The appellants appealed a decision of the Consent and Capacity Board directing the respondent physician to withdraw life-sustaining treatment from their mother, who was in a persistent vegetative state.
The Board had found that the mother's Power of Attorney for Personal Care contained a clear prior capable wish to refuse artificial or heroic measures.
The Superior Court of Justice allowed the appeal, finding that the Board's decision was unreasonable.
The Court held that compelling extrinsic evidence, including the mother's devout Orthodox Jewish beliefs and the drafting lawyer's general practice, rebutted the presumption that she knew and approved of the end-of-life clause in the document.
