#euphanasia

A Estrela da Noite

To think, a girl who was once vibrantly working in her church is now a paralyzed body being supported by breathing apparatuses. Grace Sung Eun Lee states and has made herself clear...she wants to die. On the other hand, her parents refuse to allow her to remove life support. 

The 28-year old Manhattan bank manager , who was training for the New York City Marathon, fell ill from a brain tumor. On September 3rd she had a seizure, and at North Shore-LIJ was put on a ventilator and a feeding tube. Grace wants to be taken off the tube. She is paralyzed from the neck down and wants to die. Her parents, on the other hand, believe that removing the tubes is suicide. Grace Lee's father is a minister at an Evangelical Korean-American church in Queens, NY. They've gone to court to keep her on life support. They say she is not in her right mind when she says she wants to die. Grace is tearful at the thought of death, but she begs the hospital to take the tube off. 

In New York State  "Courts have identified several state interests that, in theory, could overcome a patient's right to refuse life-sustaining treatment in a particular case.  Most often, courts have mentioned the state's interest in preserving life, preventing suicide,protecting third persons, and maintaining the ethical integrity of the medical profession.In cases decided to date, however, the competent patient's right to refuse life-sustaining treatment has generally prevailed over these interests.Moreover, the New York Court of Appeals has expressly held that the right to refuse life-sustaining interventions should prevail even when the patient is not terminally or hopelessly ill." (NYS Dept of Health)