Free Republic

Radio personality Casey Kasem has been taken off life support after a judge ruled Wednesday that daughter Kerri Kasem could start withholding medication, food and fluids. Mr. Kasem, 82, is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, sepsis and dementia, the Detroit Free Press reported. “Transitioning our father’s treatment to comfort-oriented care was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make,” Kerri wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday. “For people who do not understand the natural dying process: Giving food and water to a dying body creates pain and further suffering,” she wrote in a later post. “The body does not...

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy reversed a ruling from Monday that stated that Kasem should receive food, fluids and certain medications until after a court-appointed attorney met with the former radio host and his doctors. Murphy reviewed additional medical records on Wednesday and concluded that Kasem would endure more pain if he was given food or fluids, attorney Troy Martin said. Martin, who represents Kasem's daughter Kerri, presented the updated information to Murphy during an emergency hearing. He also presented the judge with documents in which Kasem stated he did not want his life prolonged by food...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Casey Kasem, host of the "American Top 40" countdown for four decades, remained in critical condition at a Washington state hospital on Sunday and was being treated for an infected bedsore, a hospital spokesman said. Kasem, who was also the voice of Shaggy in the "Scooby-Doo" cartoons and one of the most recognisable voices on American radio, was admitted to St Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor last week. The 82-year-old former DJ has been alert throughout his hospitalisation, receiving wound care, intravenous antibiotic therapy, blood pressure support medication and treatment for his pain, hospital spokesman Scott...