Fighting for Dear Life
ââOne of the most gut-wrenching stories in recent years was the deliberate, systematic, court-ordered starvation of Terri Schiavo. David Gibbs III, the Christian attorney who fought so valiantly to save her life, has now written a gripping account of the fight to save Terri. This book . . . is a wake-up call to a society that shrugs its collective shoulders as to how we treat the most vulnerable among us.''
âD. James Kennedy, PhD, Senior Minister, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
ââAttorney Gibbs makes the case for people like me to be allowed to live. I am so thankful that my husband didn't let me die because of my âquality of life.' This could be the most important book you ever read.''
âKate Adamson, Author of
Triumph Over Adversity
ââThe tragedy of Terri Schiavo will long be remembered, mourned, and debated. David Gibbs's vital book explains why Terri Schiavo died and why all Americans should care.''
âU.S. Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX), retired
ââAmericans are indebted to David Gibbs for bringing to light a wealth of insider information never reported on the Terri Schiavo case. His expert legal and eyewitness account is unmatched. A must read.''
âJoseph Farah, WorldNetDaily.com
ââMy heart was deeply moved by this touching and thought-provoking account! My husband and I prayed diligently for Terri and for the Schindlers, as he, as well as I, greatly value every precious life.
ââI thank God for the compassionate and valiant stand of David Gibbs. May this book be used greatly to promote the value of every single life.''
âJoyce Rogers, wife of the late Dr. Adrian Rogers
THE UNTOLD STORY OF
TERRY SCHIAVO
AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR ALL OF US
FIGHTING
FOR
DEAR LIFE
BY THE ATTORNEY WHO TOUGHT FOR TERRI
DAVID GIBBS
WITH
BOB DEMOSS
Fighting for Dear Life
Copyright © 2006
David C. Gibbs III
Cover design by Lookout Design, Inc.
Cover photo by David Hanko
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwiseâwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America
Hardcover: ISBN 978-0-7642-0243-8
Trade Paper: ISBN 978-0-7642-0534-7
Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Gibbs, David (David C.)
    Fighting for dear life : the untold story of Terri Schiavo and what it means for all of us / David Gibbs with Bob DeMoss.
        p.   cm.
    Summary: ââGibbs, lead attorney for Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri Schiavo's parents, recounts the legal case to keep her alive and her last days. Discusses background information on the U.S. judiciary process and value of life issues''â Provided by publisher.
    Includes bibliographical references.
    ISBN 0-7642-0243-X (hardcover : alk. paper)
    1. Schiavo, Terri, 1963â2005. 2. Right to dieâMoral and ethical aspectsâUnited StatesâCase studies. 3. Terminal careâMoral and ethical aspectsâUnited Statesâ Case studies. 4. ComaâPatientsâUnited StatesâBiography. 5. Medical ethicsâ United StatesâCase studies. I. DeMoss, Robert G. II. Title.
    R726.G52      2006
    179.7âdc22
2006013760
For Terri Schiavo's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler. You beautifully demonstrated a parent's unconditional love for your disabled daughter.
For my parents, David and Glorianne Gibbs. You loved and trained me, and showed me by your lives how to find great joy and purpose in serving others. Dad, you have been a role model and hero to me as a legal missionary attorney helping hurting people and defending right causes across our land.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
David Gibbs would like to thank . . .
My wife, family, friends, and the entire team of outstanding professionals at Gibbs Law Firm for their support and advice while this book was being written.
Bob DeMoss for helping me tell the story.
Barbara Weller, Becky Wilson, and Dr. Robert and Dora DeMoss, for their many late nights of work to see this project through to completion.
Kyle Duncan, Gary Johnson, Julie Smith, and the wonderful team at Bethany House for their commitment to the heart and soul of this book.
Greg Johnson and WordServe Literary Group for finding us the perfect publishing home.
The millions of people who watched, prayed, and stood with us in spirit from around the world as we legally represented Bob and Mary Schindler in their valiant final efforts to save the life of their daughter Terri Schiavo.
