Pronouncing the death penalty

Is it right for decisions of life and death to be made on such a low standard of proof?

IN 2020, BABY NR WAS BORN WITH significant disabilities, including a brain malformation. His doctors thought his prospects were so poor that they applied to the High Court, first to withhold CPR if his heart stopped, then for a declaration that it would be in his best interests to remove him from his ventilator and let him die. The parents are devoted Orthodox Christians who opposed the applications. The Children’s Guardian supported the NHS Trust. Mr Justice Poole visited Baby NR in hospital, took evidence, and on both occasions made the orders. He also offered his utmost sympathies to the parents. So far, this is a familiar story, repeated many times each year in the Family Division. But in September, five months after the judge allowed his doctors to cease…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2024

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