Matter of O'Connor, 1988
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Matter of O'Connor, 1988 was a court case brought before the New York Court of Appeals.[1]
Mary O'Connor
[edit]Mary O'Connor was a 77-year-old woman who had experienced strokes in 1985, and[2] was admitted to Westchester County Medical Center. She suffered from the loss of her gag reflex, which made it impossible for her to swallow food.[2] Because O'Connor was unresponsive,[clarification needed] physicians and her daughters took control of her care.[2]
According to her daughters, although she was unable to feed herself, she did not want to be kept alive through artificial means.[3]
Her physicians noted that treatment was necessary to preserve her life. They asked the ethics committee for a recommendation, as they felt that it was unethical to deny her the necessary life-preserving treatment.[2]
Court case
[edit]The daughters, (both nurses) argued successfully in two lower courts, that their mother did not wish to kept alive by such artificial means.[3] An appeal reversed the two lower-court decisions which had been found in favor of the daughters.[4]
The case was then referred to the New York Court of Appeals. The judge was Chief Judge Sol Wachtler, and a four judge majority ruled.[3]
The Court noted that O'Connor was conscious and able to answer questions.[2] The Court's decision was that O'Connor had not stated clearly that she "had made a firm and settled commitment, while competent, to decline this type of medical assistance".[3]
The court used the ruling of an older case, In re Storar[5] to "deny her the refusal" of receiving this care.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ 72 N.Y.2d 517 (1988) MATTER OF O'CONNOR Court of Appeals of the State of New York.
- ^ a b c d e f Gindes, Daniel (June 1989). "Judicial Postponement of Death Recognition: The Tragic Case of Mary O'Connor". American Journal of Law & Medicine. 15 (2/3): 301. doi:10.1017/S0098858800009850. S2CID 26768902.
- ^ a b c d Melvin, Tessa. "Hospitals Study Right-to-Die Ruling". Retrieved 2018-10-21.
- ^ "Case Studies in Geriatric Medicine - PDF Free Download". epdf.tips. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
- ^ "In Re Stolar, 401 U.S. 23, 91 S. Ct. 713, 27 L. Ed. 2d 657, 1971 U.S. LEXIS 82 – CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2018-10-29.