Deck 4: Comas: Karen Quinlan, Nancy Cruzan, and Terri Schiavo

Question 1

The MOST IMPORTANT REASON why Robert Morse, the attending physician for Karen Quinlan, changed his mind in 1975 about letting Karen die was that:

A) He converted to Catholicism and the Vatican then condemned passive euthanasia.
B) He was ordered to keep Karen alive by his medical superiors.
C) He learned that Kenneth Edelin, another young resident in an abortion case in Boston, had been convicted for manslaughter.
D) The American media began paying attention to the case.
E) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him.

Answer 1

He learned that Kenneth Edelin, another young resident in an abortion case in Boston, had been convicted for manslaughter.

Question 2

Why did the courts finally allow NANCY CRUZAN to die?

A) Her parents won in the Missouri Supreme Court.
B) Her parents won in the United States Supreme Court.
C) In a new hearing in a lower court, additional people testified about Nancy's wishes before her coma and the legal standard was then met.
D) In a new hearing in a lower court, the standard of "clear and convincing" evidence was supplanted by "preponderance of evidence."
E) In a new hearing in a lower court, her parents were appointed her guardians and allowed to remove the respirator, it no longer being considered "euthanasia" to do so.

Answer 2

In a new hearing in a lower court, additional people testified about Nancy's wishes before her coma and the legal standard was then met.

Question 3

Which of these is a FALSE statement about the Schiavo case?

A) Advocates claimed that withdrawal of the feeding tube was discrimination against the rights of a disabled person.
B) The Florida legislature passed Terri's Law, allowing Gov. Jeb Bush to block Judge Greer's order to remove Terri's feeding tube.
C) Leading American, Catholic bioethicists Kevin O'Rourke and John Paris supported Pope John Paul II's view that a feeding tube should be considered ordinary, not extraordinary, medical care.
D) Some neurologists claimed that Terri was neither brain-dead nor in persistent vegetative state but in a newly discovered kind of existence, a minimally conscious state.
E) Michael Schiavo won a malpractice case against Terri's obstetrician for failing to diagnose in her an eating disorder and potassium deficiency.

Answer 3

Leading American, Catholic bioethicists Kevin O'Rourke and John Paris supported Pope John Paul II's view that a feeding tube should be considered ordinary, not extraordinary, medical care.

Question 4

In its CRUZAN decision, the United States Supreme Court decided that:

A) A state may pass a law requiring a "clear and convincing" standard of evidence before a competent patient is allowed to refuse medical treatment leading to his or her own death.
B) A state may not pass a law that restricts the rights of competent patients to refuse treatment, even if such refusal leads to death.
C) A state must pass a law requiring a "clear and convincing" standard of evidence before a competent patient is allowed to refuse medical treatment leading to his or her own death.
D) A state must pass a law requiring a "clear and convincing" standard of evidence before medical care is removed from an incompetent patient.
E) A state may pass a law requiring a "clear and convincing" standard of evidence before medical care is removed from a competent patient.

Question 5

It is TRUE that the coroner's report declared about Terri Schiavo that:

A) She had a heart attack.
B) She had bulimia.
C) She was physically abused by someone.
D) She was able to see over the 15 years of her coma.
E) She needed a feeding tube to live and could not have been fed by mouth.

Question 6

At the start of the first Quinlan hearing, a question that was begged by the inexperienced young lawyer was whether:

A) Physicians had the right patient named "Karen."
B) Whether Mr. Quinlan's desire to remove Karen from her ventilator represented Karen's own, best interests.
C) Whether the Quinlans understood the position of their church.
D) Whether the Quinlans were pursing their decision because of social prejudice.
E) Whether the Quinlans were pursing Karen's death to get psychological closure (or peace of mind) in the case.

Question 7

About how many years did Terri Schiavo exist in PVS before her death?

A) 5
B) 10
C) 15
D) 20
E) 25

Question 8

In the Quinlan case, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Quinlans. How did the hospital administrator respond?

A) She appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
B) She complied with the decision.
C) She obtained an injunction against the decision by a county judge.
D) She refused to implement the decision.
E) She said she would pray for guidance.

Question 9

Which of the following standards of brain death would allow the MOST organs for transplantation?

A) Harvard.
B) Whole-brain.
C) Cognitive.
D) Uniform Brain-Death Act.
E) Whole brain plus whole-body.

Question 10

When Judge Greer ruled that the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo could be withdrawn at the request of her husband, he ruled that Michael Schiavo could do so because:

A) Terri was dead by neurological criteria in that jurisdiction.
B) Michael had met the legal standard in that jurisdiction of clear and convincing evidence about Terri's wishes.
C) Michael had met the legal standard in that jurisdiction of preponderance of evidence about Terri's wishes.
D) Terri had signed an advanced directive indicating she didn't want to be maintained by artificial means.
E) After her coma, some friends realized who she was and testified that they had overheard Terri say that she did not want to be kept alive in a comatose state.

Question 11

Which of the following is a TRUE statement about chances of awakening for a patient in a persistent vegetative state (PVS)?

A) No one in PVS has ever awakened.
B) People in PVS are legally brain-dead in all states except New Jersey and Florida.
C) Patients are more likely to awaken from PVS caused by anoxia than by trauma.
D) No one in PVS for over two years has ever awakened.
E) Some people in PVS for over a year have awakened and had a normal quality of life.

Question 12

In reference to the case of Terri Schiavo, dissident neurologists claimed that she had been misdiagnosed. They claimed that her true diagnosis was:

A) Brain death.
B) Minimally conscious state.
C) Persistent vegetative state.
D) Whole body death.
E) Coma.