a heart attack in 1990, when she was 26 years old, and was eventually diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state.
Her husband and legal guardian, Michael, stayed steadfastly by her side, even earned a nursing degree to help him better care for his wife. But, in 1998, he told a court he accepted that his wife would never get well and petitioned to remove the feeding tube that was keeping her alive. It was a decision Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, simply couldn't accept. They fought their son-in-law in courtroom after courtroom, insisting, her feeding tube should be reinserted, insisting, their daughter was awake, alert, and would one day improve.
ROBERT SCHINDLER, FATHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: She is weak from the lack of food and hydration, but her skin tone is not breaking -- she is fine. She is not -- nothing's breaking down.
COOPER: The Florida legislature and the state's governor, Jeb Bush, took up the fight to keep Terri's feeding tube intact, enacting Terri's Law, and assigning a guardian to look out for Terri's interests. But even the guardian couldn't deny what doctor after doctor diagnosed.
JAY WOLFSON, FORMER LEGAL GUARDIAN OF TERRI SCHIAVO: The medical evidence indicates she's in persistent vegetative state.
COOPER: The Schindlers insisted that Terri was a devout Catholic, who could never support euthanasia. Her husband said she made her wishes clear long before her heart attack. She wouldn't be want to kept alive in this condition.
They accused Michael Schiavo, living with another woman he later married and starting a new family, of abuse and neglect. But the odds were against them. Of five doctors appointed by the court to study Terri's case, only one insisted the diagnosis was wrong.
DR. WILLIAM HAMMESFAHR, NEUROLOGIST: She did respond to me, when I saw her. And, apparently, she still is responding to people. You know, she looks at you. She focuses on you.
COOPER: With court after court ruling against them, and despite a last-ditch effort by the U.S. Congress to intervene, on March 26, 2005, the Schindlers said, their legal options had been exhausted. The fight was finally over.
Terri was given last rites the next day. And, on the morning of March 31st, with her husband, Michael, by her side, she died. President Bush offered his condolences and kind words for the Schindlers.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I appreciate the example of grace and dignity they have displayed at a difficult time.
COOPER: But, after a bitter seven-year struggle, it was clear, some wounds might be impossible to heal.
SUZANNE VITADAMO, SISTER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: After these recent years of neglect at the hands of those who were supposed to protect and care for her, she is finally at peace with God for eternity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the target of her anger, by and large, is Michael Schiavo. His book is titled simply "Terri: The Truth." He appeared earlier tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE" -- his story on the story in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
MICHAEL SCHIAVO, HUSBAND OF TERRI SCHIAVO: For 15 years, I have been vilified. I have...
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