Karen Ann Quinlan - In the Matter of

[Music] trump [Music] [Music] okay [Music] [Music] don't make too much out of this for your own sake mr quinlan she squeezed my hand i felt all right all right let's say she did it could have been anything an involuntary muscle spasm in her hand or yours perhaps a reaction to the respirator forcing air into her lungs it could have been your imagination maybe you wanted her to squeeze your hands so bad maybe she's getting better maybe she's getting stronger [Music] mr quinlan your daughter has been in a coma for almost 12 weeks now and every time you think you see some new improvement we have the same conversation sir karen has gone from 120 pounds to 70. the brain scans the eegs the angiograms show no improvement no positive sign we tried weaning her from the respirator and that failed she's not getting better she's not growing stronger please understand understand what nothing can be done i don't understand i can't understand that at all now someplace somewhere there's got to be an answer not in medicine mr quinlan not to my knowledge i see no way that your daughter's condition can be reversed what you're looking for sir is a miracle and that's not my field it's his but even if you were to get your miracle even if karen were to stabilize right now today you'd never have your daughter back not the way you remember her not the way you loved her their brain cells don't regenerate she'd live like a vegetable in an institution the rest of her life and that mr quinlan but that is what you have to understand [Music] i'm glad you came out of the elevator when you did father i have patience to see and i'll stephen thank you [Music] friends there's no hope mr quinlan no miracles karen ann will die mercifully sooner than later i'm sorry but it's time you came to that realization your wife has a parish priest has [Music] perhaps now you will finally [Music] god loves her too much father he's not gonna let her die maybe because he loves her so much he will i don't care about the way she'll be father i don't care if she has to spend the rest of her life in this hospital i just don't want her dead i love her too much i know that joe i know but there's another question there's another side to be considered [Music] karen was a girl blessed with the love of life it was a vibrant active life because she made it so you know what's the worst thing about religion father no what's that let's do it you know you're right [Music] i think about her it's with laughter vitality happy would she be happy with her life now the way it is couldn't a girl like karen receive death as she did life full face as a blessing joe you want me to stay with you no i'm alright i just want to be alone with everyone i'm okay [Music] [Laughter] [Music] they've got her in one of the emergency rooms she just stopped breathing we were at the floodlighter we only had just a couple of this birthday we were celebrating and then we went back to our place and karen went into the bedroom we found her on the bed later she wasn't breathing nothing i i gave her mouth to mother i i just couldn't get her to breathe again at first we thought she was dead but then the animals came they were are you the queen yes where is she she's in there you can go in in a minute what's wrong with her we don't know yet they didn't give us much to go on maybe you can give us some help she had a fall recently a blow to the head anything like that no well we're not sure she doesn't live home anymore how about medication prescription drugs for asthma weight control she's been dieting lately she's planning a trip to florida we found valium in her handbag valium did she ever take anything stronger than that no she wouldn't do that to her body she's a very athletic girl she wouldn't take drugs she wasn't into that either way it doesn't make any difference no one was on anything tonight can i see her she's in a comatose condition now i wish we know what caused that because it's hard to treat coma blindly we need your permission to perform a tracheotomy we don't know what that means we have to cut an air passage in her throat in order to place her on a respirator that we'll breathe for the endotracheal tube that's attaching her to the respirator now is not as efficient well yeah sure [Music] [Music] karen if you don't even if you can't figure out what's wrong with it how are you going to help i'd like to have her transfer to st clare's hospital they have more sophisticated equipment and are able to give more extensive tests [Music] do it [Music] joe [Music] [Music] father tom came by the house you said you talked [Music] are you all right [Music] i'm scared julie [Music] suppose it happens suppose she dies [Music] you faced that a long time ago didn't you yeah she never talked to me about it i tried to once at the department store you weren't ready to listen [Music] well i'm not ready now [Music] i can't face it i can't even think about it dead [Music] you want me to stay with you [Music] no i have to put it all together myself i have to i have to just do it alone with her [Music] i love you i'll wait up for you [Music] i'd like to have a transfer to sinclair's hospital to saint claire's hospital just saint claire's house [Music] it is not unusual it's a motor reaction just a response to the new machine i'm gonna tell her about this when she comes out of it [Music] karen loves spooking people when i tell her how she scared us all sitting up like that she'll laugh her head off although i'll continue to retain primary responsibility for karen's overall care i've placed her in dr hanif's hands while she's on the respirator he's our pulmonary specialist as to what caused the coma we've run batteries of every test available to us and still can be certain it could have been a combination of valium liquor and dieting it could have been something larger than her throat perhaps her own