ix21@sdccs6.UUCP (04/23/84)
reprinted from American Medical News 4/13/84 Karen Ann Quinlan turned 30 years old March 29 in a New Jersey nursing home where she has lived for most of the eight years since her respirator was disconnected in May, 1976. Quinlan's case became famous when her parents sought court permission to remove her from a respirator after physicians said she would never regain consciousness. She lost consciousness following a friend's birthday party in 1975. The New Jersey Supreme Court granted permission to disconnect the respirator in March, 1976, and she has remained in a permanent vegaetative state since it was disconnected.