A French Homunculus in a Tennessee Court

Abstract The United States Supreme Court has dealt with issues at the beginning of life almost every term since 1973. But it was not until 1990 that the Court first faced a so-called “right to die” decision.1 The Court, however, chose to deal with the case of Nancy Cruzan almost as if it were just another abortion decision-and, like its decision in Webster (discussed in Chapter 4) the Court continued to recreate America ‘s legal landscape by transferring traditional rights from its citizens to state legislatures and other government officials. Webster may have made the decision in Cruzan inevitable. But its inevitability does not make its consequences any more desirable than the devastation caused by a predicated and inevitable tornado or tidal wave. This chapter summarizes the Cruzan decision and suggests how to contain its potentially destructive force.