[JURIST] US District Judge James Whittemore has denied a second emergency request from Terri Schiavo's parents to reconnect the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube. Whittemore denied a first request on Tuesday [JURIST report; PDF ruling], but after that was unsuccessfully appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court [JURIST report] lawyers for the Schindlers filed an amended complaint [PDF] on new legal grounds and sought a further stay authorizing tube re-insertion pending trial. Observers expect this latest ruling to be similarly appealed all the way up the line, although chances of success at any of these subsequent stages appear very slim.

8:05 AM ET – An AP story is now available here.

8:50 AM ET – Read Judge Whittemore's order [PDF], rejecting the Schindlers' contentions under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Eighth Amendment.

9:20 AM ET – AP is reporting that the Schindlers have filed an appeal, as expected.