§ Andrew SelousTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in how many cases the courts have(a) considered and (b) agreed to the withdrawal of nutrition and hydration for patients in a persistent vegetative state since the Bland judgment. [34095]
§ Yvette CooperI have been asked to reply.
The courts have, since the Bland judgment in 1993, considered 29 such cases in respect of people in a permanent vegetative state, and on each occasion have issued a declaration authorising the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration.