Using Terri: The Religious Right's Conspiracy to Take Away Our Rights [Hardcover]

Jon Eisenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2005

The Terri Schiavo case was a key battle in a larger political struggle over abortion, stem-cell research, physician-assisted suicide, gay rights, and the appointment of federal judges. The religious Right chose to make it a national spectacle because they thought they could win. They were wrong. But there are many more battles to come. Jon Eisenberg, who served as one of the lead attorneys on Michael Schiavo's side, exposes the religious Right's strategies and follows the money trail to reveal how they are organized, who is funding the movement, and where we can expect future legal maneuvers to combat the American traditions of autonomy and freedom.

Jon Eisenberg has experienced the family struggle of removing a feeding tube from a loved one and witnessed firsthand the Florida drama that will continue to have national legal and political consequences for years to come. What tactics can we expect to see in courtrooms and state legislatures all across this country in the days ahead? Who is behind the funding and what do they hope to accomplish and when? What are the religious and bioethical issues that are at the center of these debates and how will they affect future legal battles? Using Terri gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what happened -- and what's coming.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The debate among Terri Schiavo's relatives over whether to withdraw the feeding tube that kept her alive in a persistent vegetative state for over a decade was settled in March, when, after seven years of litigation and several attempts by state and national legislatures to overturn Florida's court ruling, the tube was removed and Terri died in her husband Michael's arms. But according to Eisenberg, a lawyer who filed briefs on behalf of Michael, the national debate over whether Americans have the right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment is just getting started. Eisenberg draws upon his previous experience with right-to-die cases to situate the Schiavo drama into an ongoing battle among bioethicists, clergy, right-to-lifers, doctors, politicians, lawyers and individual families. His book is as much a clarion call to protect the rights of personal autonomy as it is a step-by-step review of the Schiavo proceedings and a clear analysis of the legal issues involved. He speaks with engaging intimacy of his introduction to the debate through the illness of a favorite cousin, and the personal touch continues in the book's combination of analysis, reportage, declaration and memoir. Eisenberg raises substantial and urgent legal issues, and the accusations he fires-that the video clips of Terri shown on TV were grossly distorted by editing, that Tom DeLay, who sponsored a Congressional bill mandating the reinsertion of Terri's feeding tube, once ended life-sustaining treatment for his own father, that the religious right aims to dismantle the court system entirely-are potent. With legislation that would bar feeding tube removal pending in 12 states, this book is a timely and cogent argument for Americans' right to decide such end of life issues for themselves.
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Review

“A frank and unsettling account of the legal and political machinations surrounding the tragic death of Terri Schiavo.” (Edward Lazarus, author of Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court )

“Fascinating and frightening ... a much-needed wake up call for America. A terrific read by a first-rate legal mind.” (Nadine Strossen, President, American Civil Liberties Union, and Professor of Law, New York Law School )

“A beautifully written book that shows how the religious Right is waging a well-funded campaign threatening all our freedoms.” (Erwin Chemerinsky, Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, Duke University )

“If you care about preserving your right to control how you die this book will prove to be vital reading.” (Arthur Caplan, The Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Director, Center for Bioethics University of Pennsylvania )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1St Edition edition (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060877324
• ISBN-13: 978-0060877323
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,296,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Right to Die

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving and frightening book, April 13, 2006

By 

Elizabeth A. Root (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Using Terri: The Religious Right's Conspiracy to Take Away Our Rights (Hardcover)

I believe strongly that people should be able to decide for themselves, to the extent that it is possible, how much medical care they want. This goes both for people who want no heroic measures and people who want everything possible to be done. One of the most upsetting things about this story is that a number of people trying to keep Terri Schiavo on the feeding tube, including her parents, admitted that they didn't really care what she wanted, even if she had left even more specific instructions. Does the reviewer who professed to be distressed by the arrogance of Michael Schiavo, et al., apply the same standards to the Schindlers and others trying to warp the law and established practice? They were certainly convinced that they had a direct pipeline to God. The reviewer who claimed that he had no problem with the decision to remove the tube, but felt that Eisenberg was unfairly attacking Christian conservatives should give more thought to what they did. Did this person stand up and say, "You're not speaking for me when you claim that God requires extraordinary measures"? Eisenberg pointed out that a number of Christians, even conservative Christians, were puzzled by the reluctance to let Terri Schiavo go to God.

I already have advanced directives, and after this, I think that I will try to strengthen them.

Eisenberg's account of events was compassionate, careful and fair. In all that I have read about this, I have not seen any good evidence that Michael Schiavo was a bad husband while his wife was living with him, or failed to do the best for her until it became clear there was no hope. I cannot understand the argument that it is playing God to remove the tube any more than it was playing God to use it in the first place. Terri Schiavo would have died naturally more than 15 years ago.

There were times when I thought that perhaps Michael Schiavo should have turned care over to his in-laws, since they felt so strongly, but that is only because I don't think that Terri Schiavo was alive enough to care. I don't judge him for that, however. I know what it is to decide with family members when treatment should be ended since death can only be briefly postponed. I don't know what it is like to have to watch someone in that condition for more than fifteen years, convinced that they would not have wanted it to happen that way.

I hope that I am never the cause of putting my own family through such character assassinations, public intrusions and sufferings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Following the money, June 4, 2009

By 

Newton Ooi (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Using Terri: The Religious Right's Conspiracy to Take Away Our Rights (Hardcover)

Its rare that a person who is not a celebrity, not an elected official, and not a criminal, captures the nation's attention for months on end. But this was the case of Terri Schiavo, ex-wife of Michael Schiavo, resident of Florida, cause celebre of the religious right, and martyr to many. This book is written by one of the lawyers of Michael Schiavo, and is a description of the legal proceedings surrounding the Terri Schiavo cae from the first day Terri collapsed into a coma, thru her decade+ in a hospital with Michael by her side, and then thru the circus that enveloped the Florida state legislature, Congress, and the courts of both Florida and the US Ninth Circuit.

By reading this book, one comes to see Michael Schiavo as the true hero of this story, a devoted husband who finally left Terri after her parents told him to get on with his life. One also comes to understand much of the science, policy and politics behind the right-to-die, assisted suicide, and right-to-life movements in the USA. The author does a good job citing court cases, laws, and even religious documents related to this subject. All in all, a good book. The only things that the author should have included is a timeline of events at the very end, and a diagram showing how Terri's case moved between different legal jurisdictions.

24 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Frightening, and Formidable, September 6, 2005

By 

Sue Burish (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Using Terri: The Religious Right's Conspiracy to Take Away Our Rights (Hardcover)

In the end, Eisenber's book is intended to move you to action. I fairly ran to do three things: review every word of my Advance Health Care Directive to be sure it explictly and unambiguously made clear my wishes; wrote a check to an organization that will protect my rights to make personal life decisions; and told everyone I knew to read this book and consider doing the other two things. After all I'd read about the Teri Shivo tragedy I found Jon's behind the scenes stories fascinating and frightening. He writes with insight, warmth and passion. He has a fine legal mind, a fierce commitment to individual freedom and an engaging writing style. Formidable.