The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request by a couple to remove a feeding tube keeping their comatose 31-year-old daughter alive.
The court, 4-3, said it found no legal basis to permit Nancy Cruzan`s parents to choose her death.
In the absence of such a basis ”and in the face of this state`s strongly stated policy in favor of life, we choose to err on the side of life, respecting the rights of incompetent persons who may wish to live despite a severely diminished qualify of life,” wrote Judge Edward Robertson Jr.
The ruling set a precedent in dealing with the rights of guardians in situations like Cruzan`s, said state Atty. Gen. William Webster.
William Colby, the Cruzans` attorney, said the decision would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
”The family is extremely disappointed in the decision, and we feel that the court has failed to recognize important constitutional rights that every individual in Missouri should have,” Colby said.
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Cruzan has been in a coma since she was injured in an auto accident in 1983.
Colby argued before the court that Cruzan had constitutional rights to liberty and privacy that would be reflected in a decision to have the feeding tube removed. He said Cruzan would want to die under the circumstances.