Officials Get OK to Visit Comatose Man

A judge ruled that state officials be allowed to examine a comatose man whose wife plans to remove his feeding tube, rejecting her request to block their visit. Judge Frank Hoss Jr. said he has no authority to keep the state from checking on Hugh Finn, who was injured in a car accident 3 1/2 years ago. Michele Finn said her husband has told her he would not wish to live in such a condition, and she obtained court permission to remove the tube. Other members of Finn’s family oppose her, and his brother has sued unsuccessfully to stop her. Two visits by a state nurse to the Manassas, Va., nursing home indicate the diagnosis that Finn is in a persistent vegetative state may be wrong. If so, it would be illegal under state law to remove the feeding tube.