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Failed Talks Send Schiavo's Fate, Family To Trial DAVID SOMMER HUSBAND, PARENTS UNABLE TO AGREE ON RIGHT TO DIE CLEARWATER - Family members battling over Terri Schiavo's life will face each other once again in a trial, a judge ruled Friday. Michael Schiavo and his in-laws, Bob and Mary Schindler, called a truce last fall in their dispute over Terri Schiavo's right to die. Rather than follow an appeals court order to choose a total of five doctors to examine Terri Schiavo and give opinions on her chances of improvement, the family decided to try to resolve its dispute through mediation, with a retired judge acting as referee. But the talks broke down, and neither side feels there is much hope of an out-of-court settlement, lawyers in the case told Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer. Greer told both sides to resume following the appeals court's directions on selecting doctors. The judge also scheduled a trial to begin Oct. 14; it will be the second in a decade long family feud. Terri Schiavo, now 38, suffered a heart attack in 1990 that cut off oxygen to her brain and left her in what her husband's doctors describe as a coma like, persistent vegetative state. Michael Schiavo says his wife has no hope of improvement and would not want to be kept alive with the help of a feeding tube implanted in her stomach. The Schindlers say their daughter reacts to them with laughter, tears and moans during bedside visits and could improve if given aggressive therapy. In February 2000, after a trial, Greer ruled that Terri Schiavo made statements prior to her illness indicating she would not want to be kept alive with no hope of recovery. Since then, the two sides have fought a legal battle that went as high as the U.S. Supreme Court, while a series of deadlines for disconnecting Terri Schiavo's feeding tube came and went. At one point last year, the tube was disconnected for several days on one judge's order, only to be reconnected on another judge's order. About half of a $700,000 medical malpractice award intended for Terri Schiavo's perpetual care has been spent on care, and on Michael Schiavo's legal bills. Her parents have accused their son-in-law of seeking to inherit the money upon his wife's death. Michael Schiavo has accused his in-laws of wanting him out of the picture so they could inherit the money. In October, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that Terri Schiavo should be kept alive only if the Schindlers can prove that medical advances could help their daughter. The appeals court said each side should pick two doctors, with Greer choosing a fifth, to examine Terri Schiavo and offer their opinions. Greer said that process will culminate in the October trial. In order to prevail, the Schindlers must prove that new treatments can improve their daughter's quality of life to the point that she would want to undergo them if she were able to make the decision, the judge said.

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