Terri "Fading Quickly"

By VICKIE CHACHERE

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Warning that Terri Schiavo is "fading quickly," her parents begged a federal appeals court Tuesday to order the severely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube reinserted.

David Gibbs III, attorney for parents Bob and Mary Schindler, told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that the 41-year-old woman might die before they get a chance to fully argue their case that her rights are being violated. The appeal came after a federal judge in Tampa rejected the parents' emergency request.

"Where, as here, death is imminent, it is hard to imagine more critical and exigent circumstances," Gibbs said in the appeal filed electronically with the court. "Terri is fading quickly and her parents reasonably fear that her death is imminent."