vomit it could have been very many different things no one can be certain how long karen stopped breathing how long she went without oxygen [Music] but there are certain things that are becoming very clear to us [Music] look at her left foot it's turned in we uh we think she suffered a fair amount of brain damage just how much brain damage has occurred we're not sure we're not even sure at this point whether in fact the deterioration is stopped we need time time we need time time [Music] so [Music] [Music] is it keeping you up no i just can't [Music] [Applause] [Music] sleep yes i'm not going back to the hospital i don't want to see her like that anymore it's not karen that person lying up there is not my sister i can't see her anymore i'm sorry i [Music] understand [Music] do me favor marielle and find another song i'm sorry it got on your nerves i was thinking about karen i guess it was just automatic the doctors could be wrong what well maybe she won't die maybe she'll get better then we'll be the way we were everyone will go down to the seashore [Music] maybe they don't really believe that to you i don't know what i believe anymore [Music] well they were wrong about you they told you you could never have kids and so you adopted karen two years later you had me and then sean they can get their heads messed up just like anyone else doctors aren't gods but god is god and he'll decide whether we all go down to the seashore go to bed here wanna start coming home soon said soon [Music] you never talk to me about it [Music] you want that for karen it's a good value come christmas time it's likely to be twice as much the way things are going we'll take it no i don't want it [Music] why not she'd love that joe kian may not be here for christmas [Music] she may be dead by christmas actually don't you ever say that to me again i don't want to hear that again from you ever john does it hurt to die daddy does it we don't know if clifford's gonna die not really but if he does will it hurt no it won't hurt he'd just fall off to sleep like your arm fell off to sleep in the war daddy is that the way you mean something like that come on bro that time i don't know how you stayed awake this long but i want to stay with clifford i want to watch over him i know it's dawn now little girl and somebody else is gonna take your place and watch over clifford he's in god's hand now [Music] child [Music] it's a new day again little girl [Music] i can't stand watchfully anymore [Music] i can't hang on to you alone [Music] god's on duty now [Music] i accepted [Music] [Music] so [Music] joe is that you [Music] i guess i fell asleep [Music] i think i think i made my peace with karen god help me think i made peace with myself you were right julie she's gonna die isn't she [Music] one it shouldn't be on that machine [Music] she hates that thing i know and i can see it in her face she tightens up sometimes when the air is pumped into her you suppose she's in pain [Music] think about it what so lonely without you having these thoughts in my head not being able to share them thank you for being with me again what are we gonna do [Music] at first i prayed the doctors would bring her back and then i prayed for a miracle [Music] now all i want is for karen to be free she's not me she's not with us she's not with god she's with pipes and vows and things stuck into her [Music] nobody knows what she suffers only a lord i want her to be with him joe i don't want her to be imprisoned anymore i want her soul to be free [Music] the doctor said it he said we should take her off that thing we would be merciful if she has to leave us it should be [Music] natural death with [Music] dignity not that whole hook up to that machine [Music] i think we should talk to the doctors [Music] julie are we pleading god [Music] god will make the decision whether she dies or not not us god will make the decision [Music] we talked it over amongst the family and with father tom and we all agree with dr haney's recommendation [Music] we'd like to have karen taking off the irresporator you understand what you're asking yes karen will not survive if we left her on the respirator for how long would she survive a while i can't really be sure for just how long understand your question and more honestly the answer is that her condition is beyond hope she will not improve do you agree with that documentary yes i do oh uh this is a catholic hospital well that's why i'm here dr mason [Music] in an address given by pope pius the 12th 1957 his holiness states that extraordinary means are not necessary in order to preserve life when all hope is lost [Music] did the quinlans have moral catholic grounds in asking that the respirator be turned off i i think that the most important thing what we want for karen is that she'd be returned to her natural state we wanted to be at peace without interfering with the laws of nature [Music] we wanted to be in god's hands i personally have the opinion that what you ask is the only merciful thing it's a painful decision i know there are forms to be signed will stand up i like the powdered eggs john [Music] are they powdered mom the way you eat and read at the same time they could be anything i'll tell you what i'll pay more attention to the eggs if you take my test today you're getting b's now all i could get for you is a d-plus i'll take it hello oh yes just just a minute dr mason she wants to talk with you dad wrong doctor medicine yeah just it's not karen she's okay yes oh [Music] sure i understand what you're saying doctor [Music] yeah i know believe me i sympathize is there anything i can do for you oh yeah sure i'd agree to that [Music] uh-huh yeah we'd all feel a little more secure i'm sure okay okay fine we'll see you then goodbye [Music] he's having some moral problems about taking karen off the machine having a tough time with the decision now you understand so what's