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Terri Schiavo was a young, vibrant woman who suddenly became brain damaged. The reason for her malaise was not determined. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, was awarded a substantial amount in a malpractice lawsuit against Terri’s doctor. The funds were said to afford therapy for Terri. But, the money was not spent on rehabilitation. Terri’s care was maintenance only. Michael Schiavo pursued a court order to terminate Terri’s life. Her intake of food and water were withheld. The money attained to provide for Terri was instead used for legal expenses to end her life. Terri was not on life support. She was tube fed because she had no therapy to relearn to swallow normally. How much function she could regain was unknown because she did not have the opportunity to continue testing. Although she was not a normal functioning adult, Terri was not brain dead and in fact was able to sit in a chair and did respond to people. Her husband wanted to have her life terminated while her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Schindler desperately desired to keep her alive. The author of Fighting for Dear Life, David Gibbs, was the attorney who fought for Terri Schiavo and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Schindler. Gibbs is a professed Christian and a legal missionary. The book was written with the assistance of Bob DeMoss who is a well-known speaker and writer in the Christian sector and who worked for Focus on the Family for many years. They did not write this book as a memoir or for sympathy in behalf of the parents. Any reader who believes in the significance of life will agree there are some unsettling issues and questions stirring around the case of Terri Schiavo which affect our personal rights and security. Legal battles, medical science issues, the human condition, and the moral struggle, are intertwined. A genuine request by Terri’s parents to be legally responsible for Terri became a complex problem. She was a joy to her parents regardless of her condition. She wasn’t in pain or suffering. Terri’s life was worth fighting for but the battle was lost to death on demand by the spouse who had an opinion of what Terri would substantiate as quality of life. Questions are fired: how is life determined as significant and worthy of living, what is the law, and who is allowed to make life and death decisions. The Terri Schiavo case was as powerful as Roe vs. Wade. Still, the American public is ambivalent. The facts of the case which were not permissible in court and not released to the media may evoke the reader to anger, bitterness, distress, and emotional nausea. The purpose of the publicity given to Terri Schiavo’s case will be revealed further in the future by changes in legislation through the awareness and metamorphosis of our culture to a refined perspective of the significance and sanctity of human life. After the reader’s initial adrenalin rush of anxiety, hope prevails. At the end of the book Gibbs has a question and answer chapter and photos that give a glimpse of the drama. Then he provides the text of the bill presented to the Senate to protect Terri Schiavo’s right to life. Fighting for Dear Life by David Gibbs is compelling reading. It is written in very clear form. The book should be especially recommended to anyone considering a living will or designating a health care surrogate and for those caring for someone with serious heath problems or mental impairments. Fighting for Dear Life could also be helpful to students studying law, theology, or medicine.
Review contributed by: Scarlett Smith. She is a member of Mt. Paran North Church of God and the Christian Writers’ Guild, both in Atlanta, GA. Scarlett received a 2001 Amy Award for a non-fiction article in the Atlanta Journal/Constitution.
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