European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday june 27, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 5court limits family right to die decisions the stars and stripes Washington apr family members can be barred from ending the lives of persistently comatose relatives who have not made their wishes known conclusively the supreme court ruled in its first a right to die decision. By mondays 5-4 vote the justices gave states Broad Power to keep such patients on life support systems. Specifically the court blocked the parents of a Missouri woman Nancy Cruzan from supreme court Roundup ordering removal of tubes that provide her with food and water. The court Clearing the Way for ending its current term on wednesday decided another fundamental and emotional privacy Issue by making it significantly More difficult for Young girls to obtain Legal abortions without first notifying their parents. The court voted 6-3 to uphold an Ohio Law that bans abortions for unmarried girls under 18 who Are dependent on one or both parents unless one Parent is notified. By a 5-to-4 vote the court ruled that a Minnesota Law requiring notification to both parents a the strictest in the country was constitutional Only because the state provides the alternative of a judicial hearing. That Minnesota Law also applies to unmarried women 18 or under. Mondays right to die ruling encouraged supporters of a living will Laws because the court said the Constitution guarantees a competent person a As opposed to someone in a coma a a right to refuse medical treatment. Chief Justice William h. Rehnquist writing for the court said a we assume that the United states Constitution would Grant a competent person a constitutionally protected right to refuse life saving hydration and  but in Cruzana Scase he said such a Clear and convincing proof that she would want to die is lacking and it is Nancy Cruzan a too risky to leave the decision to anyone else even Loving  a not All incompetent patients will have loved ones available to serve As surrogate decision makers a Rehnquist said. A a state is entitled to guard against potential abuses. Where a guardian seeks to discontinue nutrition and hydration of a person diagnosed to be in a persistent vegetative  he was joined by justices Byron r. White Sandra Day of Connor Antonin j. Scalia and Anthony m. Kennedy. Doctors have said Cruzan 32, could live for 30 More years in her current a persistent vegetative condition. Justice William j. Brennan in a dissenting opinion said Missouri officials and the High court Are violating Cruzana a rights. A Nancy Cruzan is entitled to choose to die with dignity a he said. Those denying her that right a have discarded evidence of her will ignored her values and deprived her of the right to a decision As closely approximating her own Choice As humanly  Cruzana a parents presented evidence she had told friends she would never want to remain alive in a vegetative state. Lower courts said that was not sufficient proof of her intentions. In a separate dissent Justice John Paul Stevens said a the states unflagging determination to perpetuate Nancy Cruzana a physical existence is comprehensible Only As an Effort to define life a meaning not As an attempt to preserve its  Justice Thurgood Marshall and Harry a. Blackmun also dissented. Cruzana a father Joe Cruzan a Sheet Metal worker had Little to say when he arrived at his two Story Frame Carterville mo., Home. A we really done to know what the decision Means yet so it would be pointless to comment a he said before closing the door. Dick Kurtenbach of the american civil liberties Union that has represented the family said the ruling is unfortunate but not surprising. A a in a sure the family is going to be extremely disappointed a he said. Or. Nancy Dickey of the american medical association said the ruling is a an intrusion into the doctor patient relationship and a step toward taking that decision away from the bedside. We should not deliver unnecessary care and pay for unnecessary  groups opposed to mercy killing hailed the decision. A the High court has affirmed that persons who Are unable to speak for themselves can be protected from the death sentence that euthanasia activists seek to Force on them a said Rita Marker of the International anti euthanasia task Force. Despite the publicity the Cruzan Case has attracted the rulings Impact May be limited. Courts in nearly every slate except Missouri have permitted removal of life sustaining treatment for the permanently unconscious. And the decision  not bar state courts or state Legislatures from continuing to allow the removal of such treatment a even for incompetent persons. Most states including Missouri have living will Laws that allow people to authorize the termination of life sustaining treatment before they undergo medical treatment but the Laws vary in their specifics. Missouri a version for example does not allow removal of feeding tubes. In any Case it was not in effect when Cruzan was injured in a 1983 car crash. It is estimated that As Many As 10,000 americans arc receiving life sustaining care. After Cruzan suffered severe brain damage her parents authorized the use of a feeding tube in Hopes her condition would improve. But for seven years she has remained