Governor steps in; On orders from Gov. Bush, a hospital begins rehydrating Terri Schiavo, six days after her feeding tube was removed.(A SECTION)

Byline: GARY FINEOUT CAPITAL BUREAU

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday ordered that medical authorities immediately hook up a feeding tube to a brain-damaged woman at the center of a right-to-die case that has attracted national attention.

Bush took the unprecedented action shortly after signing into law a bill that gave him the power to overrule previous court decisions in the legal battle over whether 39-year- old Terri Schiavo should be kept alive.

"Like the tens of thousands of Floridians who have raised their voices in support of Terri Schiavo's right to live, I have been deeply moved by these tragic circumstances," Bush said. "I appreciate the extraordinary action of the Legislature today, and will use the discretion they have granted regarding the restoration of nutrition and water to Terri Schiavo."

Schiavo was taken by ambulance later Tuesday from the hospice where she had gone without food or water for six days. At Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, she was being given fluids, a preliminary step toward reinserting the feeding tube.

Florida lawmakers took just two days to draw up and pass a bill that gave Bush the right to intervene in the Schiavo case. Their actions came less than a week after the removal of her feeding tube.

Michael Schiavo, who married Terri in 1984, first asked about removing …