In case you missed it, Andy McCarthy’s brilliant piece on the deafening silence of the civil liberties brigade in re. Terri Schiavo is a must-read. And a must-re-read.

AP reports on House Republican efforts to save Terri’s life before a 1pm deadline today:

In a two-pronged approach, a House committee was issuing congressional subpoenas ordering the doctors to halt, while an attorney for the parents of the woman, Terri Schiavo, said he would ask a federal judge in Tampa to block the removal and review the actions of state courts. Such habeas corpus appeals seek to require the government to justify its actions.

“We are going to ask him to issue a stay because in this case, state action would be used to end the life of an innocent, disabled woman,” the attorney, David Gibbs said.

Police in Pinellas Park, Fla., meanwhile, readied for the hundreds of protesters expected to show up outside Schiavo’s hospice as the hours slipped away before the scheduled 1 p.m. removal of her feeding tube.

In a last-ditch attempt to stop the court-ordered removal, a House committee decided early Friday morning to start an investigation into Schiavo’s case and issue subpoenas ordering doctors and hospice administrators not to remove her feeding tubes and to keep her alive until that investigation was complete.

The effort by the House Government Reform Committee came after lawmakers in both Washington and Tallahassee failed in attempts to pass legislation to keep her husband, Michael Schiavo, from having the tube pulled despite heavy lobbying by Schiavo’s parents.

“This inquiry should give hope to Terri, her parents and friends and the millions of people throughout the world who are praying for her safety,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Government Reform chairman Tom Davis said in a joint statement. “This fight is not over.”

Terri’s brother, Bobby, is in Washington. Meanwhile, Blogs for Terri is still pinning hopes on the Florida state legislature. Read more here.

All the latest news up-to-the-minute at the Terri Schiavo news aggregator. It’s going to be a wrenching day.

Update: I spoke with Bobby Schindler, Terri’s brother, briefly in the green room at FOX/DC bureau earlier this afternoon. He looked tired, but tireless. Drudge is keeping on top of all the latest legal developments and also points to Peggy Noonan’s piece on the political implications of Terri’s case.

The vigilant Andy McCarthy takes down the Washington Post’s Schiavo editorial here.

And just want to add this link to videos of Terri (thanks for the reminder from Hidden Nook) in case you haven’t seen them.

Update II: Blogs for Terri reporting at 304pm…

Tube is out: Michaels common law wife says he is very distraught - poor Michael

Jodie Centonze, according to Bay News 9, informed the media that Terri’s tube has been removed. Centonze is Michael Schiavo’s fiancé. The Schindler family was forced to leave when this took place.

According to Michael’s fiancé, he is very distraught.

JUST IMAGINE: YOUR CHILD IS BEING MURDERED IN A ROOM - YOU ARE MADE TO LEAVE - HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?????

MSNBC reports here.

Updated: 3:25 p.m. ET March 18, 2005

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - The feeding tube for Terry Schiavo, a seriously brain-damaged woman, was removed Friday, her husband’s attorney told NBC News, after a protracted battle between Michael Schiavo and the woman’s parents, who argued for her to remain alive.

The move came after a Florida judge rejected last-minute requests from Republican leaders in Congress on Friday to again delay the removal of the feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo alive…

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