A Judge of The Court of Protection has ruled that doctors can stop providing life support to a woman who has been in coma for a month after contracting Coronavirus during pregnancy.
Judge Mr Justice Hayden described this situation as a case of "almost-unspeakable sadness" when he was informed by the specialist that the chances of recovery were "zero". On Tuesday, he heard the case at an urgent virtual hearing at the Court of Protection, where issues relating to people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves are analysed.
The woman who is currently in an induced coma, is in her early 30s and was admitted to the hospital after contracting Covid-19 at home while she was 32 weeks pregnant. She has been in coma for a month after giving birth to a son via caesarean section only to find that her pancreas had stopped functioning and one lung had “died”.
Medical staff at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust had reportedly asked the judge to rule that ending life-support treatment would be in the woman's best interests. The woman also suffered from Addison's disease - a rare disorder of glands that produce essential hormones, the judge was told.
"Her chances of making any meaningful recovery with the Covid are slim," a specialist overseeing her care said, adding: "The feeling of the whole team is that she has reached the point where it is, in essence, zero." The judge was also notified that CT scans showed "essentially no normal lung function".
After being shown evidence by the doctors that they were no longer preserving the woman's life, but prolonging her death, the judge was of the opinion that the woman must be taken off life support.
But the woman's family (husband and sister) demanded more time and wished to continue the treatment. They said Muslims believed that only God could end life. The woman's sister told the judge: "We believe in miracles. When God has written our death, that is when we will die. To unplug the machine, this is for us like asking someone to kill us."
"This family is seeking a miracle," he said, describing the woman's situation as "a tragedy of almost-unimaginable decision". "The objective is not to shorten her life," he added. "[But] to avoid the prolongation of her death."
Mr Justice Hayden said doctors were providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness and the woman's family would be able to see her. The woman also has a three year old daughter.
