To Live Or Die: Brothers Fight Over 91-Year-Old Mother's Fate

MINEOLA, NY—Two Long Island brothers are fighting over whether to keep their 91-year-old mother on life support. One brother wants to take Arline Lester off the machine, while the other one wants to keep her on it.

"It's my mother's will to live," Edward Lester, one of the sons, told ABC 7 News.

Arline, who celebrated her latest birthday on New Year's Day, recently had her leg amputated and is being treated and cared for at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan. She's currently on a ventilator while waiting to learn her fate.

In a YouTube video recently posted by LifeSiteNews, Edward asks his mother if she wants to stay alive. She responds with a nod of "yes."

"You have no leg. You understand that? You have a feeding tube in you. You understand that? And you still want to stay alive, correct?" Edward says to his mother in the video he recorded Nov. 7, 2019.

After nodding her head as to say "yes," her son then directs her to say, "I want to stay alive," to which she complies.

Meanwhile, Arline's other son, Kyle Lester, believes his mother's old living will — which stated that she did not want her life prolonged in case of severe infirmity — should be honored.

The other brother, however, told the ABC station that their mother wrote on Nov. 13 that she wanted to revoke her living will and wanted to live.

LifePetitions and the Personhood Alliance have since launched a petition asking the courts to respect Arline’s right to life. As of Wednesday, more than 8,000 people have signed it.

<<<To view the petition in its entirety, click here>>>

"The mother, who was a public school teacher in Brooklyn for 25 years, was recently evaluated as mentally capable of making her own decisions — to update her living will, which reflects her desire to live," the petition reads. "The son who is trying to help his mother and honor her will to live, Ed Lester, has also stated his intention to care for his mother once she starts to recover her strength."

Arline's fate may ultimately be determined inside a Nassau County courtroom. In the meantime, supporters have launched an online campaign to help the 91-year-old pay for a legal team.

ABC News 7 video coverage of case: