Wendland Case Is Officially Over >TX; California Abortionist May Face Sanctions.(Robert Wendland, includes multiple articles)(Brief Article)

Refusing to reconsider its 6-0 decision in the Robert Wendland case, the California Supreme Court declared that its August 9 decision requiring "clear and convincing" evidence before a guardian can authorize a feeding tube removal would stand.

Robert Wendland, who suffered severe brain injuries in a 1993 car accident, died July 17 of pneumonia while the Supreme Court was considering his wife Rose's request to "allow" him to die by starvation and dehydration, according to the Los Angeles Times. Wendland's mother, Florence, opposed this request and fought a long court battle against it.

The Supreme Court ruled that Rose Wendland did not have the right to order the removal of her husband's feeding tube since Robert Wendland was not in a coma or terminally ill and had not left instructions that he would want to die if incapacitated, the Times reported. The court issued its ruling even after Wendland's death since the case involved issues that would apply to other disabled people in the state.

The decision "means a person like Robert who has a conservator but is conscious cannot have their feeding tube removed unless there is a showing through clear and convincing evidence that that is what they wanted or that that would be consistent with their best interests," said Florence Wendland's attorney Janie Hickok Siess, according to the Stockton (Ca.) Record.

After the August 9 decision was announced, Rose Wendland's attorneys asked the court to reconsider its decision, the Record reported. The court denied this request ...