Matter of O'Connor, 1988 was a court case brought before the New York Court of Appeals.[1]

Mary O'Connor

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, 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

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

  1. ↑ 72 N.Y.2d 517 (1988) MATTER OF O'CONNOR Court of Appeals of the State of New York.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Melvin, Tessa. "Hospitals Study Right-to-Die Ruling". Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  4. ↑ "Case Studies in Geriatric Medicine - PDF Free Download". epdf.tips. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  5. ↑ "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.
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