Deceased Woman’s Family Wants to Pursue Right-to-Die Court Fight

A brain-damaged woman at the center of a right-to-die fight has died, but her family said Friday they still want to pursue the case in court.

Sue Ann Lawrance, 42, died Thursday night at St. Vincent Hospital with her family and close friends at her bedside, said her brother, Mark.

“She died just more or less because of her neurological condition, secondary to the cerebral hemorrhage” she suffered in 1987, he said.

Her parents, William and Bonita Lawrance, won permission in May from Superior Court Judge Jerry Barr to cease her feedings, and she went without nourishment from May 3 to May 17.

A Christian advocacy group for the disabled intervened and persuaded a judge to appoint a temporary guardian for Lawrance to pursue an appeal. The family agreed to continue the feedings until the state Supreme Court could issue a ruling on whether to allow discontinuation of the feedings.

Despite her death, the Lawrances on Friday asked the high court to examine the case. A court decision could prevent other families from having to fight the same battles they have faced, the couple said.

Late Friday, the court canceled a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, but left open the possibility it might hear arguments later on the case’s broader issues.

Sue Ann was the Lawrances’ youngest of five children.