Minnesota High Court to Decide End-of-Life Case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Supreme Court will decide whether guardians have the legal authority to take their wards off life support.

The court has agreed to review the case of Jeffers Tschumy. Reports say the court will for the first time in nearly 30 years revisit an end-of-life issue that could affect many of the more than 12,000 Minnesotans under guardianship who don't have health care directives.

The key issue is whether guardians must receive a judge's approval before pulling the plug, or whether guardians already have that power.

Tschumy was a mentally disabled man with no family who had been under guardianship. He choked on food last year and was declared severely brain-damaged with little hope of recovery before a judge authorized his removal from life support.