Persistent vegetative state and the right to die: the United States and Britain.

Patients in a persistent vegetative state have permanently lost the function of the cerebral cortex. 1 Their prolonged survival presents dilemmas for their families and carers as well as for society. In the United States families of such patients often seek court rulings to discontinue life sustaining treatment when hospitals refuse such requests. In more than 80 cases the courts have supported the wishes of families, but the refusal of the Missouri Supreme Court to follow these precedents brought the United States Supreme Court its firt «right to die» case in 1990