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[UPDATE] Video: Terminally-Ill Woman In Tug Of War With Family Over Her Right To Die
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 5, 2012
Modified Oct 5, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 5, 2012
Modified Oct 5, 2012
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[UPDATE BELOW] Yesterday we learned of the devastating story of Grace Lee, a terminally-ill Manhattan woman with brain cancer who's also paralyzed from the neck down and is begging her doctors to remove her breathing tube so that she can die. But her family has gone to court to force Long Island’s North Shore Hospital to keep her on life-support—because they're convinced she'll go to hell if she "commits suicide." And now they've released an upsetting video that appears to show Lee, 28, handing over her medical proxy to reverend father:
The man in the video is Lee's cousin, and in the video he asks, "So, are you willing to sign over your medical proxy to your father?” We're a tad skeptical because the short video is obviously edited out of a longer exchange, and the cousin's voice does not seem synced to his lips when he asks that crucial question. But Lee, who is paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak, does clearly mouth the word "Yes."
But the Times reports that her doctors "have gone to court to testify that she has said in no uncertain terms that she cannot bear to go on living as she is, and wants to be removed from life support." Dr. Dana Lustbader, her physician and the chief of palliative care, told the court, “She keeps repeating that she doesn’t care and she just wants the tube out. Why won’t I take it out, why, why, why?” Lee was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer last year after she suffered a seizure.
The judge told the family that going off life-support is not suicide, and decided that doctors could remove the tube, but Lee's parents appealed, and there's another hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Lee's father, a pastor at Antioch Missionary Church in Flushing, Queens, claims his daughter is being manipulated by her doctors. But after seeing that video, we've got to wonder who's manipulating who. Either way, it's horrifying experience for Grace, who just a year ago was training for the NYC marathon.
Update 2:46 p.m.: Although the Times reported that the next hearing in that matter was scheduled for Tuesday, the Daily News is now reporting that a state appeals ruled in her favor today, clearing the way for doctors to disconnect Lee from life support. We'll update as more information becomes available.
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grace lee
life support
right to die
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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