Clearwater, Fla. ? A man who has fought a long legal battle to remove the feeding tube from his brain-damaged wife, only to have the state pass a special law to thwart him, won another round in court Friday when a judge ruled that his suit against Gov. Jeb Bush may proceed.

After a short hearing, Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird said Michael Schiavo had successfully defended Terri Schiavo’s right not to be kept alive artificially. Any delays in removing the feeding tube and letting her die violate her constitutional right to privacy, the judge said.

Michael Schiavo had his wife’s feeding tube removed last month after years of legal battles with her parents, but the governor ordered the tube reinserted six days later under a hastily passed state law. Schiavo then sued Bush.

Bush’s attorneys appealed, triggering an automatic stay, but the judge overrode the stay Friday and gave Bush’s attorneys until Monday to submit a brief defending the constitutionality of the new law.