TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Terri Schiavo's parents have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to keep their brain-damaged daughter alive.

Bob and Mary Schindler say their severely brain-damaged daughter faces an unjust and imminent death based on a decision by her husband to remove a feeding tube without strong proof of her consent.

TERRI SCHIAVO, 1963-2005 Fact Sheet: Terri Schiavo 2005 Statement: Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush Overview: Living Wills Link: Terri-Schindler-Schiavo Foundation Schiavo Case: Legal Documents

They allege constitutional violations of due process and religious freedom.

The filing also argues that Congress intended for Schiavo's tube to be reinserted, at least temporarily. Lawmakers passed an extraordinary bill last weekend that gave federal courts authority to fully review the case.

The appeal to the high court came the same day that a federal appeals court in Atlanta twice refused to order Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Florida Senate voted down a bill that could have kept the brain-damaged woman alive. It would have banned patients like Schiavo from being denied food and water without expressly putting their wishes in writing.

The vote was 21-18.

The rejection of the bill came despite a claim Wednesday from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush that a prominent neurologist has said Schiavo may not be in a persistent vegetative state after all.

Bush said a review of the brain-damaged woman's medical records indicates she may instead be in a state of minimal consciousness.

Bush said the review has brought up "serious concerns" that warrant action. He called for Schiavo to be stabilized so the team can go through all the facts -- and he said there have been some delays in getting them.

The governor said he's doing everything within his power to make sure Schiavo is granted the same rights many criminals have. He earlier said he was disappointed that federal appeals judges have refused efforts by Schiavo's family to get her feeding tube put back in.

Full Appeals Court Turns Down Schiavo's Parents

The loss in the Florida Legislature for Schiavo's parents came on top of two setbacks in court earlier Wednesday.

A three-judge federal appeals panel ruled 2-1 early Wednesday to uphold a federal judge's decision not to order Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. Her parents immediately asked the full 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the case and that court voted 10-2 to let stand the earlier ruling.

In their appeal, Bob and Mary Schindler said their daughter's medical condition is deteriorating rapidly. Their request, which the full court denied, was to order the Florida hospice where Schiavo is staying to immediately transport her to a hospital to sustain her life and to re-establish her nutrition and hydration.

Florida state courts authorized the tube's removal last Friday.

A lawyer for Schiavo's parents said they're not giving up, despite losing another court decision. The parents have vowed to take their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The parents have long battled their son-in-law over whether their daughter's feeding tube should be disconnected. State courts have sided with Michael Schiavo, who insists his wife told him she would never want to be kept alive artificially.

Arrested, Handcuffed Protesters Outside Schiavo's Hospice Include Kids

A 10-year-old boy and his older siblings were among the protesters arrested outside Schiavo's hospice in Florida Wednesday.

Police arrested 10 people who said they were trying to take water to the severely brain-damaged woman.

Chris Keys was among about a dozen people who stood in front of the hospice to bring water to Schiavo. He and three of his children were arrested as his 2-year-old daughter watched from her mother's arms.

His 14-year-old daughter said she was "a little nervous," but that she was sure she was doing God's bidding. She and her 12-year-old brother were cuffed and taken away.

Another protester talked of being held in a Nazi prison camp in the former Yugoslavia. She said she wanted "to at least put some cool water on Terri's lips." She was arrested.

Many of the protesters carried Bibles and cups of water.

Police arrested one woman after she made a long statement in which she suggested that allowing Schiavo to die would bring the country more disasters like the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and natural disasters. Before her arrest, Eva Edl also said, "If we let this happen to her it will be happening to others."

Officers took a cup of water and a book from her.

The second arrest was of a man wearing a baseball cap with a cross on it.

One of those keeping vigil outside the hospice called the ruling "a clear-cut case of judicial tyranny." She said, "All the judges who have ruled against Terri are tyrants."

Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly because of a possible potassium imbalance brought on by an eating disorder. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding tube to keep her alive.