he going to do well he wants to call in another man um some doctor who's a big specialist in the field and if he agrees that karen's chances of recovery are impossible then dr mason he'll go through with it then just wants to be sure sounds reasonable more unreasonable what any dedicated doctor would do [Music] please go to ccu stat confirm [Music] uh we uh well we won't be able to carry out your wishes i can't take your daughter off the respirator he disagreed about karen's condition no no that's not it he agrees with our prognosis but you said if he agreed then there wouldn't be any trouble i know i uh well the hospital administration and some of my colleagues have advised me against removing karen from the respirator and uh i agree it would be against standard medical practice but if you want to continue with this you'll you'll have to take it up with the hospital administration [Music] i'm sorry that's all i can tell you what happened i don't know i'm gonna find out good morning [Music] this is sister mary luke of our hospital board [Music] and dr mason you already know [Music] as well as dr hanif [Music] now this is mr ted einhorn our legal counsel i suppose we might as well get to the heart of the matter if everyone is agreeable beyond all the other considerations involved there are the legal questions that's why mr einhorn is here i suppose it might be most expedient to turn the meeting over to him at the very beginning since the legal position must be dealt with before any other mr einhorn i'm not sure you're fully aware of what it is you ask this hospital to do legally this has never been done before and i must point out that the removal of a patient from a machine such as a respirator might be an act bordering on homicide obviously the hospital must take in account every measure necessary to keep her alive it's not the hospital that takes it upon itself it's the parents of the patient who do not have that right [Music] i don't understand you mr quinlan karen ann is 21 and of legal age you are no longer responsible for her under the law you have no right to request any treatment or the discontinuance of treatment for her you are not her guardian in the eyes of this hospital nor of the law wait what about all these documents i've been signing i mean i have to sign permission for what antibiotics and spinal taps and brain scans and all that what about that now you name it i've had to sign it if it was all right then what about now well that was different how that was to save a life in this case you want to do the opposite i'd call that different what are you saying what do i have to do you'll have to be named karen's legal guardian by a court of law but he's her father he's not a stranger he loves her your people make it sound we are not talking about love now mrs quinlan but law [Music] well if you're not talking about love you're not talking about a good law there's no good law that has no place for love who is her guardian when he cried endless nights where was your law when the pain he felt was so deep he dreamed of impossible cures fighting doctors who told him it was all hopeless and now he comes to you with his heart in his hand begging you to let his daughter die with dignity in god's way [Music] how can you speak of guardianship how do you dare speak of love if i have to get legal guardianship i will [Music] after that will you do as i ask we'll talk again mr quinlan after that you understand i earned too much to qualify for legal aid i'm not looking for a handout anyway i went to the lawyers at the company where i worked first i'm in the shipping department warner chilcott pharmaceutical but they only do corporate law not not trial work so they told me that i should come to you people because maybe you could give me the name of somebody that could help me out i mean it's not gonna charge me a whole year's salary hey notre dame that's a pretty good catholic school being free of prejudice i would agree with you mr quillet i don't see that you have any problem any law firm can handle your case and it shouldn't be very expensive at all uh guardianship is a common enough petition in matters of real estate wills things of that nature well this is a little bit different see my daughter is in coma and she's on a machine a respirator and i want to get the guardianship so that i can force the hospital to take her off it might be a little more difficult than that as a real estate see this thing keeps her body alive but just a body and so we [Music] if she has to die then we wanted to be able to die at peace [Music] mr coolant it's a way you can save yourself a lot of trouble in the petition for guardianship you might refrain from mentioning your [Music] purpose you mean i shouldn't tell them that i want the guardianship so i can take her off the machine that's right i want to do that thanks for your time [Music] just a minute please i'm not suggesting that you do that mr quillen i merely wanted you to know that there's an easy way of going about it but it's not the easy way for me if i thought that it were i wouldn't want to continue the conversation [Music] will you sit down [Music] you face an almost impossible situation i can't think of anyone who would take the case i'd like to help you but could you take it yourself i can pay you you could do it in your spare time i'm afraid the people that employ me wouldn't take too kindly to that besides this is the kind of case that would take a lot more than just spare time maybe you think you could find a way give me mr quillin but you really don't understand what's involved there's a job to lose a wife to consider an almost impossible uphill fight i don't think there's a precedence for a case like this it would mean tremendous legal research hospital records i would have to study enormous enormous i don't see how i can do it i don't see how i can not do it [Music] [Music] you