Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did the New Jersey Supreme Court allow Karen Ann Quinlan’s parents to request removal of her ventilator?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Marble portrait bust of Hippocrates atop a tall rectangular base inscribed with an epigram in Greek, displayed against a black background. — Bioethics A Roman bust of Hippocrates, copied from a Greek original, c. 3rd century bce; in the collection of the Antichità di Ostia, Italy.

The New Jersey Supreme Court allowed Karen Ann Quinlan’s parents to request the removal of her ventilator based on the legal principle that an individual possesses a right to privacy which includes the right to refuse highly invasive medical treatment that offers no hope of recovery.12

While physicians initially refused the request based on their interpretation of medical ethics, the court determined that honoring a patient's refusal of such treatment is consistent with both medical practice and ethical standards. The court ruled that Quinlan’s parents could exercise this right of self-determination on her behalf. To address concerns regarding potential civil or criminal liability, the court decreed that if a hospital’s ethics committee confirmed the prognosis of a permanent coma, the removal could proceed with legal immunity for all involved parties. This landmark case established a critical precedent for the legal right of patients—or their designated proxies—to refuse life-sustaining medical interventions.2