The Legal Definition of Death and the Right to Life

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the legal definition of death and its implications for the legal protection of the right to life. Within the UK, the law adopts brain-stem death (BSD) as the point at which life ends. Some commentators argue for the introduction of a legal concept of higher-brain death. This would have profound implications for the treatment of patients in persistent vegetative state (PVS) who do not meet the criteria for BSD. Does the protection of the right to life still attach to what might be regarded as an empty shell of a body and, if so, why does the law permit the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (commonly artificial hydration and nutrition (ANH)) from a living patient who is unable to consent to this?