Editing Karen Ann Quinlan (section)

==Life after the court decision, death, and legacy==
In May 1976, following the successful appeal, Quinlan was disconnected from the ventilator. Quinlan's parents continued to allow her to be fed with a feeding tube. Since the feeding tube did not cause her pain, her parents did not consider it extraordinary means. Quinlan continued in a [[persistent vegetative state]] for slightly more than nine years, until her death from [[respiratory failure]] as a result of complications from [[pneumonia]] on June 11, 1985, in Morris Plains, New Jersey. Upon learning that Quinlan was expected to die, her parents requested that no extraordinary means be used to revive her. Quinlan weighed 65&nbsp;lb (29&nbsp;kg) at the time of her death.<ref>{{cite news |last=McFadden |first=Robert |date=June 12, 1985 |title=Karen Ann Quinlan, 31, Dies; Focus of '76 Right to Die Case |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Quinlan was buried at the [[Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover|Gate of Heaven Cemetery]] in [[East Hanover, New Jersey]].<ref>"Tearful Rites for Karen Quinlan", ''[[The Record (Bergen County)|Bergen Record]]'', June 16, 1985. Accessed August 4, 2007. "A procession of about 75 cars then drove to Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover."</ref>

===Hospice===
Joseph and Julia Quinlan opened a hospice and memorial foundation in 1980 to honor their daughter's memory. Her court case is linked to legal changes and hospital practices involving the right to refuse extraordinary means of treatment, even in cases where cessation of treatment could end a life.<ref name="Nessman"/>

===Autopsy findings===
When Quinlan was alive, the extent of damage to her brain stem could not be precisely determined. After she died, her entire brain and [[spinal cord]] were studied carefully. While her [[cerebral cortex]] had moderate scarring, her [[thalamus]] had sustained extensive damage bilaterally. Her [[brain stem]], which controls breathing and cardiac functions, was undamaged. These findings suggest that the thalamus plays a particularly important role in consciousness.<ref name="ThalamusRole">{{cite journal | author1 = Kinney H. C. | author2 = Korein J. | author3 = Panigrahy A. | author4 = Dikkes P. | author5 = Goode R. | year = 1994 | title = Neuropathological Findings in the Brain of Karen Ann Quinlan – The Role of the Thalamus in the Persistent Vegetative State | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 330 | issue = 21 | pages = 1469–1475 | doi=10.1056/nejm199405263302101 | pmid = 8164698| doi-access = free }}</ref>