Re T (Adult: Refusal of Medical Treatment)

Abstract

The English Court of Appeal, Civil Division, denied an appeal on behalf of a critically ill, unconscious woman who had been given a blood transfusion upon court order after having previously refused to consent to one. The woman's mother, a Jehovah's Witness, had apparently influenced the decision of the daughter, who was not a Jehovah's Witness. The Court of Appeal held that, though every adult has the right and capacity to refuse medical treatment, this presumption of capacity can be overridden upon a determination that factors such as confusion, unconsciousness, fatigue, or shock affect the patient's decision. When a patient refuses treatment, doctors must consider the importance of the treatment, and whether the patient's capacity was reduced. Doctors must also consider whether the patient's decision was made independently. Doctors who are faced with a patient's refusal of treatment in a life-threatening situation such as this should utilize the court system for assistance.