The Creator of Life before whom every life has eternal worth.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
DAVID C. GIBBS defends the rights of churches and Christians nationwide as a legal missionary through Gibbs Law Firm and the Christian Law Association. He's a graduate of Liberty University and received his law degree from Duke University. He co-hosts
The Legal
Alert
, heard on more than one thousand radio stations daily, and he has appeared on many major news and talk shows, including
Larry King
Live, FOX & Friends, Hannity & Colmes, Nancy Grace, The Michael Reagan
Show,
and
Face the Nation
. David, his wife, and their four children make their home in Florida.
Attorney David Gibbs can be contacted at
[email protected]
.
BOB DeMOSS served seven years as Youth Cultural Specialist for Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family. He has hosted his
Learn to Discern:
Help for a Generation at Risk
seminar in more than three hundred cities worldwide and has appeared on numerous national radio and television shows, including
Good Morning America
. As a
New York Times
bestselling writer, he has coauthored books with Dennis Rainey, Tim LaHaye, and Point of Grace. A father of four, Bob lives with his family in Franklin, Tennessee.
CONTENTS
6. Is There a Doctor in the House?
PART TWO :
TERRI'S FIGHT FOR LIFE
14. Litigating at the Speed of Light
PART THREE :
FIGHTING FOR OUR FUTURE
18. Examining the Medical Examiner's Report
23. If There's a Will There's a Way
24. Life Support in View of Eternity
Appendix A: Frequently Asked Questions: Terri and the Case
Appendix B: Sample Form: Designation of Health Care Surrogate
Appendix C: Full Text of Terri's Law: October 2003
Appendix D: Text of the Act of Congress: March 2005
The first duty of government is the protection of life, not its
destruction. The chief purpose of government is to protect life.
Abandon that and you have abandoned all.
âT
HOMAS
J
EFFERSON
1
T
erri Schiavo is dead.
Nothing in this book will change that fact. The time for making motions and filing appeals is over. My clients, Bob and Mary Schindler, have no recourse. Terri, that precious daughter they carefully bundled up and carried home from a Philadelphia hospital back in December of 1963 was, on March 31, 2005, removed from their loving arms and reduced to ashes.
As much as I'd like to bring Terri back from the grave, I can't. You might be wondering why, then, would I write this book? What is the point of revisiting the painful details that have been rehashed a thousand times in the media? Let me offer three reasons why I feel compelled to tell Terri's story. The first is quite simple.
I was there.
I witnessed firsthand what transpired both in the courtroom and behind the scenes. I sat and visited with Terri on numerous occasions. I looked into her eyes. I spoke and laughed with her. I watched Terri's family interact with her in ways nobody in the media
ever
saw. And I was in her room the day her feeding tube was removed . . . as well as shortly before Terri took her final breath.
Not one reporter from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, the
New York
Times
, or the international media community ever set foot in Terri's room. I can't blame themâthey were denied entrance by Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo. For reasons known only to Michael, he did not want the world to see Terri as she was: a disabled, yet fully alive, spirited woman.
Perhaps more troubling was the behavior of Judge George Greer, who held the very heartbeat of Terri's life in his hands. For reasons I still do not understand, Judge Greer refused to go and meet Terri Schiavo, watch her interact with her mother, or call her as a witness in his courtroomâeven though he was assigned the task of deciding Terri's ultimate fate.
In this regard, I had unmatched access to the truth of Terri's condition . . . the truth that has been withheld from you, the truth that we were not able to introduce as evidence in court. Indeed, I write because it's impossible for me to remain silent. As one of the few eyewitnesses, I have an obligation to you and to our country. I must confront the gross misrepresentations and outright fabrications that some are using to justify future abuses against thousands of those whose ââquality of life'' has been called into question.
What's more, the wall-to-wall media coverage during Terri's final days made her story one of the top media events of 2005. Yet a tremendous amount of confusion still lingers in the minds of most Americans as to what really happened. Everywhere I travel, people voice conflicting opinions about Terri's story.