The United States Supreme Court had decided not to hear the appeal of the parents of Terri Schiavo, the woman in a persistent vegetative state who has been at the center of a most divisive 'right-to-die' case in years.

The court released a brief one-page decision and simply announced that it would not hear the case. This is the fifth time the court has declined to get involved in the Schiavo case.

Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri Schiavo's parents, are seemingly out of options. Their daughter has been without food or hydration since Friday afternoon when her feeding tube was removed.

Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990 according to court appointed doctors. Her husband Michael Schiavo says she told him on numerous occasions that she would not wish to be kept alive artificially under these circumstances. Mrs. Schiavo did not leave any written instructions on the issue, however. Bob and Mary Schindler have been fighting to prolong their daughter's existence for eight years now and claim she is responsive and can improve with proper therapy.

Both Florida courts and federal courts have sided with Michael Schiavo on this issue. It appears that the Bob and Mary Schindler are running out of options and Terri Schiavo is running out of time.