It's a personal choice. If he is well enough to understand from his family, then he's well enough to ask the doctors himself.

I don't know what I would do if I were in that situation, but I can well understand the 'lay down and die' attitude, I saw it with my father. Almost his last words were 'it's bad isn't it', and mother's reply was 'yes dear'. He was dead 24 hours later.

LTS