Schiavo Parents Consider Next Move

Autopsy Fails To Convince Them She Could Not Have Recovered

(CBS/AP)  "The president is always going to stand on the side of protecting and defending life," McClellan told reporters, adding that the the administration's thought's are with Terri Schiavo's family and friends.

Mr. Bush and congressional allies pushed legislation giving federal courts jurisdiction in what is normally an issue left to state courts, reports CBS News Correspondent Peter Maer.

But at least one key congressional ally, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a medical doctor, appeared to back away after the report was released.

"I believe it does bring a very sad chapter to a close," Frist said Thursday on CBS News' The Early Show. "The diagnosis they made is exactly right. It's the pathology. I respect that. I think it is now time to move on."

The autopsy counters a widely seen videotape the Schindlers released of Schiavo in her hospice bed. The video showed Schiavo appearing to turn toward her mother's voice and smile. She moaned and laughed. Her head moved up and down and she seemed to follow the progress of a brightly colored Mickey Mouse balloon.

Schiavo's parents said that showed she was aware of her surroundings, but doctors said her reactions were automatic responses and not evidence of thought or consciousness.

"There's nothing in her autopsy report that is inconsistent with a persistent vegetative state," said Dr. Stephen J. Nelson, a medical examiner who assisted in the neurological portion of the autopsy.