A judge from London, England, allowed a woman infected with the coronavirus to die against the wishes of her relatives. This is reported by the Daily Mail.
In January, a British woman in her 30s contracted the coronavirus. At this time, she was at home and was 32 weeks pregnant (the average duration of pregnancy lasts 38 weeks, - approx. "Lenta.ru").
The patient was taken to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, doctors performed a caesarean section and removed the baby. They found that the patient's pancreas and one lung failed. The patient was put into a state of artificial coma.
The specialists felt that they had done everything possible to improve the patient's condition, however, to no avail. The woman's chance of returning to life was zero.
The patient's husband and sister believed that the treatment should continue. They stressed that Muslims believe that only Allah can end a person's life. “We believe in miracles. We die when it is ordained by God. For us, turning off the life support device is like asking someone to commit a murder,”said the patient's sister.
On Tuesday, February 23rd, Justice Hayden tried the case on an emergency basis. He took into account that the woman suffered from Addison's disease, a rare disease of the endocrine system in which the adrenal glands stop producing the required amount of hormones.
Hayden ruled that doctors could disconnect the patient from life support. Hayden noted that doctors have prepared a palliative care plan, and the woman's family will be able to see her. “The goal is not to shorten her life, but to avoid prolonging her dying agony,” he explained.
Earlier it was reported that in the Belgian city of Ghent, three doctors will stand trial on charges of illegal euthanasia. The relatives of the deceased believe that the woman lied to doctors in order to get the right to a lethal injection.
