Whittemore would not say when he would rule on a petition by Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who want the judge to order her feeding tube reinserted to allow time for a full hearing in federal court.

The tube was removed on Friday.

``I won't tell you how long it will take'' to issue an order, Whittemore told attorneys at the conclusion of a two-hour hearing.

``It will be entered and placed on the record when it is signed by me.''

The hearing commenced less than 15 hours after Congress passed and President Bush signed extraordinary legislation giving federal courts the jurisdiction to consider the Schiavo case.

In signing the law early Monday, Bush said, ``In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life.

``This presumption is especially critical for those, like Terri Schiavo, who live at the mercy of others,'' Bush said.

Schiavo lapsed 15 years ago into what doctors have called a persistent vegetative state when her brain was deprived of oxygen.

Her husband, Michael, successfully petitioned a Pinellas County court eight years later to remove her feeding tube, saying his wife wouldn't have wanted to live like that.

The Schindlers have fought to keep their daughter's feeding tube in place, filing numerous appeals and arguing that she could improve with therapy.

Just last week federal Judge James Moody, turned away a petition from the Schindlers, saying he did not have jurisdiction.

With the court appeals seemingly exhausted, Congress convened over the weekend and passed legislation breathing life into the issue by authorizing a federal judge to hear the case anew.

Vatican Newspaper Speaks Out

On Monday, the Vatican newspaper condemned the withdrawal of the feeding tube.

``Who can judge the dignity and sacredness of the life of a human being, made in the image and likeness of God?'' L'Osservatore Romano said in a commentary.

The Schindlers' attorney, David Gibbs III, implored Whittemore to save Schiavo's life and preserve her ultimate passage into heaven.

Gibbs argued that Schiavo was not represented by her own attorney and that Circuit Judge George Greer acted improperly in the case.

``We are urgently pleading this court to take immediate action,'' he said.

``There is not much time ... We're somewhat desperate because, frankly, as I stand here, Terri may expire as I speak,'' he said.

Arguing that the removal of the feeding tube violated Schiavo's freedom of religion, Gibbs pointed to statements from the pope and the Vatican, saying Schiavo was a practicing Catholic who would have followed the direction of her church.

``At this point, it is a mortal sin'' to die this way, Gibbs said. ``A court has ordered her to disobey her church and even to jeopardize her eternal soul. ... There are few things more important in religion than how one dies.''

Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, told the judge that Terri Schiavo's demise is not as near as Gibbs had suggested.

``The death of Mrs. Schiavo is not imminent in terms of hours,'' he said. ``It's in terms of days.''

He also disputed Gibbs' characterization of the theological implications of the removal of the tube.

He cited a statement by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said that patients don't have to accept tube feeding if it prolongs their suffering.

Terri Schiavo ``said she did not want to be kept alive by anything artificial and that she did not want to live like that,'' Felos said.

He also argued that it was a ``fiction'' to say Terri Schiavo was denied her legal right to due process because she didn't have an attorney.

Because she cannot speak for herself, her husband was her guardian who made the legal decisions and hired lawyers, he said.

``How many trials do yo have to have?'' he asked. ``How much litigation do you have to have? Will 50 attorneys satisfy due process more than 20 attorneys?''

Felos also asserted that the years of litigation have resulted in a denial of Terri Schiavo's right to refuse medical treatment.

He urged Whittemore to strike down the new law, which he described as ``an unconstitutional intrusion into judicial powers.''

Felos pointed out that federal judges have lifetime appointments, saying that Whittemore was ``acting as a fire wall in the protection of constitutional liberty.''

He entreated Whittemore to resist the ``popular political clamor,'' to uphold Terri Schiavo's right to decide her own medical treatment and not force her to undergo a surgical procedure - the reinsertion of the tube - that would interrupt her ``death process'' for a third time.

Judge Seeks Case Law

Whittemore expressed doubts that the Schindlers could prove their case.

Several times he asked Gibbs for prior rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court or from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that demonstrated that a judge in Greer's position violated someone's constitutional rights ``by doing what the law allows.''

``We believe that, fundamentally, Terri was never given a fair trial by the state court judge,'' Gibbs said.

Later, the seemingly exasperated judge said, ``I would like some case law to give me guidance. I have none.''

Still, he asked attorneys from both sides what will happen if he does issue an injunction.

Gibbs said an ambulance would take Terri Schiavo to a hospital, where a feeding tube could be reinserted within about two hours.

The president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, said after the hearing that ``now is the time to act.''

``Her guardian, her husband, has a true conflict,'' Bush said.

``He has a girlfriend with two children. ... I don't believe that a so-called private matter trumps the public necessity to protect life,'' Bush said.

Michael Schiavo said he was outraged that lawmakers and the president were intervening.

Also on Monday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, citing the new law, overturned Moody's ruling last week dismissing a Schindler petition on the grounds he had no jurisdiction.

In response to the appeals court decision, Moody issued an order Monday giving Terri Schiavo's parents five days to file a new petition.

Asked Monday afternoon what was going to happen with the case before him, Moody said, ``That remains to be seen.''

Scene At The Courthouse

More than 100 spectators packed into Whittemore's courtroom and an overflow room set up in the courthouse with a closed-circuit television feed.

While those inside the courtroom remained silent throughout the proceedings, the crowd packed into the overflow room occasionally hooted or clapped in reaction to what attorneys said during the hearing.

Outside the courthouse, spectators waved signs and chanted as a phalanx of reporters surrounded the attorneys.

A cluster of women in wheelchairs shouted, ``We're not dead yet! Disability rights!''

At Hospice House Woodside in Pinellas Park, between a dozen and three dozen demonstrators were on hand at any given time.

They displayed hand-held placards for the scores of television, radio, Internet and print journalists maintaining their own media vigil.

The number of Michael Schiavo supporters seems to be growing.

The activists on both sides of the issue were seen having what appeared to be thoughtful, well-mannered discussions with each other.

Reporters David Sommer of The Tampa Tribune and Mark Douglas of News Channel 8 contributed to this report, which includes information from The Associated Press.