End Of Life

As of July 2018 there were up to 24,000 patients in the NHS In England in either a permanent vegetative or minimally conscious state, according to an estimate by Professor Derick Wade, a consultant in neurological rehabilitation in Oxford.

This was reported because of the decision by The Supreme Court. The decision was that families and doctors of patients in a persistent vegetative state no longer need permission from a court to withdraw end-of-life care if both the relatives and the doctors agree.

First, the number is staggering. If you asked one hundred people to guess or estimate the number of such patients, who would say 24,000? Second, does this represent a dangerous slide towards something we might not be happy with? After all, once a law is enacted it can serve any kind of society.