Legal Opinion
In Re Gardner
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
Decided December 3, 1987PublishedCited by 51 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
McEUSICK, Chief Justice.
This case poses the sensitive question, novel to us, of when life-sustaining procedures may be discontinued for a hospital patient in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for improvement. The Superior Court (Androscoggin County) declared that in the specific circumstances presented by *949the facts of this case those procedures may be discontinued. We agree.
Requiring proof by clear and convincing evidence, the Superior Court after extensive hearings found the following facts among others: On May 11,1985, Joseph V. Gardner, then nearly 23 years of age, suffered…
2Cases cited24 opinions
- Union Pacific Railway Co. v. BotsfordSupreme Court of the United States · 1891
- Schloendorff v. Society of the New York HospitalNew York Court of Appeals · 1914
- Jerry W. Canterbury v. William Thornton Spence and the Washington Hospital Center, a Body CorporateCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1972
- Superintendent of Belchertown State School v. SaikewiczMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1977
- Matter of ConroySupreme Court of New Jersey · 1985
19 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by51 opinions
- Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of HealthSupreme Court of the United States · 1990
- Vacco v. QuillSupreme Court of the United States · 1997
- Vacco v. QuillSupreme Court of the United States · 1997
- Church v. PeralesCourt of Appeals of Tennessee · 2000
- In Re Estate of LongewayIllinois Supreme Court · 1989
46 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.