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Article: Terminally Ill Father Helps Quadriplegic Son End Life;Ruling Sought by Nevada Supreme Court
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 5, 1990
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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A 31-year-old quadriplegic who went to court seeking the right to
end his life because he feared outliving his terminally ill father
died today after being sedated and disconnected from his respirator.
Kenneth Bergstedt, paralyzed from the neck down since a 1969
swimming accident at age 10, ended his life before the Nevada Supreme
Court acted on his request to sanction his actions.
"He just wanted to go," said his father, Robert Bergstedt. The
Las Vegas Sun quoted the father as saying in an interview that he
gave his son Seconal and Valium and detached the respirator from his
trachea.
The elder Bergstedt, an amputee who last month was diagnosed as
suffering from terminal lung cancer, has ...