The mother of a 28-year-old man left severely brain-damaged is pleading for a British court to reverse a ruling that would let her son die of dehydration, calling the decision an act of unbelievable cruelty. A judge ruled last week that withdrawing the man’s food and water would serve his best interests, according to the United Kingdom-based advocacy group Christian Legal Centre.
The ruling overturned the unanimous position of his family and every clinician treating him, who had agreed in March that his life-sustaining care should continue. She has now launched a petition challenging the court's decison to withdraw her son from nutrition and hyrdration. "The Court has authorized withdrawal of his nutrition and hydration," the Change.org petition reads.
"We strongly oppose what is happening and believe this case raises an urgent question for all of us: What protection should a person receive when they can no longer speak for themselves? This is not about attacking judges or undermining the courts." "It is about asking Parliament and Government whether the law provides enough safeguards when a person's life may depend upon a decision about withdrawing life-sustaining treatment," it adds.
The patient is known only by the initials FHR under a court order that bars his identification, and his mother is identified only by the initials “FN.” The judge, Justice McKendrick, is the fourth judge to preside over the case, according to The Telegraph, which reported that FHR sustained the injury in January 2020 after trying to take his own life by hanging.
The mother kept her son at her own home for nearly five years before the Court of Protection, which rules on cases involving people who lack the mental capacity to decide for themselves, ordered him moved to a care home in 2025 for a temporary assessment, according to