When it became evident that her husband was not going to regain cognitive or communicative abilities, Mrs. Finn made the difficult decision to remove his feeding tubes. Although a Virginia court found that there was sufficient "clear and convincing" evidence to allow her, as his surrogate, to withdraw the tubes, Hugh’s case did not end there.
Instead, Finn’s parents and siblings protested, prompting Virginia Governor Gilmore and State Delegate Marshall to intervene in the removal of the tubes. Marshall organized a 400-person protest at the nursing home where Finn lived; Gilmore requested a state supreme court injunction only two hours before Michele was set to remove the tubes. That injunction was denied, the tubes were removed and Mr. Finn died eight days later. Papers later reported that during this time, state social workers responded to anonymous calls that Mr. Finn was being "abused and neglected," and protesters continued to stage marches at the nursing home. The media circus was in full force.
This case, which began with a devastated wife having to make a difficult decision that would end the life of her husband, eventually required court intervention because Finn had not documented his wishes for care at the end of life. This decision was hard enough for Mrs. Finn, long before the public became so intimately involved. She faced explaining her decision to her two daughters, now ages 8 and 13, who had survived the car crash that ultimately killed their father. It was as if the family had to live through its loss twice, once in 1995, and again, in 1998. A battle waged in the public eye only increased the devastation.
The tragedy for Hugh Finn is, of course, a life cut short and the lost relationships with his wife of 17 years and his two young daughters. The tragedy for our community is that many of us haven’t written our decisions regarding our wishes for end-of-life care; it is easy to feel "temporarily immortal."
Not only can advocates learn from this case the public can too. It shouldn’t be taboo to talk about death at the dinner table or to see a thoughtful reflection in the newspaper. Talk to your family. Think about your values and what decisions you want to be made at the end of your life. Let something positive become the legacy of Hugh Finn.
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