Nancy Cruzan became a public figure after a 1983 auto accident left her permanently unconscious and without any higher brain function. Kept alive only by a feeding tube and steady medical care, Cruzan's family waged a legal battle to have her feeding tube removed, taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the Cruzans had not provided clear and convincing evidence that Nancy Cruzan did not wish to have her life artificially preserved. The Cruzans later presented such evidence to the Missouri courts, which ruled in their favor in late 1990.