Court-appointed doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery, while her parents insist she could recover with treatment. Doctors have said Schiavo could survive one to two weeks without the feeding tube.

White House: No Further Legal Options

The White House said it's out of legal options to keep Schiavo alive.

President George W. Bush Wednesday suggested he and Congress had done their best to help the parents of the brain-damaged woman have her feeding tubes re-inserted.

Bush said he believes the action taken with Congress "was the best course of action." He spoke during a news conference with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.

On Monday, Bush quickly signed a law passed by Congress that allowed the woman's parents to take their appeal to federal court.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "There really are not other legal options available to us."

Bush described the case as "extraordinary and sad."

Bush again said that in a case such as this, the executive and legislative branches should "err on the side of life" -- and he said they've done so. He said they'll now watch to see what the courts do.

Bush said he hasn't discussed any possible additional steps with his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Vatican Says Removing Tube Amounts To Capital Punishment

The Vatican continues speaking out in favor of keeping Schiavo alive.

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Former Nurse Targets Schiavo's Husband

The Holy See's newspaper said in a front-page editorial that removing her feeding tube amounts to capital punishment for somebody who hasn't committed a crime.

The editorial said the federal judge who refused to order the tube to be put back has condemned Schiavo to an "atrocious death."

It interpreted Judge James Whittemore's ruling as saying Schiavo must die since she has no chance of being "restored" to a "normal life." The paper called that rationale "absurd and terrifying."

The Vatican has long said there is virtually no justification for the death penalty.

Florida Senators Resent Pressure To Intervene

Florida state Sen. Larcenia Bullard was considering changing her vote to support a bill that could keep Schiavo alive.

But after being yelled at, insulted and even told to envision her own daughter in a coma, she changed her mind.

Bullard said she'd like to ask some of the protesters, "Are you serving the same God I serve?"

Another state senator said she questions the Christianity of protesters who wish an agonizing death on lawmakers refusing to support the legislation.

Schiavo's mother pleaded with state senators Tuesday, saying: "For the love of God, I'm begging you, don't let my daughter die of thirst."

Last year's Constitution Party presidential candidate said Florida police or federal marshals should be dispatched to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube by force if necessary.

In a letter to President George W. Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Michael Peroutka said it's their sworn duty to save the brain-damaged woman from a court-ordered death by starvation and dehydration.

Peroutka said judges represent only one branch of government, and that elected leaders also take an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect citizens' God-given right to life.

Quadriplegic Alarmed At Withdrawal Of Feeding Tube

During a recent hospitalization for pneumonia, Joni Eareckson Tada said she was dependent on others for food and water.

Tada, who's been a quadriplegic since a 1967 diving accident, said that makes the withdrawal of Schiavo's feeding tube all the more frightening for her.

Tada now heads the "Joni and Friends" Christian ministry.

She said the wish that Schiavo's husband said his wife expressed years ago -- that she wouldn't want to live if she was severely disabled -- shouldn't determine what happens to her now.

Tada said she would have said the same thing before she broke her neck, but now is convinced that all life is precious.

Making Your Wishes Known

The Schiavo case has led to a surge in interest in living wills among people who had never really considered what would happen if they ever became incapacitated.

Paul Malley is the president of Aging With Dignity, one of several nonprofit groups offering a living will that you simply fill out. He said people have been watching the Schiavo drama play out, and they see how tragic and heart-breaking it is for everyone who cares about her.

They're calling his group saying, "I don't want that same thing to happen in my family. What can we do to avoid a similar situation?"

A living will makes clear how you would want your family to handle some very important choices if you were unable to make those decisions on your own. You can say, "Yes, I would want life-support treatment," "No, I would not want it," or, "I want it if my doctor thinks it could help."

There's no need to have an attorney draw up a living will for you, but state laws vary and some require that their own specific forms be used. Malley said it's also very important to talk about your wishes with your doctor and your family.