… the sweeping national debate about what legally and ethically constitutes death surrounding her daughter’s case.
Since then, the case has prompted some commentators to discuss the futility of life support in such cases and even refer to it as “death support”. Other questions that have been raised include how California law treats brain death and whether McMath’s case could change existing laws and practices. McMath’s attorney, Christopher Dolan said, “There would have been no legal battle if Jahi had had her tonsils out in New Jersey”, referring to a New Jersey state law allowing religious objection to a declaration of death on the basis of neurological criteria.
Public confusion surrounding differences between brain death and cardiac death raised by this case led some doctors to voice concern about how the case could affect live organ recovery from brain dead patients. The impact of this case on medical negligence awards in California has also been discussed, as there is no compensation limit if the patient is alive, while compensation is capped at $250,000 if the patient has died.
Winkfield said she is thankful for the years she had with her daughter and although her daughter could not talk to her, “my daughter knew I was there and that I loved her, I knew she was there and that she loved me too.”