As Governor of Texas, George W. Bush signed a law that would allow the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube. Based on this law a feeding tube was removed from a six-month old last Tuesday after a court hearing. The baby died almost immediately.
The law allowed the ending of life over parents objection, the opposite position Bush is taking now. He is now "saying 'The parents are protesting. You shouldn't stop,'" said John Paris, a Boston College medical ethicist.
The White House claims the positions are consistent with families right to prevent hospitals and doctors from ending life. Bush's spokesman however acknowledged that if the court action failed "The hospital still could authorize the end of life."
