[JURIST] Michael Schiavo attorney George Felos says that an autopsy will be performed on Terri Schiavo [JURIST news archive] after she dies to show the extent of her brain damage. The chief medical examiner for Pinellas County, Dr. John Thogmartin, has agreed to perform the procedure. Felos said that Michael Schiavo wants definitive proof showing the extent of brain damage to quel rumors and controversy. David Gibbs III, attorney for Schiavo's parents, has indicated that Schiavo's family too wants an autopsy. "We would certainly support and encourage an autopsy to be done, with all the unanswered questions," Gibbs said. As Schiavo draws closer to death, extra police officers have blocked the road in front of the Florida hospice, and an elementary school next door was closed so students could avoid the crowd. Hundreds of protestors have been congregating around the hospice, and eight protestors were arrested while trying to bring water into the hospice. AP has more.

3:37 PM ET – The Rev. Jesse Jackson met with the Schindlers in Tampa Tuesday and in a brief press conference outside the hospice said he had been in touch with several Florida state legislators in an effort to get them to change their minds on legislation that would allow Terri Schiavo's feeding tube to be reconnected. ABC WTSP-TV has local coverage.