Fighting for Dear Life: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo and What It Means For All of Us by David Gibbs (nonfiction)
What an eye opener this book was! I heard David Gibbs speak and bought the book because he piqued my interest. While the Terri Schiavo case raged, I had some pretty strong feelings about it. After reading this book, I feel like I was duped by the press. I should have investigated the facts more carefully and not depended upon what the media chose to report before making up my mind about what I believed. Gibbs includes the exact wording of testimony and legal decisions--I appreciated the chance to read the material and draw my own conclusions.
Two questions remain in my mind: 1) Why didn't Michael Schiavo just divorce Terri and let her parents care for her? and 2) Why did Judge George Greer, who made the decision to with hold food and water, consider the memories of Michael Schiavo and his family "clear and compelling" evidence of what Terri wanted?
I never understood how and why Jeb Bush, the Congress, and even President Bush got involved in a so-called "right to die" case. However, after reading this book, I am glad they did. They were trying to err on the side of life. I sure hope Judge Greer or Judge Whittemore never have to decide anything about my life--they may decide the quality of my life is not worth preserving. Shame on both of you judges for ignoring the parents of a disabled woman in favor of a husband who had moved on to a relationship with another woman and had two children with her (no conflict of interest there???).
The last part of the book is about why David Gibbs does not support living wills. His argument makes sense. He believes in designating a health care surrogate of 2-3 people who will make decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated. You can specify that in a decision that might reasonably result in your death (like removing a feeding or breathing tube), all three surrogates must be unanimous or the medical staff will err on the side of preserving life. I like this idea, especially since it removes the burden from one person making a difficult choice. It also would prevent much of what happened to Terri Schiavo.
Two questions remain in my mind: 1) Why didn't Michael Schiavo just divorce Terri and let her parents care for her? and 2) Why did Judge George Greer, who made the decision to with hold food and water, consider the memories of Michael Schiavo and his family "clear and compelling" evidence of what Terri wanted?
I never understood how and why Jeb Bush, the Congress, and even President Bush got involved in a so-called "right to die" case. However, after reading this book, I am glad they did. They were trying to err on the side of life. I sure hope Judge Greer or Judge Whittemore never have to decide anything about my life--they may decide the quality of my life is not worth preserving. Shame on both of you judges for ignoring the parents of a disabled woman in favor of a husband who had moved on to a relationship with another woman and had two children with her (no conflict of interest there???).
The last part of the book is about why David Gibbs does not support living wills. His argument makes sense. He believes in designating a health care surrogate of 2-3 people who will make decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated. You can specify that in a decision that might reasonably result in your death (like removing a feeding or breathing tube), all three surrogates must be unanimous or the medical staff will err on the side of preserving life. I like this idea, especially since it removes the burden from one person making a difficult choice. It also would prevent much of what happened to Terri Schiavo.
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