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Legal Opinion

DeGrella by and Through Parrent v. Elston

Kentucky Supreme Court

Decided July 15, 1993No. 92-SC-756-TGPublishedCited by 33 opinions

1Opinion of the Court

LEIBSON, Justice.

This is the first of the so-called “right to die” cases, spawned by modern medical technology, to reach this Court.1

As a result of a tragic beating inflicted upon her on February 22,1983, Martha Sue DeGrella (Sue) sustained an acute subdural hematoma causing severe brain damage for which medical treatment was of no benefit. She now languishes, slowly wasting away, in a persistent vegetative state at the Lyndon Lane Nursing Home in Jefferson County, Kentucky. She receives nourishment and water through a gastrostomy tube surgically implanted into her stomach. She breathes…

2Cases cited25 opinions

  1. Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of HealthSupreme Court of the United States · 1990
  2. Union Pacific Railway Co. v. BotsfordSupreme Court of the United States · 1891
  3. Schloendorff v. Society of the New York HospitalNew York Court of Appeals · 1914
  4. In Re QuinlanSupreme Court of New Jersey · 1976
  5. Matter of ConroySupreme Court of New Jersey · 1985

20 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

3Cited by33 opinions

  1. Vacco v. QuillSupreme Court of the United States · 1997
  2. Vacco v. QuillSupreme Court of the United States · 1997
  3. People v. KevorkianMichigan Supreme Court · 1994
  4. Martin v. MartinMichigan Supreme Court · 1995
  5. Woods Ex Rel. Simpson v. CommonwealthKentucky Supreme Court · 2004

28 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

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