Karen Ann Quinlan (March 29, 1954 – June 11, 1985) was an important figure in a right to die controversy in the United States. She went unconscious after arriving home from a party. She had overdosed on Valium and alcohol. Whether or not she had drugs inside her system is under controversy. She later went into a persistent vegetative state and was in that condition for ten years. She was removed from ventilation in 1976 but did not die until June 1985, when she had pneumonia. Quinlan was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1954. She died in New Jersey.