just think of the fascinating legal points this case could hinge on think of the fascinating financial points that eating hinges on i only make 90 a week as an assistant librarian i know i know ask him at legal aid if they'll make allowances in this case i mean maybe just one cell bend over backwards to really help someone no way i've already tried that route it's a dead end [Music] oh have you got any money on you eight bucks we need a few things in the house [Music] mike suffer [Music] he offered to pay wouldn't amount too much can't afford it not really just like we can't afford to take the case not really tell you what i'll trade you the most important case of our lives for a box of malamars means that much to you eh suppose it does you go to school all those years thinking that someday you're going to be trained enough to do something worthwhile for someone else something like this i saw the quilling girl at the hospital it was an experience [Music] now if you're interested he invited us to the hospital to meet with his wife come with me and no commitment after we meet them then we can decide together either we're both 100 agreed or we forget it [Music] deal put back the balance now i do love you [Music] hello darling it's mommy and daddy oh they've washed your hair which shines so lovely we've brought some friends to see you [Music] so gonna be taking advantage if i ask you now [Music] do we take the case is it 100 rest your case counselor you've won [Music] great now all we have to do is figure out how to live through it [Music] i've already done that i'll sell the 18 t stock my grandparents gave me hey come on i can't ask you to do that you didn't you know of another way [Music] i think your grandparents might like the way we're putting their money to you [Music] you wish to place your trust in me i would be honored to serve as your attorney now wait a minute wait just one minute before we go any further i think you should know what may be coming oh you said it was gonna be a hard fight we understand that forget the fight forget the fact that we may or may not win [Music] you may be letting yourselves in for a great deal of trouble there will be publicity on this thing it'd be bad publicity you could get a lot of hate mail crank calls friends and neighbors may turn against you and look upon you as the kind of people who are anxious to get rid of a stricken child paul don't no it's better we all think about it now than later when we're committed you and all your family could have a very bad time of it well not as bad a time as karen's having i'd like to file this complaint with a superior court chancery division [Music] would you excuse me i'm not sure [Music] uh you can't file this complaint is that your considered opinion or does it come from higher up well it makes no difference you can't file it tell you what you go back up those stairs to wherever it is you just came from and tell them that if for some reason the complaint is inappropriate a motion should be made on the record look it's friday and we're just about to close why don't you bring it back first thing monday morning i'll ask you one more time is the complaint inappropriate uh the complaint is not inappropriate no fine here's the filing fee sixty dollars thank you good day uh could you wait just a minute please yes hello could you hold please newark star ledger extension 1123 please hello stacy have i got a story for you [Music] julie mr quinlan may we interview you and your family what's this all about haven't you seen the headlines of your saturday morning paper no can i get through please excuse me please [Music] i came over as soon as i saw my paper i didn't think they'd get you this fast your people realize you're the first in the nation to go to court with such a legal petition yes the quinlans understand that um would it be all right to come inside the house and photograph karen's room this is a big case mr quinlan the whole country will want to know as much as they can about it is it the money mr quinlan what the bills from the hospital is it more than you can handle is that a reason you might have for taking karen off the respirator no no there are no bills medical care is paying for everything dad there's a telephone call the man says he's from the upion and so it begins [Music] gentlemen i've heard all the arguments and because of the lack of evidence substantiating the complainant's claim of assault i will at this time dismiss the case court adjourned so [Music] my name is paul armstrong donald callister i know harvard 65. know his name 72. good prosecutor likes to know who's going up against them but then again so is it a good lawyer i brought you my schedule of witnesses medical experts clergy judge muir asked to bring mason and honeypin as parties instead of witnesses that upset you depends on why well that way the court can order any treatment or discontinuance of treatment uh depending on what the final decision is without having to issue an injunction you agree sounds reasonable good has the word filtered down yet that you're appointed a guardian for your client's order until the proceeding is over isn't the husband always the last to know who is it daniel coburn heard the name i haven't been in the county very long just a few months from what i've heard about you you're pretty aggressive yourself i'm pretty easy to live with here's the rest of the lineup lionhorn for the hospital and ralph poiseau will handle mason and hanif i'm beginning to feel a little outnumbered oh what there's another one attorney general william highland he's uh betting cleanup for the state sherman and sterling law offices i'd like to speak to jim crowley hello jim yeah paul what's up help there's mrs quinlan take it it's a blessed handkerchief wipe your sister's bow with it it will heal her take it it's a blessing happy they found someone trying to get in your