She was transported to Newton Memorial Hospital in Newton, NJ. She was in an unresponsive state and showed evidence of brain damage. On April 24, 1975 she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of St Claire's Hospital in Danville, NJ. Here she remained until June 9,1976 (Quinlin 3). Before this date her father had been through rigorous court battles in order to be appointed Karen's legal guardian giving him the power to order doctors to wean her off the respirator back in May of 1976. So on June 9th she was moved into the Morris Nursing Home where her new physician came to the conclusion that Karen would never return from her comatose state to a cognitive state and that there were no circumstances that would warrant the use of heroic or extraordinary measures to prolong her life. Eventually Karen's body just wound down and she quietly passed away (Quinlin 3). .
The courts first publicly addressed the issue of the right to die in the 1990 case of Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health. In January 1983, 25-year-old Nancy Cruzan lost control of her car and it overturned. Emergency Medical Technicians were able to restore her breathing and heartbeat before she was transported to the hospital. A neurosurgeon at the hospital diagnosed her as having sustained probable brain damage, compounded by significant oxygen deprivation. (Right to Die, 31). Cruzan remained in a coma for approximately three weeks and then progressed to an unconscious state. Doctors implanted feeding and hydration tubes shortly after Nancy slipped into her unconscious state. It became apparent through unsuccessful rehabilitative efforts, that she had virtually no chance of regaining her mental faculties. Her parents-who had been appointed as her co-guardians- asked that the hydration and feeding procedures be terminated. The hospital refused to honor the request without court approval. Nancy's parents sought proof that Nancy would not want to live connected to machines.