In re Westchester County Medical Center

Respondents have established that Mary O’Connor did not wish any “artificial or mechanical support systems” used to sustain her life; if she were unable to function on her own, she wanted “nature to take its course”. That being so, and inasmuch as no countervailing State interest has been asserted, she is entitled to have the court respect and implement her choice. The majority refuses to do so because it holds her statements were too indefinite. Its holding substantially rewrites the law of self-determination, at least for cases such as this, and has for all practical purposes foreclosed any…