Scotsman.com News - Top Stories - Doctors in right-to-life battle

Leslie Burke is fighting in a British court to insure that he won't be starved or dehydrated when his medical condition becomes worse. He has at least the chairman of the Scottish Council of Bioethics on his side:

Mary Kearns, chairman of the Scottish Council on Bioethics, said doctors should never withdraw food and fluids unless for good clinical reasons.

She said: "I can understand doctors want the right to retain discretion on what medical treatment is appropriate but I do not think doctors have the right to make a decision about withholding or withdrawing food and fluids from a patient."

The lawyer said doctors should only be able to withhold basic nutrition when a person is unable to take a drip or is hours away from death.

The British Medical Association Scotland is backing the GMC’s bid to clarify the role of doctors in the situation of deciding on a terminally ill patient’s life.

For the rest of the May 17, 2005, article by Louise Gray, use title link. See also Scottish Council on Human Bioethics .