Terri: The Truth

A religious zealot offered $250,000 to anyone who would kill me. My two babies were threatened with death. I was condemned by the president, the majority leaders of the House and Senate, the governor of Florida, the pope, and the right-wing media, all because I was doing what Terri--the woman I loved--wanted. I didn't respond to their attacks. I didn't confront their lies. Until now......You may know the headlines about what come to be known as The Schiavo Case, but that doesn't mean you know what really happened. And you certainly don't know why. Frankly, that's because my efforts while Terri was alive were concentrated on giving her the best care possible, and waging the legal battle to ensure that the promise I'd made to her--that she would be kept alive artificially--would be kept. I didn't have time to expose the hidden agendas of all sorts of people, most of whom wouldn't have known who Terri was if they passed her on the street. That's why I wrote this book, and why it's called The Truth.When Terri collapsed in February, 1990, I was certain that she would recover. My love for her kept that hope alive in me for years. But there came a time when I had to face the medical facts. Now, I can finally tell you waht caused me to conclude that it was time to let her go. And I can also answer the questions that seem to trouble many Why didn't I just divorce Terri and allow her parents to take over as her legal guardians? And how could I be in a relationship with another woman, and have two children with her, while Terri was still alive?I loved Terri from the time I met her in a college class in 1983, and I've never stopped loving her. Throughout the fifteen years since she collapsed, I devoted my life to her care. The people--from ordinary citizens to the highest elected politicians--who said otherwise, who called me a murderer, were either completely misinformed, or had ulterior motives.I have no argument with those who may honestly disagree with me and the choices I have made. But honest disagreement over principle is not what has characterized this story, in my opinion.Now, on the 10th anniversary of Terri's official death, bioethicist and attorney Jay Wolfson, who was Terri's Guardian ad Litem, has written an introduction about the changes America has seen in the wake of the the Schiavo Case. Wolfson is the Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health, Medicine and Pharmacy, and Associate Vice President of Health Law, Finance and Policy at the University of South Florida, and is on the faculty of Stetson University College of Law.