NEWS IN BRIEF

By Liz Townsend

Wendland Case Is Officially Over

Refusing to reconsider its 6-0 decision in the Robert Wendland case, the California Supreme Court declared that its August 9 decision requiring "clear and convincing" evidence before a guardian can authorize a feeding tube removal would stand.

Robert Wendland, who suffered severe brain injuries in a 1993 car accident, died July 17 of pneumonia while the Supreme Court was considering his wife Rose's request to "allow" him to die by starvation and dehydration, according to the Los Angeles Times. Wendland's mother, Florence, opposed this request and fought a long court battle against it.

The Supreme Court ruled that Rose Wendland did not have the right to order the removal of her husband's feeding tube since Robert Wendland was not in a coma or terminally ill and had not left instructions that he would want to die if incapacitated, the Times reported. The court issued its ruling even after Wendland's death since the case involved issues that would apply to other disabled people in the state.

The decision "means a person like Robert who has a conservator but is conscious cannot have their feeding tube removed unless there is a showing through clear and convincing evidence that that is what they wanted or that that would be consistent with their best interests," said Florence Wendland's attorney Janie Hickok Siess, according to the Stockton (Ca.) Record.

After the August 9 decision was announced, Rose Wendland's attorneys asked the court to reconsider its decision, the Record reported. The court denied this request September 26.

"I was confident that [the state Supreme Court] would deny this petition, and that means that their 6-0 decision will now be final," Siess told the Record.

Lawrence Nelson, Rose Wendland's attorney, told the Record that he would not appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

California Abortionist May Face Sanctions

The California Medical Board will hold a hearing November 2 to determine whether to sanction abortionist and clinic owner Joseph Durante for his actions in a 1998 botched abortion, the Desert Sun reported.

Durante, who owned the clinic where abortionist Bruce Steir performed a 1996 abortion that led to Steir's guilty plea on a manslaughter charge, allegedly "failed to properly diagnose and treat" a woman whose uterus and bowel were perforated by another doctor in his clinic, according to the Desert Sun.

In May 2001, administrative law judge James Ahler advised the Medical Board to suspend Durante's license for 10 days because of minor acts of negligence. He ruled that "gross negligence, repeated acts of negligence, and incompetence were not established," the Desert Sun reported. However, the Medical Board decided not to accept Ahler's conclusions.

The Division of Medical Quality will hold its own hearing, reviewing transcripts of testimony and considering further arguments. The board had originally asked that Durante's license be revoked.