Dying Man Wins Right To Refuse Treatment

Dying Jehovah's Witness wins right to refuse treatment, Aug. 6, 2009.

A court has granted a dying man the right to refuse medical treatment due to his religious beliefs.

The man, who is aged in his 70s but cannot be named for legal reasons, did not wish to undergo dialysis treatment after he was admitted on July 1 to a hospital run by the Hunter New England Area Health Service. He was suffering from septic shock and respiratory failure.

Known as "Mr A", the man later suffered from renal failure and was kept alive by mechanical ventilation and kidney dialysis until the hospital discovered a document indicating he would refuse dialysis due to his beliefs as a member of the Jehovah's Witness religion.

The area health service took the case to the Supreme Court to ensure the man's refusal of medical treatment was legal.

In the Supreme Court today, Justice Robert McDougall said it was unclear whether the refusal of dialysis was part of the beliefs of the Jehovah's Witness faith but a "capable adult" was entitled to refuse medical treatment on religious, social or moral grounds "or indeed upon no apparent rational grounds ... and is entitled to respect ... regardless".

"That is so, even if, as it appears in the case, the likely consequence of giving effect to Mr A's wishes ... is that he will die," the judge said.

The document Mr A signed also stated he would refuse any blood transfusions or storage of his own blood for a later transfusion.

The ruling comes ahead of a landmark case in the WA Supreme Court to establish whether a quadriplegic man has a right to die.

The West Australian today reported that Christian Rossiter, who lives in a Marangaroo bursing home, has been helped in his case by euthanasia campaigner Phillip Nitschke.

Brightwater nursing home CEO Penny Flett confirmed to the newspaper that the company would go to court to determine whether it could legally cut off the 49-year-old's food supply.

Mr Rossiter was hit by a car and is now fed through a tube directly into his stomach. He told the newspaper his life was a living hell.

By Bellinda Kontominas, Sydney Morning Herald, through WAToday