The remains of Schiavo were taken under police guard to forensic experts in Pinellas County to determine the cause of death and examine the extent of the brain injury that left her severely handicapped.

Schiavo's death was announced 13 days after her feeding tube was disconnected, at around 9:45 am (1345 GMT) Thursday by a spokesman for her parents, in a case that has provoked huge emotion in the United States, even drawing in US President George W. Bush.

Michael Schiavo, her husband cradled his wife as she succumbed to "a calm, peaceful and gentle death," his attorney, George Felos, said.

Pro-life activists gathered outside the hospice where Schiavo has been cared for more than five years wept and embraced after the news was announced.

Her husband and her parents Bob and Mary Schindler and siblings, who wrangled over whether she should die right to the end, kept up their hostility.

Conservative US leaders maintained their support for the parents' fight.

"We promised the Schindler family that we will not let Terri die in vain," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. "There's a bill that the House passed two weeks ago sitting in the Senate -- the Senate could pick that bill up and pass it -- that deals with this issue on a general basis.

"We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president. When given the jurisdiction to hear this case anew and look at all the facts and make a determination, they chose not to participate, contrary to what Congress and the president asked them to do. We will look into that."

DeLay's outburst was deemed the "mark of an arrogant and out-of-control federal power ... the legislature," by The Washington Post, while The New York Times said that in the media circus surrounding the Schiavo case "worst of all were the powerful people" with opportunistic agendas.

USA Today said the debate over Schiavo's right to life or death was healthy because it showed that "abstract terms such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism really do mean something."

Schiavo, 41, died after some 15 years in what doctors called a "persistent vegetative state" and more than 20 court cases and state legislature hearing in the last seven years over whether her artificial lifeline should have been cut.

Michael Schiavo said his wife -- who suffered brain damage after heart failure in 1990 -- had told him she would not want to be kept alive in such a helpless state. Her parents said she could improve with treatment.

The courts repeatedly backed the husband. The Supreme Court refused a sixth appeal by the parents to get involved a few hours before Schiavo died. President Bush and other conservative leaders backed the Schindlers. Congress passed a law after the tube was taken out on March 18 aimed at helping the parents.

Schiavo gradually weakened while the acrimony around her showed little sign of abating. Her brother, Bobby Schindler, was ordered out of her room after arguing with a police officer only a few minutes before she died.

Bush and other conservative leaders, who have highlighted their "pro-life" values, carefully directed their sympathies at the Schindler family.

In Washington, Bush urged "all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others.

The Vatican also entered the dispute, with one cardinal calling Schiavo's death murder.

Some US judges criticised politicians for interfering in the prolonged legal process that led to the ending of Schiavo's artificial feeding. Most opinion polls indicated a majority of Americans opposed the political attempts to save the woman.