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The case of Ms B: suicide’s slippery slope?
  1. J Keown
  1. Correspondence to:
 Dr J Keown, Law Faculty, University of Cambridge, 10 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DZ, UK;
 ijk1001{at}cam.ac.uk

Abstract

In the case of Ms B, the High Court ruled that as Ms B was a competent adult patient, her doctors acted unlawfully in overriding her refusal of life-preserving ventilation. This commentary considers whether this case supports the proposition that in English law the right to refuse treatment extends even to refusals which are clearly suicidal.

  • Law and medical ethics
  • end-of-life decisions
  • assisted suicide

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