Storar, Matter of
| Decision Date | 13 November 1980 |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Application for Order Authorizing Medical Procedures on John STORAR. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen. of the State of New York, Charles S. Soper, Acting Director of Newark, Developmental Center by Vincent Barone, Asst. Atty. Gen., Albany, Stephen R. Sirkin, Wayne County Dist. Atty., Lyons by John Nesbitt, Palmyra, for appellant.
Legal Aid Society of Wayne County, Inc. by James I. De Point, Dorothy Storar, Lyons, for respondent.
Mental Health Information Service by Arlene A. Hughes, Guardian ad Litem of John Storar, Rochester, Director and Counsel.
Before CARDAMONE, J. P., and SIMONS, SCHNEPP, DOERR and WITMER, JJ.
We note that it is generally recognized that terminally ill competent adults, whose medical experts agree that cure cannot be effected even by extraordinary treatment which may at best give only a short extension of life, have an absolute right to decline to receive such treatment, absent countervailing State interests. We hold that on the request and plea of his mother who is his closest relative and committee, John Storar, a profoundly mentally retarded incompetent and terminally ill adult, has the same right to refuse such treatment, especially here where it is painful and will only prolong his suffering. This right the court must enforce (see Superintendent of Belchertown State School v. Saikewicz, 373 Mass. 728, 370 N.E.2d 417; Matter of Quinlan, 70 N.J. 10, 355 A.2d 647 and Matter of Eichner (Fox), 73 A.D.2d 431, 426 N.Y.S.2d 517).
Order, 433 N.Y.S.2d 388, affirmed without costs.
All concur, except CARDAMONE, J. P., who dissents and votes to reverse and grant the petition in the following Memorandum:
I dissent in my view this case proves again the old adage that hard cases make bad law. Courts should not decide whether and when to discontinue the medical support system for a dying patient. This dilemma is part of the human condition too personal to extend beyond the decision of the family or guardian guided by the medical advice available. In taking it upon themselves to resolve this dilemma, courts have written reams on concepts such as "right of privacy", "compelling state interest", and the like. The volume of words itself well demonstrates that judicially nurtured concepts do not fit comfortably with nor begin to resolve so fundamental a riddle as human life. The use of terms such as "affirmative" or "passive", "ordinary" or "extraordinary" is a camouflage; they are distinctions without a difference. The root of the problem lies in an underlying Orwellian assumption that a court using substituted judgment is positioned-like Big Brother-to know what is best for the dying patient. In my view such is practical, legal and moral nonsense. It is practical nonsense because judges have no extraordinary insight enabling them to measure the "quality of life". Deferring the decision to an "ethics committee" merely shifts the burden of decision to another unqualified tribunal, further removing it from the family or guardian where it rightfully belongs. It is legal nonsense because in our "rights-oriented" modern...
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