Justices Presiding:Justice O Connor and Justice Brennan and Chief Justice Rehnquist
Decision made/Ruling: States may assert an unqualified interest in the preservation of human life. They can protect an interest in life as well as an interest in refusing life-sustaining medical treatment, and a state may legitimately seek to safeguard the personal element of this choice for incompetent persons through the imposition of heightened evidentiary requirements.
Wagner, Kevin M. "Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health." In Schultz, David. Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE52&iPin=ESC0126&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 17, 2013).
Date: 1990
Plaintiff: Cruzan
Defendant: Director, Missouri Department of Health
Justices Presiding: Justice O Connor and Justice Brennan and Chief Justice Rehnquist
Decision made/Ruling:
States may assert an unqualified interest in the preservation of human life. They can protect an interest in life as well as an interest in refusing life-sustaining medical treatment, and a state may legitimately seek to safeguard the personal element of this choice for incompetent persons through the imposition of heightened evidentiary requirements.
Wagner, Kevin M. "Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health." In Schultz, David. Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=ESC0126&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 17, 2013).