[Dolphy]

"The critical issue is this: Do the authorities have the right to force feed somebody who does not want to be forcibly fed - even if that means they may die?

I believe that issue has been previously decided and the answer is that they don't have that right. It is also not the critical question here. The question is has it been established what her wishes were. Of course at the time she was competent to consider this question the law in Florida did not include feeding tubes as life support machinery.

[Cboldt]

KDD: "The critical issue is this: Do the authorities have the right to force feed somebody who does not want to be forcibly fed - even if that means they may die?

Dolphy: I believe that issue has been previously decided and the answer is that they don't have that right.

That is correct. The right to choose belongs ONLY to the patient. It does not belong to the spouse, or the minister, or the doctor, or anybody but the patient.

In tough cases, especially where the patient is incapacitated and the pateint left no written instructions, the law will attempt to discern the PATIENT's wishes via testimonial evidence.

If the question is "Hi. I'm your doctor. One of the treatments we are considering is starving you to death," my contention is that no reasonable person would consent to the treatment.