Mr Justice Hedley at London's High Court hasruled that a brain-damaged
baby should be allowed to die even though his deeply religious parents want him
kept alive on a life-support machine. (The reported case opinion is here.)
The one-year-old had a
'catastrophic accident' in May and is in a coma. But Justice Hedley ruled
that it's in the child's best interests if he is now given palliative care.
He said it was 'unrealistic' that his condition would ever improve and
said doctors had told him that any treatment had now become 'futile'.
The parents said their
faith meant that they have resisted switching off their son's life support
machine, and said they believed that 'where there's life there's hope'. But consultants told the
judge that the child lacked awareness of his surroundings, showed no
interaction or recognition of his parents and didn't cry or smile. One
doctor said: 'In my opinion Baby X no longer has the human instinct and desire
to survive'.
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét