Bill Gothard, Religious Leader Behind Duggar Family Beliefs, in Coma After Suffering Heart Attack

Bill Gothard, whose Institute in Basic Life Principles was followed by many members of the Duggar family, had a heart attack last week.

“Bill Gothard suffered a heart attack on June 24th, and, as a result, went into a natural coma. He was revived, and taken by ambulance to the hospital,” a press release on Gothard’s Facebook page read.

“As per his wishes, we have been doing every medical, life saving procedure possible to save his life. Right now, he is alive, and though his kidneys quit functioning, by an absolute miracle, they started to function again, as per a kidney specialist,” the message continued.

The press release stated that although Gothard, 91, was still in a coma, he had responded to some visitors by “squeezing” their fingers when asked.

Gothard and the IBLP found the spotlight when 19 Kids and Counting first premiered in 2008. While Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are still heavily involved with Gothard’s teachings, as well as several of their children, some members of the Duggar family have stepped away from the religion.

In January 2025, Jinger Duggar spoke to People about how Gothard’s teaching often made her feel like she “wasn’t enough.”

“I will just say a lot of it started when I was in the teachings of Bill Gothard, because there was so much that was drilled into you through what he said about trying to please your husband and if you don’t, he’s going to leave you, because you don’t have a perfectly clean house or maybe you don’t make the dinner on time or you’re not joyfully available to him at all times,” Jinger told the outlet at the time.

The IBLP is a nondenominational Christian fundamentalist group that was founded by Gothard in 1961. According to a July 2016 report from Chicago magazine, the teachings prompted traditional gender roles that emphasized male authority and female submission, and they established strict standards for dress, along with a homeschooling curriculum.

As In Touch previously reported, Gothard was the president of the group until 2014, when more than 30 women accused him of sexual harassment. He denied the allegations but later resigned as president as a way “to listen to those who have fought against him.”

The case filed against Gothard was eventually dismissed due to statute of limitation issues.