Du Page County State`s Attorney James Ryan predicts that removing life-sustaining equipment from a patient who is not brain dead soon will be grist for the courts and the Illinois legislature:
”This is a very emotional and controversial area. There`s no law in Illinois giving much guidance. My instincts are that the court ought to be petitioned if the case involves a legal gray area.
It became apparent that Ryan was grappling with the bioethical and legal issues as he punctuated his comments with long pauses, and concluded,
”Candidly, I want to see the results of (Cook County State`s Attorney)
Cecil Partee`s task force.”
In May, Partee appointed a special 43-member task force made up of legal, medical, religious and social work professionals to examine issues that came to a head when Rodolfo Linares on April 26 unplugged the respirator from his 15-month-old son, as he held Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke`s Medical Center hospital employees and police at bay with a .357 Magnum revolver. Linares was charged with murder, but after a grand jury declined to indict him, he pleaded guilty to a weapon`s charge and was placed on probation.
The task force is expected to submit a report to Partee for use by the legislature during the fall session to draft laws which, Partee said, will allow ”life and death matters to be resolved in a consistent and appropriate manner.”
”My attitude is that life is precious and ought to be protected, but there are obviously areas that are very complex,” Ryan said. ”I want to reserve judgment . . . however, we can`t have individuals (an earlier reference to physicians and hospital ethics committees) setting their own standards. Society has to do that.”