daughter's room last night no but don't worry no one gets within a hundred feet of the room now we got men at each end of the corridor and one right outside our door mrs quinlan the mail is growing so heavy i wonder if you might be able to come down to the office now and make arrangements to have sent to the house from now on i'll wait for you in the room [Music] thank you [Music] [Laughter] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] thank [Applause] [Music] so it's dark in this room [Music] and like the light sun [Music] why did i keep it so dark in here she loved this time of day the most didn't she yeah i hate all this people in the lobby newspapers television trial coming up all of it i can't stand what they're doing karen is an insult to everything she was [Music] hate just lying there like that she hates not being able to do anything about it if it wasn't me mine i should do something [Music] all the overseas will but it will be over this case is enough to make solomon turn over in his grave i'll tell you one thing if i can't have solomon i'll settle for you it's got a good reputation sure he has but think what's going to happen to it he's going to get flack no matter which way he goes look at it from his point of view he's been asked to decide whether it's allowable to let someone die by stopping extraordinary means of sustaining life and if these means are stopped could it be considered murder and would it be murder with good intentions or bad and let us not forget the various and sundry constitutional aspects of the law that our case will rest on if we're going to win on the lower court level it has got to be on the constitutional points karen's right to privacy and her right not to have a life for long by extraordinary means against her will some very heavy material to deal with you know something i would like to propose a toast to judge muir is there any wine left just enough [Music] to the good judge may he be as wise as solomon and as brave as samson and as good as the laws he watches over [Music] who would that be at this hour can't [Music] imagine hello i'm calling long distance with a message from the lord does the lord know that it's almost 3 30 in the morning here the lord does not recognize eastern standard time or pacific or mountain time and i'm not about to give him time zone restrictions when he calls upon me [Music] sleep there's something his family isn't too familiar with lately i couldn't stop thinking about today the trial suddenly i was writing trying to pass away the hours until morning [Music] can i read it oh it's nothing [Applause] please i kiss her on the cheek [Music] she cannot feel my kiss [Music] i look into her eyes [Music] she cannot see me [Music] i call her name she cannot hear me in my heart i hear my care and whisper remove me from this machine let my heart beat on its own when it grows tired we'll stop and i will go to sleep let me sleep for i have waited long let me sleep peacefully [Music] eternally [Music] what do you think your chances are if you lose will you appeal if the quinlans win will they pull the plug and kill the girl this game [Applause] [Music] just leave the car father we'll have someone talking for you [Music] i'll score you in the courtroom man people all this security just because of the press oh no man this is not that there's been a few threats from some stickies out there but all the packages they've come in you've been gone over the bomb squad still probably haven't found anything except stuff like this in your opinion dr mason is there any course of treatment that would lead to improvement or cure of karen's condition i personally don't know of any dr mason based upon your treatment of karen over these many months it's your opinion is it not that she has certain brain stem function which can control respiration that's right she also has other senses that we're aware of which we normally associate with being alive isn't that so you'll have to say yes oh yes i'm sorry excuse me how about the sense of pain well that's pretty subjective i can tell you this when this patient is uh stimulated with a pimp prick there is a reflex in other words she reacts yes but on what level god only knows i don't of course you wouldn't really be able to know that unless you were able to tell you isn't that so yes so it is quite possible that she does in fact feel just as possible is not feeling and this structure here is the cerebellum which has to do with coordination motor activity along with other integrated functions this is the critical system of the human the organism belongs the kidneys all these things can be replaced by machines [Music] this cannot by any artificial devices known to man today [Music] dr kareem as a member of the american neurological society the american academy of neurology the electroencephalographic society and various other neurological associations and chief of eeg laboratories at bellevue hospital in your expert opinion can the art of medicine repair the cerebral damage that was sustained by karen in my opinion no [Music] doctor would you be kind enough to describe the patient as you saw her describe yes please not in medical terms but tell the court how she looked to you her physical appearance face is distorted she sweats endlessly [Music] eyes closed emaciated [Music] her body is drawn up tight to no more than three feet in height this flexion in her elbow arrest her fingers they're all flexed to her chest and her her knees are pulled up to her chest [Music] but not in what i would call the fetal position the feet are pulled down as though they might be in a uh [Music] yes in a ballet position [Music] isn't it true dr karine that uh what might be considered extraordinary today a few years from now in your field uh could be considered ordinary treatment yes and no so from time to time a different weight is given in the definition of extraordinary