The only motivation of the parents would be to spare their child from an existence that would either be devoid of any meaningful quality of life or, even worse, an existence of constant discomfort, pain, and confusion. The objective test would be whether or not the prognosis of the patient is either persistent vegetative state or consistent with conditions that reasonable, competent people typically specify they would want to avoid. If competent adults typically choose to direct their loved ones not to continue treatment or to resort to artificial means to maintain biological life, it is perfectly moral for benevolently-motivated parents to want to spare their child that type of existence. The actions of the father were not legal and would not have been moral if they had been motivated by self-interest (such as to collect life insurance or to avoid the medical costs and obligations associated with caring for the child), but if his genuine motivation was benevolent concern for his son, his actions would have been morally pure in an objective sense.
Schiavo and Cruzan Cases:...
Do they then have the same answer?
There were three fundamental differences between Schiavo and Cruzan: First, Terri Schiavo's family was divided about what to do whereas Nancy Cruzan's family was not. Second, there was a factual question in Schiavo as to whether or not she had really expressed her wishes in advance to her husband when she was competent. Third, only Florida actually had a law that specified the order of authority given to the spouse, the adult children, and the parents of the patient to make such decisions. In my opinion, the outcome should have been the same, especially because in Florida, the husband should have had the authority to make decisions over the parents by law. They should have the same answer.
Sources Consulted
Beauchamp, T.L. And Childress, J.F. Principles of Biomedical Ethics, (6th Edition).
Oxford University Press: New York. 2009.
Levine, C. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Bioethical Issues. McGraw Hill: Dubuque.
