Options For Dying With Dignity Case Study

Citation: Gardner; re BWV [2003] VSC 173

Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of Victoria – Morris J
Procedural History:
Victorian Parliament – Passed the Medical Treatment Act (1988)
Victorian Parliament – Amended the Medical Treatment Act (1990)
Social Development Committee of the parliament – published the “Inquiry into Options for Dying with Dignity” (1987)
Legislative Council – Passed the Medical Treatment Bill (1988)
Legislative Council – debated and revised the Medical Treatment Bill (1989)
Facts: The patient suffers with a fatal form of dementia, she has not appeared conscious in three years. The patient receives fluid and nutrition via a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, which keeps her alive and would she die within one to four weeks
The report “Inquiry into the Options for Dying with Dignity” , discusses the meaning of palliative care for the patient and the family. The report suggests that when death becomes inevitable an approach that emphasises relief, rather than the prolonging of life, palliative care should be taken away . The explanation by Dr Margaret Somerville in her book “The Ethical Canary, Science, Society And The Human Spirit” , conveys the difficulty of people accepting the patient’s decision. Also, the confusion between withholding water and food for a patient whose life depends on it or a terminally ill patient is very different and she believes that many people have mistakenly equated the two
This would benefit many families and provide a precedent for future context, surrounding similar issues. The legal definition of the terms could be referred to and therefore provide a rigid law to settle similar cases. If amended the Act would provide legal classification of this area. If amended the Act would be very significant in Australia, but it ought to be amended for credibility and accountability once more recent evidence and interpretation surrounding these issues (which are more prevalent with increasing technology and medicine) is taken into