In Brophy v. New England Sinai Hospital, Inc., 497 N.E.2d 626 (Mass.1986), a family was faced with a family member who was in a vegetative state. They wanted to cut off nutrition and hydration, but the hospital and attending physician opposed, so the matter ended up going to court for resolution. The majority sided with the family, and the dissenting judges sided with the state. In a footnote, one of the dissenting judges stated: "The judge found that death by dehydration is extremely painful and uncomfortable for a human being. The judge could not rule out the possibility that Paul Brophy could experience pain in such a scenario. Paul Brophy's attending physician described death by dehydration as cruel and violent." (Id. at p. 341, fn. 2, Lynch, J., dissenting in part.)