Opinion ID: 2234743
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Family, Employee, and Religious Testimony

Text: Belle Greenspan, who has been Mr. Greenspan's wife for more than 50 years, and two of his four children testified. In addition, a 20-year employee of Mr. Greenspan, Helen Mueller, testified, and by stipulation a letter from Mr. Greenspan's former rabbi was admitted into evidence as testimony. These witnesses depicted Mr. Greenspan as a loving, active, concerned, religiously and civically involved man prior to his stroke, and they unanimously testified that he would not wish to be sustained as he now is. Mrs. Greenspan. Belle Greenspan testified that Mr. Greenspan had told her many times that he would rather be shot than reside in a nursing home. Mrs. Greenspan stated that, though they had never talked about life-support systems, Mr. Greenspan would never have wished to live without full control of his faculties or as a burden to others and that, based on her relationship and conversations with him, she believed that he would absolutely refuse artificial nutrition and hydration if faced with such a decision. She added that she would agree with him. Mrs. Richardson. Marla Richardson, one of Mr. Greenspan's daughters, testified to the deterioration in her father's condition while he had been in the nursing home and to his previously expressed views on artificially sustained life. She also testified as follows. He may have shown some response to her visits initially, but not thereafter. Physical therapy was attempted but was unsuccessful. He makes no body or eye movement when she tries to talk to him. Mrs. Richardson recalled once discussing with her father a newsworthy case involving life-support systems ( In re Quinlan (1976), 70 N.J. 10, 355 A.2d 647) and recalled his statement that he would not wish to live under such conditions. She recalled that, when artificial life support was discontinued for a friend of hers who had been injured in a motoring accident, her father had said that life was not worth living without the capacity to enjoy it. She also recalled discussing with her father the case of a mutual friend who suffered from cancer and who had considered refusal of life-support systems; her father had agreed that when there is no chance to live, there is no reason to prolong dying. Based on her knowledge of her father, she felt that he would not wish to continue his artificial food and water without a chance of recovery, and she concurred that they should be discontinued. Ms. Rochelle. Shelley Rochelle, another daughter of Mr. Greenspan, testified that she had never had a response from her father when she visited him in the nursing home. She also testified that, based on occasional prior conversations with him about death and on his repeatedly voiced abhorrence of nursing home life, she felt that never in a million years would he have accepted his present mode of survival. She stated that, though she had never specifically discussed life-support systems with her father, he detested the idea of being incapacitated. The parties stipulated that the testimony of Mr. Greenspan's other two children present in court, Barbara Lando and Howard Greenspan, would be substantially the same as Ms. Rochelle's. Ms. Mueller. Mr. Greenspan's employee, Helen Mueller, testified that, on the very day of his stroke, she had talked with Mr. Greenspan about the disability of the wife of one of his former employees, and she and Mr. Greenspan had told each other that they would never wish to be on a life-support system or in a nursing home. She added that Mr. Greenspan had said that he and his wife had discussed the subject and were in agreement. She also recalled that she and Mr. Greenspan had discussed nursing homes on other occasions, but she could recall no specific conversation. Rabbi Silverman. By stipulation, the contents of a letter from Mr. Greenspan's former rabbi, Dr. Martin I. Silverman, of Albany, New York, were admitted into evidence as corresponding to what would be Rabbi Silverman's testimony. Rabbi Silverman stated that he had been the rabbi of Mr. Greenspan's congregation from 1964 to 1972 and that he had had many lengthy weekly conversations with Mr. Greenspan between 1964 and 1966, when Mr. Greenspan was president of the congregation. He added that Mr. and Mrs. Greenspan were active congregation members throughout his service there as rabbi. He stated that, on the basis of the conversations, he believed that Mr. Greenspan would not wish to exist in his current condition.