Is Taquisha McKitty really dead?  Or is she still  alive?

Last September a death certificate was issued in her name.

But her parents are saying that the  27-year old Brampton woman is still alive.

She has been on life support at hospital since last September when she went into cardiac arrest following a drug  overdose and was declared  neurologicaly dead by doctors.

Her parents  -Stanley Stewart and Alyson McKitty – believe that the hospital acted  too hastily in declaring that their daughter was dead.

In the nine months since then, her family has been in court arguing that she is alive, and that to pull the plug would go against her Christian beliefs about when life ends

Her family says that beyond breathing and having a heartbeat, Taquisha shows other signs of life — like moving her legs — that prove she’s still biologically alive.

But the  legal battle on whether she can be  taken off life support will end this end month with a  decision over who gets to decide what death is.

Hugh Scher, the family lawyer, says a ruling from a Brampton Superior Court is imminent — and the decision could influence how doctors, coroners and families approach the idea of death altogether.

“It raises a serious question as to what is death in Ontario and in Canada. There is no statutory legal definition,” said Scher on  the CBC radio program, Metro Morning,  last Tuesday. “We’re hopeful this case will provide some guidance.”