In Re Jane Doe

Clarke, Justice.

In this appeal from a final order in a declaratory judgment action, we face several difficult issues relating to medical decision-making for a terminally ill child. Jane Doe, a 13-year-old child, had experienced medical problems since birth. In May 1991, she was admitted to Scottish Rite Hospital following a mild choking episode. Initially her attending physicians expected she would recover. Over the next weeks, however, her condition degenerated and she became limp and unresponsive. The doctors described her condition as “stuporous” or varying between stupor and coma states,…