The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship has lamented the coming into force this month of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. While Dignity in Dying, the pro-euthanasia lobby group, described it as "a great day for patient choice!", the LCF said it was a sad day for many elderly and vulnerable people whose lives could be put at risk.
The LCF said that the Act makes it far too simple to make a "Living will", otherwise known as an advanced decision. Advanced decisions are written in anticipation of a time when a person cannot make their own decisions, so that after becoming incapacitated, wishes are already known.
Living wills also allow people to refuse medical treatment in advance, including life sustaining treatment. This can include the refusal of water and food by tubes, which is regarded as medical treatment.
Without the provision of such treatment some patients will die, not of their illness, but of thirst. For this reason, many believe the provision of nutrition and hydration should be seen not as medical treatment, but as basic care which cannot be withdrawn.
The Act has been referred to as "Back-door Euthanasia". Elspeth Chowdharay of 'Best of the Alert' pressure group has said : "People sign living wills thinking they will die a little bit earlier.......But what this law does not say, and most people do not know, is that they will be condemning themselves to die terribly of thirst."
As well as Living Wills, the Act introduces Lasting Powers of Attorney, or LPAs. These are legal documents which allow others, such as a friend or relative, to make decisions on a patient's behalf.
This individual is then referred to as an 'attorney'. The attorney can make decisions not only about financial affairs, but about personal welfare, including what medical treatment the patient should receive.
The LCF explained that it is possible to place restrictions or conditions on the authority the attorney can have, and this can include the authority to give or refuse consent to life sustaining treatments.
Dr Philip Howard, a London gastroenterology hospital consultant, was quoted by The Daily Mail as saying: "The law will lead to real difficulties when a family member has the power to order that someone should die while at the same time they are a beneficiary of the will... Law governing wills and property makes it very difficult to influence someone to make a will in your favour - the Mental Capacity Act has nothing like that sort of safeguard."
