Here is a chronology of major events in the Nancy Cruzan right-to-die case:

Jan. 11, 1983: Nancy Cruzan, then 25, has a wreck on a country road southeast of Carthage, in the Ozarks of southwest Missouri and is thrown from the car. Paramedics restart her breathing, but her brain was without oxygen for so long she never regains consciousness.

Feb. 5, 1983: Doctors implant a feeding tube in Cruzans stomach. She isnt on any life support system, such as a respirator.

Oct. 23, 1987: Cruzans parents, Joe and Joyce Cruzan of Carterville ask Jasper County Probate Judge Charles Teel for a judgment on their request that they be allowed to have Cruzans feeding tube removed, so she can die as they believe she would want.

July 27, 1988: Teel issues a judgment authorizing the Cruzans, acting as Nancy`s legal guardians, to request the withholding of food and water from their daughter.

Nov. 16, 1988: In a 4-3 decision, the state Supreme Court overturns the lower court, holding there is no legal authority to grant the Cruzans`

request. The family appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

June 25, 1990: In a 5-4 decision, the court blocks the Cruzans from halting their daughter`s food and water.

Aug. 30: Cruzan`s parents ask Teel for a second hearing, saying they have new evidence their daughter once indicated to three people she would rather die than live in her present condition.

Dec. 5: Cruzan`s court-appointed guardians recommend the feeding tube be removed so Cruzan may die.

Dec. 14: Teel rules that Cruzan`s parents can remove the feeding tube that has kept her alive for seven years, ending a landmark legal fight over the right to die.

Nancy B Cruzan