in a coma like condition a her body rigid her hands and feet constricted. She can breathe on her own and at times her eyes Are open and move randomly. The Bush administration sided with Missouri officials in urging she be kept alive. Permitting the removal of a feeding tube is a step toward sanctioning mercy killing or suicide Justice department lawyers said. The right to die Issue captured National attention in 1976, when the new Jersey supreme court allowed the family of Karen Ann Quinlan to order the removal of a Respirator helping her breathe. Quinlan in a similar coma like condition to that of Cruzan continued to be fed through a tube and lived nine More , Congress reach Accord on sr-71 dispute Washington apr the Pentagon and Congress have reached a Compromise Over a requirement that the department of defense maintain some of the sr-71 Blackbird spy planes for use in a National crisis. The air Force and Congress agreed last year to terminate the top secret program opting instead for satellites that could provide the same intelligence information for less Money. But in a report accompanying a $4 billion spending Bill president Bush signed last month lawmakers called on the Pentagon to maintain the aircraft a by Tail numbers a so that flight operations could begin within 90 Days of an emergency. Defense Secretary  Cheney criticized the provision which though nonbinding would do serious damage to the relationship Between Congress and the Pentagon if the department ignored it. The air Force and congressional committees negotiated a Compromise that Cheney detailed in a june 21 letter to sen. Robert c. Byrd d-w.va., chairman of the Senate appropriations committee. A we will place three sr-71 a aircraft and six associated reconnaissance sensors and electronic countermeasure suites into Long term storage As a hedge against a protracted conflict some time in the future a Cheney said in the letter. A the time it will take and the Cost of hecklers Sun american health Secretary says Washington apr health and human services Secretary Louis Sullivan said monday he was outraged that a Sun american protesters prevented him from being heard at an aids conference but the incident would not reduce his commitment to fight the disease. Sullivan said the demonstrators who shouted whistled and threw wads of paper at him As he spoke sunday in san Francisco a stepped Over the line of legitimate protest and were a Sun american a and he will have nothing More to do with their organizers. The Secretary in an interview monday evening said he had been aware that his speech to the closing session of the sixth International conference on aids would be the target of protesters but he said he had not expected to be drowned out for More than 20 minutes. A a in be been heckled before but in be never had the intensity that i heard there where the Clear intent was not for the protesters to simply make a Point but their intent was to prevent me from making a Point. A and that is in amen can that is clearly antithetical to the Basic principle we have in this country of free speech. That is what i object to and what i take personal and professional exception to a he said. Restoring these stored aircraft and sensors to a condition that would support Safe operations will depend on the length of the storage  the defense Secretary also said the Pentagon would make Trainer aircraft two sr-71a aircraft flight simulator and All sr-71 spares and support equipment available for loan or Transfer to Nasa. The space Agency according to a memorandum from Cheney to air Force Secretary Donald Rice would assume the Cost for operating and maintaining the aircraft and parts. Cheney said reconnaissance operations involving the Black Dagger shaped planes could not resume a in a Safe manner on 90-Day notice. He also noted that maintenance Crews air Crews and other personnel with skills to operate and care for the Blackbird Are gone. During More than two decades of service the Blackbird regularly flew missions Over heavily defended North Vietnam. They also provided intelligence in Many other regions including the Middle East China and the persian Gulf. The plane which Flics at More than three times the Speed of sound a about 2,200 Mph a can outrun the fastest fighters. It has never been shot Down. In March in a flight marking its retirement a Blackbird set a record for a coast to coast flight flying from los Angeles to Washington d.c., in 68 minutes 17 seconds.  the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. June 27, 1950 a North korean armoured forces were massing in the suburbs of Seoul and americans there believed the communists were about to take Over the capital of South korea.30 years ago today. June 27, 1960 a president Eisenhower returned to Washington and made immediate plans for conferences with members of his Cabinet concerning his far Eastern trip.20 years ago today. June 27, 1970 a Secretary of defense Melvin r. Laird said . Warplanes would continue bombing enemy Supply lines inside Cambodia after the june 30 deadline.10 years ago today. June 27, 1980 a a Weait president Carter headed Back to Washington after taking his plea for Western Solidarity a in the face of the afghan and iranian crises a to four Southern european countries on an eight Day tour