I can say they absolutely do not offer the option if there is any hope. Is taking your brother off life support and letting his likely time to die come sooner rather than later the right thing to do in God's eyes? It’s heartbreaking to witness the debilitating effect of a disease on someone we love. There are times when a friend or none relative makes that decision, but for this to happen, that person has to be given power of attorney before everything went crazy, or the person on life support truly does not have a living relative. Making a decision about life support can seem like an enormous burden to carry. Choosing to remove life support usually means you'll die within hours or days. The American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics states that "a competent, adult patient, may, in advance, formulate and provide a valid consent to the withholding and withdrawing of life-support systems in the event that injury or illness renders that individual incompetent to make such a decision." While life support keeps them alive, it is only their body and they are not truly there. This is why family and relatives of the patient should look into the pros and cons of life support before making a decision to have it carried out. In the US, it is typically a relative you decided to take someone off life support or to leave them on it. Let your child's doctor know how you are feeling. Clinicians in the intensive care unit (ICU) often care for patients who are on several life support measures at once. When someone you love is terminally ill and on life support, the decision to remove them from a ventilator is a difficult one. Even the patient is likely to be suffering as well. He may even make the choice for you by relieving your brother of the burden of living while he is still on the respirator. While life support keeps them alive, it is only their body and they are not truly there. People switch off life support usually when there is no hope that your family member has any chance of waking up (for instance they are brain dead). Even the patient is likely to be suffering as well. List of the Pros of Life Support. Of course, it’s equally hard to watch a loved one suffer from an illness from which, in all likelihood, they will not recover. Of course, it’s equally hard to watch a loved one suffer from an illness from which, in all likelihood, they will not recover. If a person is in a permanent vegetative state but not brain-dead, their life support likely consists of fluids and nutrition. People hang on because of unfinished business, they need to see someone first. The right to refuse medical intervention is well established, but it remains unclear how best to respect and exercise this right in life support. It’s heartbreaking to witness the debilitating effect of a disease on someone we love. Lung functioning is important, but brain functioning is usually the main consideration.