Court, Family Disagree On Use Of 'Wake-Up' Drug For Woman
By
Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 30, 2006
LONDON,
ENGLAND--A judge has ordered doctors to give a sleeping pill to a woman
diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state in order to "wake her up",
in direct defiance of her family's wishes.
According to various news sources, the 53-year-old woman, who cannot be
named for privacy reasons, suffered a massive brain hemorrhage in August 2003.
The government's Official Solicitor, Laurence Oates, suggested that the
woman be given a dose of the drug zolpidem, which has been known to help some
people in a vegetative state to recover. It also reportedly carries a risk of
causing permanent disabilities.
The woman's family has resisted this, saying that she would not want to
live with severe disabilities if she is aware of them. Instead, they say they
want her to "die with dignity", and have requested that the feeding tube that
provides her with nutrition and hydration be removed.
Earlier this month, Sir Mark Potter, president of the high court's
family division, ruled that doctors should try a course of zolpidem before the
feeding tube is removed.
It is believed to be the first case in Britain where the use of the drug
has been at issue.
Related:
"Family right-to-die plea rejected" (BBC News)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6164716.stm
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Reproduced here under special arrangement
with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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