VOA双语新闻 Federal Appeals End in Schiavo Case

The parents of brain-damaged Terri Schiavo have ended their appeals in the federal court system following another ruling against them by a three-judge panel in Atlanta, Georgia. The Florida Circuit Court Judge who ruled to disconnect their daughter's feeding tube more than a week ago also ruled against another appeal from Terri Schiavo's parents on Saturday.

大脑受损的美国佛罗里达州女子特丽·夏沃的父母结束了他们在联邦法院系统为维持她的生命而进行的上诉。在此之前，位于乔治亚州亚特兰大的联邦法院的三名法官再次做出了对她的父母不利的裁决。一个多星期前裁决拔掉特丽·夏沃进食管的佛罗里达州巡回法院法官星期六也驳回了夏沃父母的又一次上诉。

Ms. Schiavo's parents are making what they say is one last appeal to the Florida Supreme¹ Court to have their daughters feeding tube re-attached, but they are given little chance of success.

夏沃父母向佛州最高法院提出了他们所说的最后一次上诉，要求重新接上他们女儿的进食管，但是他们成功的几率并不大。

Bob and Mary Schindler gave up their effort in Federal Court to re-attach their daughter's feeding tube, after the 11th Circuit Court of appeals in Atlanta denied their third appeal. Last Sunday, the U.S. Congress passed an emergency bill allowing the Schindlers to appeal their case in Federal Courts. Days later, after a series of dramatic appeals through the Federal Court system, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube re-attached.

在亚特兰大第十一联邦巡回上诉法院第三次拒绝了他们的上诉后，鲍勃和玛丽·辛德勒放弃了在联邦法院系统上诉、重新给他们的女儿接上进食管的努力。上星期天，美国国会通过了一项紧急法律，允许辛德勒夫妇向联邦法院申诉。几天后，在向联邦法院提出一系列引人瞩目的上诉均以失败告终后，美国最高法院也拒绝下令重新接上特丽·夏沃的进食管。

Terri Schiavo's husband Michael, who is her legal guardian², has been locked in a legal struggle with the Schindlers for more than a decade. Mr. Schiavo says his wife told him and others that she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means. Terri Schiavo slipped into what medical experts call a persistent³ vegetative state after suffering massive brain damage brought on by a heart attack in 1990.

特丽·夏沃的丈夫兼法律监护人麦克尔·夏沃已经和辛德勒夫妇就是否人工维持特丽的生命打了十多年的官司。迈克尔·夏沃先生说，他的妻子曾经告诉过他，也告诉过别的人，她不希望以人工方式勉强维持自己的生命。特丽·夏沃1990年突发心脏病后大脑严重受损，进入专家们所说的“持续性植物人”状态。

Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos told reporters on Saturday because of the seriousness of the case, courts will listen to the Schindler's pleas, but further legal action at this point is futile⁴. "It is fair to say that if you look at the court system, the courts are saying not of course that they will not look at any relief filed, but I think any fair observer would say that the legal struggle is over here, and I would hope that the parents would acknowledge that," he said.

麦克尔·夏沃的律师乔治·费洛斯星期六告诉记者说，鉴于这个案件的严重性，法庭会听取辛德勒夫妇的申诉，但是到了目前的地步，进一步的法律行动已经无济于事了。 费洛斯说，“你如果看一下法院系统，各级法院当然没有说他们不会再听取任何上诉，但是我认为，任何能够平心而论的旁观者都会说，法律诉讼到此已经结束，我希望这对父母能承认这一点。”

Terri Schiavo has been without food or water for more than a week now. On Saturday her parents and siblings⁵ visited her at her hospice. Bob Schindler, her father, told reporters afterwards that his daughter is clinging to life. "She is doing remarkably⁶ well under the circumstances. I was surprised she is putting up a tremendous battle to live. It is quite obvious she does not want to die and she is showing signs of over a week now of starvation and lack of hydration. But I can tell you she is fighting like hell to stay alive. We want the powers to be to know that it is not too late to save her. So anyone has the authority to come in and save Terri they can do it," he said.

特丽·夏沃已经一个多星期没有进水或进食了。星期六，她的父母和兄弟姐妹前去看望了她。她的父亲鲍勃·辛德勒之后告诉记者说，他的女儿还抓着一线生命不放。鲍勃·辛德勒说，“考虑到她的情况，她活得相当坚韧。她在为生命而战，对此我感到很惊奇。很显然，她并不想死，一个星期过去了，她出现了缺食和脱水的迹象。但是我可以告诉你们，她正在为了继续活下去而顽强战斗。我们希望那些有权力的人知道，现在要挽救她还为时不晚。任何有权介入来挽救特丽的人，他们可以这样做。”

Medical experts say Terri Schiavo's life expectancy⁷ can now be measured in days but Michael Schiavo's attorney George Felos, who also visited his client's wife on Saturday, says there is no sign that Mrs. Schiavo is near death at this point. "As appear to me, her death [does] not appear imminent⁸. She is resting comfortably, her breathing did not appear to be shallow, and at least at this point, it does not appear that her death is imminent," he said.

医学专家们说，特丽·夏沃估计只能活几天了，但是麦克尔·夏沃的律师乔治·费洛斯说，特丽·夏沃眼下还没有显示出任何接近死亡的迹象。费洛斯星期六也探望了他的委托人的妻子。费洛斯说，“在我看来，她并不会马上死去。她休息得很舒适，她的呼吸听起来并不短浅，至少在眼下，她看上去并不会马上死去。

Mr. Felos says that when Terri Schiavo dies her body will be cremated⁹ and her ashes handed over to her husband Michael, who will place them in his family plot in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, where both Michael and Terri Schiavo were raised.

费洛斯说，特丽·夏沃死后，她的遗体将被火化，骨灰将交给丈夫麦克尔。麦克尔会把特丽的骨灰埋在位于宾夕法尼亚州的夏沃家的坟地。特丽和麦克尔都是在宾州长大的。
 
 

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

3 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

4 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

7 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

8 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

9 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句