A Florida judge has ruled that the husband of a woman who has been in a coma for more than a decade can remove her feeding tube in three weeks so she can die, despite her parents' objections.
Ms Theresa Schiavo (37) of St Petersburg, has been kept alive by a feeding tube since she suffered a heart attack in 1990.
Her husband, Mr Michael Schiavo, says his wife would not want to remain alive in a permanent vegetative state and he has been fighting for the right to let her die.
Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, say they believe their daughter responds to them and believe she might recover.
Pinellas County Judge George Greer granted Mr Schiavo permission to remove his wife's feeding tube in February 2000 and the decision was upheld on appeal last April.
Ms Theresa Schiavo's feeding was stopped for two days, but then another judge intervened and ordered her feeding be resumed.
A Florida appeals court sent the case back to Greer on July 11th. In his ruling this week, Judge Greer said the Schindlers had not raised any new issues and gave Mr Schiavo permission to end his wife's feeding on August 28th.
If Theresa Schiavo's feeding is stopped, she is expected to die in about two weeks.
Mr Schiavo's lawyer said: "He (Michael) is very gratified to receive the order of Judge Greer." The Schindlers said they would appeal. However, the appeals court said in its July ruling that any further appeal would have to show substantial new evidence to reverse Judge Greer's decision.