Summary Family lawyer Lucas Pica called it "a sad story from beginning to end."
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Relatives of an Argentine man who has been in a vegetative state for 20 years can disconnect him from life support, the Supreme Court said Tuesday in a highly emotive case that divided opinion.
The court insisted this did not amount to euthanasia and instead said the ruling stemmed from a 2012 law that allows people to state in advance what they want done with them if they become incapacitated.
In this case, Marcelo Diez suffered a motorcycle accident in 1995 at age 30 and has been in a vegetative state ever since, receiving nourishment through a tube.
He cannot communicate and does not respond to any kind of stimulus.
His brothers and sisters have argued that Diez had always warned them that in a situation like this he would not want his life prolonged artificially.
Some in Argentine society have opposed letting him die and created a Facebook page entitled "Don t kill Marcelo Diez."
The Supreme Court said Diez s family can vouch for what he would have wanted, were he able to communicate.
The ruling says life support should be discontinued.
Family lawyer Lucas Pica called it "a sad story from beginning to end."
"He could not express his will because the traffic accident prevented him. In this case consent is given by the closest relatives, who knew what his will was," Pica said.
Argentina, which is traditionally Roman Catholic, has often been at the vanguard of change on sensitive social issues in South America.
It legalized gay marriage in 2010, for instance, although abortion remains illegal except in cases where the life or health of the mother is in jeopardy.
