51 - Judgment in Right to Die case

In giving their judgment in Ireland's right to die appeal case 1996, the following points were made by the majority of the five judges involved:

1. Withholding of medical treatment is lawful.

   
   

2. Artificial nutrition and hydration are medical treatments, not just care.

   
   

3. Everyone has a right to refuse medical treatment, even if that refusal should lead to death.

   
   

4. The Ward (the person on whose behalf the application was being made) had limited capacity, if any. Therefore, the courts had the right to decide.

   
   

5. This was not to be confused with assisted suicide, which was an active and direct attack on a life. As in execution, for example.

This final point is crucial. It means that those clamouring for the legalisation of assisted suicide in Ireland can not use our right to die case as a precedent.

I have written a novel loosely based on the tragedy of this case. It is called The Foxhunter.