HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Brazier, M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Brazier, M

Letting Charlotte die

Correspondence to:
Professor M Brazier
School of Law, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK; margaret.r.brazier@man.ac.uk 19 October 2004

Keywords: intensive care; Charlotte Wyatt

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Late in the afternoon of Thursday, 7 October 2004, Mr Justice Hedley ruled in a highly publicised dispute between parents and doctors about the future care of a severely disabled infant.¹ With sadness, and some reluctance, the judge held that Charlotte Wyatt should not be subjected to any further invasive or aggressive treatment to prolong her life, despite her parents’ insistence that she be given every chance to survive a little longer. The judgment was limited in scope. The judge did no more than authorise Charlotte’s doctors "in the event of a disagreement between the parents and themselves, not to send the child for artificial ventilation or similar aggressive treatment".

The fate of baby Charlotte attracted massive media coverage. Just a week later another dispute between a mother and her child’s doctors hit the headlines.² A third dispute about the care of an older child also looks likely . . . [Full text of this article]