as opposed to ordinary treatment i respectfully object to attorney general hyland's question dr kareem did not say there is a difference in how the criteria would be applied in a given point in time nevertheless i will allow the witness to answer objection overruled let me simplify this issue once and for all if i may in the matter of karen and quinlan the means employed i consider extraordinary because they serve no useful purpose whatsoever neither to the patient appearance nor society in response to one of council's questions [Music] you indicated that at least a factor in your determination as to what is or is not extraordinary means has to do with the quality of life is that correct i did not use the term quality of life are you familiar with the term triage if so could you explain to us what you understand it to be triumphs is a term used in the military sense hypothetically if an atom bomb were to hit the san francisco area and there were two million casualties of those who applied to a hospital for treatment only the individuals who could survive the injury and be of some use to society later would be cared for others would be turned away at the point of a gun then a value judgment would have to be made in the performance of that particular concept would it not the military have defined that value very clearly what i am speaking of is an unwritten law or code if you will accepted throughout the medical profession could you explain what that is please if a patient has terminal cancer involving the lungs the liver the brain a physician is likely to leave orders that if this patient stops breathing he should not be resuscitated likewise a pacemaker would never be placed in a patient with heart arrhythmia i know of no physician personally who's going to try either treatment with a patient who has no hope no chance of survival i think this would be the height of misuse of technology mr coburn as court appointed guardian over miss quinlan would you care to question the witness [Music] yes [Music] uh dr karine would would it be possible for you to give a mental age now when i talk of mental age i'm talking about karen's cognitive age well would it be that of a two-week-old infant seven-year-old child or what it would be inaccurate but i wouldn't make an attempt do you wish me to yes please [Music] the best way i can describe it is to take the situation of an an encephalic monster and an encephalic monster is a child that is born with no cerebral hemisphere the way such a child is usually diagnosed is the doctor holds it up and with a flashlight placed at the base of the infant's skull [Music] they're able to see the light shining through the eyes [Music] what are you thinking [Music] karine was wonderful today of all the medical people up there that was the only one who understood joe [Music] mason and collister said about pain [Music] do you think she feels anything no no you're still questioning don't do that you drive yourself crazy i can't help it [Music] i can't be sure no one can not even [Music] not even kareem [Music] god dear god i pray she feels my pain come on it's time to go [Music] spend a full day in court tomorrow [Music] julie works for me at the rectory she and joe are very active members of the parish so you see there weren't just one or two occasions when we uh talked about the problem joe was praying for a miracle and i thought at the time he wasn't facing reality then after a while even he saw the hopelessness of it is that when he spoke with you about his desire to take karen off the machine yes he preferred her not to be maintained the respirator but he was troubled he asked me if he was playing god what did you answer i don't know i i didn't think so see there's a profound difference between killing someone allowing her to die thank you father [Music] father father was your advice to mr quinlan uh in regard to his not playing god i think you caught it [Music] based on some sort of papal statement it is based on catholic tradition catholic morality and catholic theology as well as a statement in 1957 by pope pius xii when a group of anesthesiologists asked for clarification as what their role would be in the use of respirators and resuscitators but the alakusho was that response whereby ordinary means must be used to sustain life and extraordinary means are not obligatory well this was in response to a specific field of medicine was it not yes so then it wasn't even a clarification of the church's position well no i would not see it as a clarification i read the document i see it as a declaration mrs quinlan can you advise the court of any conversation you might have had with karen in regard to extraordinary means objectively pleasure subject your honor mr coburn i would agree [Music] with my colleagues but i can't lose sight of the fact i happen to be karen's legal guardian and this might well be the only chance i'll have an open court [Music] to hear her feelings in the matter i will support mr armstrong's question [Music] i will deal with this as a question of prohibitive weight rather than as a question of relevance or materiality [Music] i will allow mrs quinn to testify as to the conversation that she had with karen thank you your honor let me answer the question mrs quinlan we discussed it on several occasions [Music] about january of 74 the father of one of karen's friends was dying and we talked about it the last time was about february of 75 a very dear friend of the family was dying cancer and he chose to go home rather than die in the hospital with the extraordinary means karen was very full of life she loved [Music] i'm sorry i don't know just try and relax tell it the way it feels natural to you life was very important to karen and very dear to her but the way that she could live life was also very important to her and she felt she said [Music] when the father of her friend was dying she