Description

WARNING: This case covers disturbing content in relation to end of life and may not be appropriate for all audiences.

Hunter and New England Area Health Service v A [2009] NSWSC 761

The common law recognises two relevant but in some cases conflicting interests:

1. A competent adult’s right of autonomy or self–determination: the right to control his or her own body; and
2. The interest of the State in protecting and preserving the lives and health of its citizens.

The case we are looking at in this episode is an example of what happens when a person refuses medical treatment, even when it may result in their own death.