Suicide, Treatment Refusal and the Right to Life

I have been asked to present some case studies on how the law responds to the suicidal patient. There have been some important developments in the law in the past 12 months or so which, though not quite changing the complexion of the law, certainly add much needed detail as to how the law will judge the care given, or not given to the suicidal patient. Some of these developments come from human rights law, others from the law relating to mental capacity. Not all of the cases concern the suicidal patient, but all of them lay down general principles that are applicable to a whole host of vulnerable patients. What I want to do is to present an overview of these recent developments and encourage you to reflect on how these issues might have required a different response to the situation of Kerri Woolterton.