WITHDRAWING TREATMENT FROM PATIENTS IN A PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE

Medical opinion was unanimous that English youth Anthony Bland was in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of improvement or recovery. His family agreed that withdrawal of life support was appropriate, but Anthony's case went to the House of Lords for clarification of the legal position before any action was taken by his doctors. The court applied the Bolam test - that a regimen is legally acceptable if supported by a body of competent medical opinion, a principle specifically rejected by the High Court of Australia in Rogers v. Whitaker.(1)