My mother left a living will and everyone should do the same. It did not make her dying less sudden or horrific, but she made the choice.

The creation of such a document would make the hatred and rancour evidenced in this thread moot and ensure that those who wish their lives to be prolonged, regardless of what we may perceive the 'quality' of that life to be, may do so; while those who want to exist independent of artifical devices also have the choice.

It's a disgrace the media decided to give this story such a high profile when what it comes down to in the end is the intimate, raw emotions of a family in distress. With thousand of children around the world dying each day of starvation, it seems so ironic.
jen