The Case in a Nutshell

  • 21 year old Karen Ann Quinlan loses conciousness after consuming alcohol and drugs at a party

    She stays at St. Claire's Hospital in Denville, New Jersey for serveral weeks and falls into a persistant vegetattive state.
  • Parent's wishes are refused by attorneys

    Karen's parents wished to remove Karen from her respirator to get rid of her suffering. They are refused by attorneys.
  • Judge from New Jersey Superior Court denies request

  • New Jersey Supreme Court rules in favor of Quinlan

  • Karen Ann is removed from her repirator and surpisingly survives.

  • Karen Ann is brought to nursing home in Morris County NJ

  • Julia and Joseph Quinlan open the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice

  • The Uniform Declaration of Death Act is drafted by a President's Comission and soon approved by the American Medical Association (AMA)

    The Uniform Declaration of Death Act is drafted by a President's Comission and soon approved by the American Medical Association (AMA)
    It declared that one may be declared dead if their brain stops functioning. Picture courtesy of www.ranklogos.com
  • The New Jersey Supreme Court state that if all life sustaining medical treatment could be removed if the patient wishes.

    The court's statement was made with the conclusion of the Conroy case.
  • Karen Ann Quinlan dies from respiratory failure