==Examples in the media==
In 2005 the case of Terri Schiavo made headlines. This was the case of a woman who suffered brain damage and had been in a lifeless state since 1990. Her husband had petitioned the courts to allow him to remove her feeding tube. Finally, in March of 2005, the court sided in the husband's favor, and Schiavo died shortly after.
There is also the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who has helped numerous patients die. In one eight-year-period, Kevorkian has assisted in the deaths of approximately 100 such persons. Very often, the person who wished to die was killed by being connected to a machine containing a canister of carbon monoxide. Kevorkian is known to have injected lethal drugs as well.
Both of these particular cases, of Terri Schiavo and Dr. Kevorkian, were highly controversial subjects. Schiavo's case forced to people to consider the rights of the patient, while Dr. Kevorkian made many examine whether or not a physician has the right to aid in a person's suicide.
Another critical case that concerned euthanasia was that of Paul Brophy in 1986. Brophy was a 49-year-old man from Massachusetts who suffered a aneurysm that later produced a brain hemorrhage. As a result, he was left in a vegetative state.
"His wife, Patricia, remembered that her husband had told her ten years before, 'I don’t ever want to be on a life-support system. No way do I want to live like that; that is not living.' Although he did not talk specifically about whether a feeding tube should be removed, Brophy's brothers, sisters, and adult children confirmed that he would not have wished to be kept alive by a tube."{{citation}}
His wife continued to argue in favor of the removal of the feeding tube, which caused the case to be brought to court. A lower court found that Mr. Brophy had a chance of survival, ruling against his wife. But then on [[September 11]], 1986, the Massachusetts State Supreme Court ruled in her favor. However, the ruling included several complications, and Paul Brophy had to be transferred to another facility. Eight days after being transferred he died. This particular case brings an important question to the discussion: does the removal of the feeding tube constitute a refusal of medical treatment? The ruling authorities in many states would answer this question affirmatively. Despite all that has been done, there needs to be further clarification on euthanasia on a legal level.
==Conclusion==
