Under the Uniform Determination of Death Act, an individual is officially declared to be dead “when he or she “has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiration functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem”” (Landau 3). The family of a brain-dead patient, however, can choose whether or not to place him or her on life support to continue biological functions. This option creates an issue in making family members accept the reality that their loved one has passed away. There are some “religions [that] define life as breathing lungs and a beating heart,” even if it is artificially done by machines (Wang 2). As a result, a cruel, false hope is then given to
