Relatives of Muslim fail in ‘right to life’ case

A High Court judge has allowed a hospital trust’s request to withhold life-saving treatment from a severely brain-damaged Muslim patient if his condition significantly deteriorates.

The family of the 55-year-old man, from Greater Manchester, who is in a “minimally conscious” state, argue that their faith requires everything to be done to prolong life “until God takes it away”.

Mr L’s wife and two of his adult sons say his condition is continuing to improve and it would be wrong for clinicians of the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to withhold ventilation or resuscitation treatment in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest.

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But Mr Justice Moylan, sitting at the Court of Protection in London, ruled yesterday that the balance was “firmly in favour” of a declaration that it would be lawful to withhold treatment.

The judge said it sounded “harsh” but treatment would “prolong Mr L’s death” and would not prolong his life “in any meaningful way”.

The judge said: “It would result in death being characterised by a series of harmful interventions without any realistic prospect of such treatment producing any benefit.”

He refused the family permission to appeal, but they can still ask the Court of Appeal itself to intervene.

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Doctors diagnosed Mr L as being in a “persistent vegetative state” (PVS) after he suffered a second cardiac arrest in mid-July which resulted in devastating brain damage. Later they agreed he had entered a minimally conscious state.

But they still said Mr L would have “minimal prospects of improving neurological function” and no “meaningful quality of life” if life-prolonging treatment were given.

The Trust argued that improvements seen in his condition by the family remained so minimal that active resuscitation would be futile and could lead to an “undignified and traumatic death”.

Family lawyers disagreed and said he was showing increased awareness of his environment and responding to family members and the smell of a perfume from Mecca when they visited him in hospital.

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They also said he went quiet when listening to readings from the Koran.

Solicitor Julianne Moore, who represented Mr L’s family, said after the hearing that relatives were considering attempting to continue their court battle.

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