Judge orders withdrawal of food and water from unconscious 28-year-old (UK)

Mr Justice McKendrick has ruled that providing clinically assisted nutrition and hydration to sustain the life of a 28-year-old man suffering from a prolonged disorder of consciousness is contrary to his best interests and should cease. The judgment, released today following a 4-day trial last week, overrules the unanimous view of the young man’s family and all his treating clinicians that the life-sustaining treatment should continue, agreed at a ‘best interests meeting’ in March. The case is subject to draconian reporting restrictions under the so-called Transparency Order, which Mr Justice McKendrick has ordered to remain in force until the death...