IF THE RIGHT TO REFUSE IS HONORED, THE PATIENT MAY HAVE TO
FOREGO CERTAIN BENEFITS
In McQuillan vs. City of Sloux City (lowa 1981), the court affirmed the denial of payment
to a policeman for his continuing medical expenses. Since he had refused to submit to
coronary arteriography that was necessary to diagnose his condition, he was not entitled
to reimbursement.
THE RIGHT TO REFUSE BASED ON COMMON LAW BODILY INTEGRITY
In re Storar* (N.Y.1981), the court recognized the right of Brother Fox, through his
guardian, to decline respiratory support based on the common law principle of bodily
integrity.
∗Latin for "in the matter of" Storar.
THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY AS THE BASIS FOR REFUSAL OF TREATMENT
Twenty-one-year-old Karen Ann Quinlan had become comatose as a result of a
combination of alcohol and tranquilizers. She remained alive on a respirator, but was
judged by physicians to be irreversibly comatose, with no reasonable possibility of
emerging from her comatose condition. Her parents attempted to have the respirator
that artificially sustained her breathing to be withdrawn. In re Quinlan (N.J. 1976), the
right to privacy was recognized as the basis for honoring her parents' right to refuse
treatment on her behalf. (Although the respirator was removed, Quinlan died 8 years
later.)
REFUSAL BASED ON THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY
In Lane vs. Candura (Mass., 1978), the court honored a 77-year-old woman's right to
refuse the amputation of her gangrenous leg, based on the right to privacy. Although
her decision was medically irrational and would lead to her death, the court found that
she understood the alternatives and consequences of her actions. Thus, her right to
privacy was upheld.
2-2.
COMMON LAW-BODILY INTEGRITY
Common law recognizes the right of all people to be free from unauthorized
invasion of their bodily integrity. One element of this right is the freedom to make
decisions concerning medical care. Medical care without express or implied authority is
battery. Courts have recognized that the right to make decisions concerning health care
includes the right to decline such health care.
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