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A Mother and Father Reflect on Their Daughter's Right to Die

Joseph and Julia Quinlan. They are the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan. Joseph Quinlan died this past Saturday at the age of 71. A lawyer for the family said the cause was bone cancer. He and his wife became early pioneers in the "right to die" debate" after they fought for the legal authority to remove a respirator that their daughter was attached to after doctors said she had no hope of coming out of a coma. She then lived nine more years. The Quinlans wrote about Karen in the book "Karen Ann: The Quinlans Tell Their Story." In 1980 they used the proceeds from the book to open the Karen Ann Quinlan Center of Hope Hospice in Newton, New Jersey -- where Joseph Quinlan died. This interview originally aired April 9, 1996.

11:25

Other segments from the episode on December 12, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, December 12, 1996: Interview with Larry Flynt; Review of Andrew Brink's novel "Imaginings of Sand"; Obituary for Joseph Quinlan.

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