said mommy please don't ever let them keep me alive that way if i can't enjoy life i don't want it you have concluded that karen's death is a certainty that there's no hope of recovery and further that it's the lord's will yes sir and to effectuate that belief on your part [Music] you feel her life should be terminated at this point not not terminated that's not what i'm asking for what i want [Music] all i'm asking for is the right that my daughter be returned to her natural state if god wants her to live for a day or a year or five years she will if he wants her to be with him then he'll call her and she'll go to him and she she has that right she deserves that right that's all i want it's very simple [Music] mr quinlan would you care to make a statement the judge said he'd have a decision in 10 to 14 days we'll all know a lot more then i feel excuses please move back if she was your own flesh and blood if you hadn't adopted her would you fight so hard to get her taken off the respirator and have her die i said make way come on give her some room make way here yes of course we can thank you sister naomi you all right that was sister naomi they have a baby for us joe they want us to pick it up on saturday joe a baby did you tell you what it was i mean is it a boy or is it a girl oh i don't know i didn't bother that oh baby [Music] love her care for her for she comes to you as a gift from god [Music] well i'm glad it's over i have absolutely no idea which way it'll go can't expect too much john we knew going into it how tough the fight was going to [Music] be [Music] so [Music] this is it [Music] i didn't get it i know it was a difficult decision to make and understand is refusing the first half of the petition not to take karen off the respirator but the other half [Music] why did he refuse joe guardianship he felt that with all the suffering joe had gone through the day-to-day anxiety a father feels [Music] he might take it upon himself to remove karen from the respirator you mean if i wanted to do that i could have done it long ago before this joe is not that kind of man [Music] i know [Music] how do you feel about the decision terrible [Music] they haven't had time to think about that yet we might do that we have to talk about it together and with mr armstrong it's hard to stop fighting for something that you believe in but somebody you love it's very hard i've been covering this case from the beginning i've never seen you people angry i mean downright mad don't you ever feel that yes there's anger but some of us are able to deal with it better than others [Music] [Music] i'm all right i'm uh i'm sergeant turner what happened why is he here well it was a fight it seems there were five of them against him they said it was your boy that started i didn't he says it was them they're uh there are no charges you can take them home thanks it was the fight about karen john was it john no honorable chief justice and associate justices of the new jersey supreme court learned council members of the quinlan family [Music] i am privileged to stand before this highest tribunal of our state on behalf of the quinlan family whose case we base upon six points of law number one that the appellant joseph quinlan should be appointed sole guardian of the person of his daughter too the testimony regarding karen's prior statement is of sufficient probative weight to compel the conclusion that she would elect to remove the feudal medical measure being administered to her three appellant and his family including his irreversibly comatose daughter character have a constitutionally protected right to cause the discontinuance of treatment which karen presently receives four failure to grant a pellet's petition subjects appellant and his family including karen to cruel and unusual punishment [Music] fine withdrawal of treatment would not constitute homicide and finally six the withdrawal of medical treatment administered to karen and quinlan is the only course of action which will promote her best interests [Music] everything about asking permission before you take someone's picture i'm sorry it could mean a lot to me getting a picture like this i'm trying to break into the field this could help good luck with the picture good luck to you and yours i hope the decision turns out the way you want it to anyway two months for the supreme court to make a landmark decision isn't that long we've waited a lot longer for a lot less it's been almost a year did it ever occur to anyone that all this waiting we've been asked to do might have a reason i'm sure god has a reason i'm not talking about god but the people who think they're god and play the part just look at it from their point of view if karen should die in the middle of all of this everybody gets off the hook doctors lawyers everybody do you feel optimistic about the ruling from the supreme court today hey they're making foreign [Music] if the decision goes against you today [Music] [Music] mrs quinlan i'd like to get your permission to photograph karen in her hospital bed attached to the respirator [Music] we don't allow pictures of karen my publishers have authorized me to offer you one hundred thousand dollars for a single picture no the figure is merely a starting point we can do better than a hundred thousand we thought it might be wise just to wait here at the hotel until we got the decision that way the uh women's could have some sort of privacy how are they going to get word of the decision well paul armstrong will call from trenton as soon as he receives it which uh brings me to my problem do you have a office or a room somewhere where there's a speakerphone where he might take the call yes my office sir good thanks so [Applause] hello [Music] just a moment it's for you the call [Music] just talk into that [Music] joe you're there yeah we're all here paul paul how'd it go what happened it's over joe