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Civil Rights

Aug. 7, 2001

Right to Die

Robert Wendland died of pneumonia recently at age 49, eight years after sustaining profound brain damage in an automobile accident. For most of those years he had lingered in a twilight state between coma and consciousness, kept alive by surgically implanted feeding tubes, while the courts debated his fate. We now await a ruling by the California Supreme Court in Conservatorship of Wendland , S087265, to ensure that health care providers and the courts will honor end-of-life wishes such as the one Wendland had expressed before his accident.

Jon B. Eisenberg

Email: jon@eisenbergappeals.com

Jon is a retired appellate attorney and the author of California Practice Guide: Civil Appeals and Writs.

        By Jon B. Eisenberg

        Robert Wendland died of pneumonia recently at age 49, eight years after sustaining profound brain damage in an automobile accident. For most of those years he had lingered in a twilight state between coma and consciousness, kept alive by surgically implanted feeding tubes, while the courts debated his fate. We now await a ruling by the Californi...

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