The wife and son of a senile, 78-year-old man tried to stop the hemodialysis treatments that he had undergone for a year. The family and the physician believed that the request was what the patient...

The wife and son of a senile, 78-year-old man tried to stop the hemodialysis treatments that he had undergone for a year. The family and the physician believed that the request was what the patient would have wanted. The family went to probate court, where a guardian ad litem was appointed to represent the patient. An adversarial hearing was conducted, and the court issued an order to terminate the treatment. The guardian ad litem objected, insisting that there had to be some positive evidence of the patient’s will, and not merely a “substituted judgment,” before a court could order the termination of the treatment. This matter was continued through probate, appeals, and Supreme Court hearings. What should the court decide?