Legal guardians have the authority to order their wards to be disconnected from life support, according to a state Court of Appeals ruling Monday that said the end-of-life decision shouldn’t be dictated by the courts. “This supports our position that guardians don’t need to go back to court to get consent to terminate life support,” said Charles Singer, the attorney for the professional guardian appointed for Jeffers Tschumy, the man at the center of the case. “We’ve been operating under that assumption for 30 years.”
Monday’s decision overturns a Hennepin County District Court ruling that said end-of-life decisions are too important to be made by a guardian most likely appointed years before to handle matters of daily living.
Minnesota has 12,000-plus wards; the decision could affect those who don’t have health care directives in place spelling out their end-of-life decisions. It is the first time such an issue has been addressed in the state courts.
Tschumy, 57, was mentally disabled and living in a group home under the guardianship of Joseph Vogel since 2008. In April 2011, he choked on food and was declared severely brain damaged with little hope for recovery.
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State court of appeals reverses ruling that prevented guardians from ordering their wards from life support