Court ruling will clarify end-of-life decisions

December 19, 2012

At the heart of the battle is the legal and ethical question of whether doctors can overrule a family’s wishes in determining when to end treatment. As devout Muslims, Rasouli’s family opposes treatment that would hasten death. Rasouli left no living will, and that complicates matters, says Mark Handelman, a lawyer in Toronto: “The first law is the previously expressed wish of the patient.” (New Scientist)