Evangelical Couple Keeps Terminally Ill Daughter Alive Against Her Wishes

An evangelical pastor and his wife in Queens are keeping their terminally-ill daughter, a former Manhattan banker, hooked up to a ventilator against her will because they believe that her stated wish to die naturally constitutes suicide in the eyes of God. And that's a mortal sin that will send her to hell.

Lee’s court-appointed lawyer complained her devout parents — who believe she’ll go to hell if she pulls the plug — are putting her under “incredible pressure.” “She has made herself abundantly clear,” the lawyer, David A. Smith, said of his client, who can’t move from the neck down and is being kept alive by machines. “They stand there all day, and tell her that this is Satan’s work. [snip] His daughter was training for the New York City Marathon last year when she fell ill and was diagnosed with brain cancer. Last month, she had a seizure and was rushed to North Shore, where she has begged doctors to remove life support, they testified. The parents went to court Sept. 24 and asked that the father be appointed guardian. After an emergency hearing, a Long Island judge ruled the tubes could be removed. The family rushed to the Appellate Division in Brooklyn and obtained a temporary order keeping life support in place until the judges make a full ruling.

The pastor says, "When someone sets a time and date to die, that is considered as a suicide and sin." The court's decision may come today.