This case concerns Phillip Becker, a child with Down's Syndrome, whose parents, Warren and Patricia Becker, denied him a life-prolonging heart surgery, and then defended their right to do so in court. Phillip's heart defect was discovered prior to a routine oral surgery. The Beckers, who had had Phillip institutionalized for most of his life, worried that Phillip would outlive them and become "a burden" to his two brothers. A physician hired by the Beckers to examine Phillip wrote that he led "a life I consider devoid of those qualities which give it human dignity.”

The ACLU represented Phillip Becker, who, as those who worked with him at the John Rouleau Children's Center in San Jose, was actually "on the high end of the spectrum for Down's Sydrome" and who, they stated, was happy and capable of dressing himself and helping out with household chores. However, several courts upheld the right of the Beckers to make this decision.

Over the course of court proceedings, the Beckers relationship with their son came under full scrutiny. A motion was made by Herbert and Patricia Heath, who came to know Phillip while he was institutionalized, to adopt Phillip. Judge William Fernandez of the Superior Court granted them this right, stating "No true parent can watch a child's life slowly ebbing,'' he said and...not cry out 'Oh, Lord, let the child live.'"