Patients suffering from brain damage have lost an ‘important safeguard’ that protects their lives, campaigners said in response to a Supreme Court decision on 30 July.
The judge ruled that if families and doctors agree to withdraw food and fluids, they can do so without a court’s permission.
Case of ‘Mr Y’
The court was considering the case of a man, ‘Mr Y’, who had a cardiac arrest leading to brain damage.
His family and the medical team agreed it would be in his best interests to remove food and water – which would have resulted in his death soon after.
Mr Y died before a ruling was made but the Supreme Court decided to continue because of the general issues raised.
Without a voice
Campaign Director of Care Not Killing, Dr Peter Saunders, said that the ruling ‘removes an important safeguard from those without a voice. Once we accept that death by dehydration is in some brain-damaged people’s “best interests” we are on a very slippery slope indeed.’
