Karen Ann Quinlan: March 29, 1954 - June 11, 1985

Remember me?

I was an important figure in the history of the right to die debate. In 1975, I collapsed at a party, after consuming alcohol and taking tranquilizers I suffered irreversible brain damage after undergoing extended periods of not breathing.

My parents wished to have me taken off the respirator that was sustaining me, but my doctors refused. My parents took their case to the New Jersey Supreme Court, who sided with them. After I was taken off the respirator, I continued to live for several years, and then I died ten years later, in 1985.

I would have been 51 next week.

(Links courtesy Wikipedia)