Although it seems ludicrous at first, I suppose one could argue that denying this woman relief through her wishes for so many years could be cruel and unusual punishment.
And as for the 14th, you make a good point that the Feds could have had the right to step in and order the tube removed much earlier, since her Liberty was violated in all these delays.
Use the Vulcan mind meld on her, have you?
What if it turns out her husband is lying? Do you have a way of bringing someone back from the dead?