it's over [Music] respiratory [Music] well had to vote girl [Music] unanimous we'd like it done privately in a room with just father tom and the immediate family [Music] we'd like to be there to comfort her as much as possible [Music] i'm sorry we cannot take karen off the respirator i don't understand nothing has changed everything's changed we've got a ruling from the supreme court of state of new jersey you still afraid of legal ramifications it's not the legal ramifications that concern me it's the medical ones remove your daughter from a life-supporting treatment would be against standard medical practice [Music] i'm sorry i cannot do it [Music] but we had a supreme court ruling [Music] [Music] we will take mason off the case then it won't work joe i can do that i have guardianship donna who are you going to get to replace him whoever replaces him will have to receive approval of the hospital administration in order to practice there it's simple joe anyone karine anyone else who is willing to take care and off the respirator will find it difficult if not impossible to get hospital approval well we'll have karen transfer to another hospital looked into that there isn't a hospital around willing to take her in order to act as an agent in her death [Music] i'm all afraid of the publicity [Music] it's been six weeks since the supreme court decision six weeks since we won one what or who maybe the papers you think i don't think so [Music] we might pick up the kind of publicity that could hurt us [Music] parents pushed to kill daughters as soon as possible [Music] any headlines like that and will never get the hospital to change their mind we're gonna have to work quietly from within the structure of st claire's hospital no matter how hard maybe try and force a meeting with the ethics committee i can tell you right here right now that the board of trustees of which i am the head will never agree to take karen off the respirator this is a catholic hospital we believe in miracles here sister we've got legal grounds for our request we've also got moral grounds the church backs us in our decision our own priest and the bishop we have got it right you've seen her she isn't the sleeping beauty that the newspapers picture you must know she's not going to just walk out of this hospital one day won't you see that [Music] this is a religious institution of mercy and of healing at sinclair as we love our patients we do not kill them [Music] i'm not asking anybody to kill my daughter but i don't want anybody putting themselves in a position that's higher than the supreme court and the church i love all i'm asking is that you give back life to her mother and hope to my other two children but most of all i demand the return of human dignity to my daughter karen in death as well as in life and i charge you sister as a woman of the church to return her to her natural state to give her back to [Music] god [Music] mr quinlan just a moment please i would like to talk with you and your wife mr armstrong also for just a moment the doctor's lounge please i understand how you both feel i feel your need we spoke after you left the meeting sister mary luke dr mason and i feel the same there are medical standards that we've been all through that before i would like to try and wean karen from the respirator he tried that at the very beginning he said that it couldn't work then i would like to try again now why now why not during the 10 months of legal procedures if you can do it now why didn't you do it sooner why now because all of us are at the end of the road and i don't know what else to do what else to try i don't know if i can succeed all i can promise is that i'll do everything within my power this time i ask for your trust and your permission uh just as long as everyone understands that as the doctor in charge i will put karen back on the respirator if she shows any sign of not surviving the weaning procedure then we'll be right back where we started i'm sorry i can't help that please doctor [Music] we hope karen will survive the procedures when she's off the respirator you will not have any further use for me and i'll be off the case gracefully from there on any further problems will have to be handled by dr mason and not by me i will have done my part i think this situation needs to be finished for you or karen for all of us it is time that this is finished if you can do it it would solve it all then try dr honey go ahead try [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's nice and hot the way you like it [Music] [Applause] [Music] i just spoke with dr hanif he hasn't changed his mind [Music] he's going to win her in the morning [Music] what if she dies [Music] what if she lives [Music] either way she's at the end of it and so are we [Music] now shall truly be in god's hands [Music] i will be 10. [Music] it's a birthday in 10 days [Music] it should be 22. [Music] i want her to live [Music] child [Music] [Music] uh [Music] thank you for trusting me oh the fact that karen was able to be off the machine for one hour today might mean she may be able to go without it for two tomorrow three the next day then 12 and on and on she'll be able to live without the respirator i feel quite sure of that for how long [Music] there is no way to know i was thinking of john i can't wait to see his face when we tell him time is the circumference of our lives [Music] earth begins our time death will end our [Music] time [Music] and we look to that time that is timeless [Music] god gave us time to love you and to care for you and when it is time he will take you home [Music] and we will let you go happy birthday karen [Music]

Channel: Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice

Views: 78,617

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Id: fwO4D9ovswo

Length: 97min 15sec (5835 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 16 2020