Terri's Story: The Court-Ordered Death of an American Woman
Diana Lynne
Most Americans had not even heard of Terri Schindler Schiavo when the controversy over her court-ordered death exploded upon the scene in March 2005. For thirteen years she had languished, her body slowly deteriorating in the absence of rehabilitative therapy while the value of her life was litigated by the courts and weighed by legislators. As the debate raged on the airwaves, its significance was not lost on the pro-life, right-to-die, pro-euthanasia, and disabled-rights advocates who adopted Terri Schiavo as a poster child for their causes.
When the tug-of-war over Terri escalated, an avalanche of news outlets—many misrepresenting crucial medical facts—swept the story even farther beyond her bedside. As two divergent versions of her last hours—one in which she was "calm, peaceful, and gentle" and the other characterizing her as in "deep distress and suffering" and "fighting like hell"—puzzled millions, one simple question remained: Did Terri want to live or die?
What would Terri tell us if she could talk? How could Terri's caregivers claim she repeatedly said "stop that," "pain," and "help me," while her husband's attorney likened her to a "house plant"? Why was she denied testing and rehabilitative therapy when courts awarded more than $1.5 million for that purpose? Why did the majority of the money earmarked for her rehabilitation bankroll the lawyers who sought her death?
What are we to make of the numerous conflicts of interest overlooked by the courts? The critical, timely changes to Florida law that gave legal legs to Michael Schiavo's petition to remove her feeding tube? Did campaign contributions motivate the state officials, regulators, and law-enforcement agents who stonewalled efforts to investigate Terri's collapse and allegations of abuse by her husband? And what role did the hospice play in the saga? Did the hospice affiliation of Michael Schiavo's attorney, the legislator who sponsored the change in Florida law, a county commissioner, the county sheriff-turned-legislator, and members of the local police force influence the outcome? Was Terri's case just one cog in the wheel of a national movement to support euthanasia in America? What are the implications of her story for other incapacitated persons? Who will die next?
Terri's Story includes interviews with Michael Schiavo, his family members, and right-to-die activists who see this case as the Roe vs. Wade of court-assisted death as well as the stories of many who got caught up in the effort to save her life. A powerful, insightful, and ultimately heartbreaking story, Terri's Story provides the background and depth missing in most of the national news coverage of the battle to save her life.
| DIANA LYNNE covered the Terri Schiavo case for more than four years. She is a native of Boston, a graduate of Harvard University in economics and Emerson College in mass communications, and a ten-year veteran of network television. |
$24.95, Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1-58182-488-2 (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 978-1-58182-488-9 (Hardcover)
Hardcover Currently Available
