Estate Planning

The Right to Choose Your Child's Care?

By Hull and Hull LLP

I could not help but be terribly saddened to learn of a battle reportedly underway between parents of a terminally ill boy and a London, Ontario hospital over whether his ventilator ought to be removed.

The parents want to get their 13 month old son a tracheotomy so they can take him home, so he can live his last few months with those who love him (the same thing they were able to do for their daughter who was tragically afflicted with a similar neurological condition nine years earlier).

A court Order requiring the father to give consent to removal of the breathing tube by Monday morning was rendered last week. The Judge was upholding a decision of the Consent and Capacity Board. No doubt this is a very sensitive and difficult issue to adjudicate, and I can imagine it was not made lightly. 

The parents have reportedly not complied with the Order.  As the London hospital could not get consent to remove the breathing tube from the infant's parents or other family members, it may seek consent from the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, apparently questioned why doctors, not parents, should have the final say over their baby's care. It is a tough question to ask, but this kind of case may require us all to look closer at it.

Thanks for reading,

Natalia Angelini

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on February 24, 2011 (boomark / email).