The Right to Die: Decision and Decision Makers

Clinical Director, Illinois State Psychiatric Institute; Professor of Psychiatry, Rush-St. Luke’s Medical Center; Professor of Psychiatry, Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine, University of Illinois; Chicago

On July 4, 1971, a significant day in the history of our country, the following report appeared in a leading newspaper:

Mrs. Carmen Martinez, 72, who Friday was given court permission to live or die without pain, died peacefully Saturday afternoon with her family and physician at her bedside in Palm Springs General Hospital in Hialeah, Florida.

Friday, Judge David Popper of Miami said Mrs. Martinez had the right to live or die with dignity. He said doctors should do all they can for her terminal hemolytic anemia, but cut-down transfusions, which require the opening of veins and removal of her spleen, could not be performed without the permission of her daughters.

Her family told the court Mrs. Martinez “begged” them for no more cut-downs, and no surgery. She just wanted to die without further pain.

When Judge Popper was told of Mrs. Martinez’s death, he said it would be “unethical” to comment on the case, which could still be appealed. “But I can say this: I hope she died in peace.”

Her doctor, Rolando Lopez, had asked the hospital to bring a petition for surgery before the court because he feared he and the hospital could be held liable under Florida law for assisting Mrs. Martinez in committing suicide.

The woman’s family told the court, “She doesn’t want to be tortured any more.” They said Dr. Lopez treated Mrs. Martinez with the utmost understanding and compassion, and was “like a brother” to the Cuban refugee family.

This report may be of historic significance, for a courageous court participated in a decision-making process, a decision arrived at and carried out by the individual, her family, and a court of law. The decision skirted the issue of the sanctity of life, but rather addressed itself to what seems to me to be the most important factor, the quality of life.