On 4 September, Lord James Mackay introduced an amendment based on a proposal drafted in the aftermath of the Charlie Gard case. The purpose of this proposal is to spare parents from clashes between families and doctors.
The amendment proposed by Lord Mackay, is part of a bill currently debated in Parliament on mental capacity and “seeks to prevent the escalation of treatment-related conflicts in the courts”. Hospitals would be required to offer “medical mediation” to families to “resolve disputes before going to court” and provide access to “clinical ethics committees” to “advise doctors and families on life and death decisions”.
Nevertheless, although this amendment is a major step towards anticipated reform, in its current form it will only apply to adult patients and will not allow treatment to be sought elsewhere.
“I am delighted to have proposed this amendment to prevent cases from unnecessarily reaching the courts”, announced Lord Mackay. “This is a measured and long-awaited strategy, which I hope will be the first step towards the materialisation of Charlie’s law”.
For further reading:
Charlie Gard: 10 key points of the case deciphered
British Supreme Court calls for an end to Baby Charlie’s life support treatment
Charlie Gard: What rights do parents have in terms of respect for the life of their child?
United Kingdom: A new Charlie Gard case?
Alfie Evans: judges decide to switch off life support system
Alfie – permanent ban on transfer to Italy – parents want to take Alfie home
Alfie Evans: bioethicists demand a revision of the law
BioEdge, Xavier Symons (15/09/2018)