Woman allowed to die before she gets 'poor and ugly'

The woman had previously refused to take cancer medication because she said it made her fat. Photo / Getty

A 50-year-old mother of three who has devoted her life to money, men and her looks must be allowed to die by refusing life-saving hospital treatment, a judge ruled yesterday.

The British woman has a right to choose to die because she does not want to become old, poor or ugly, Mr Justice MacDonald said.

His decision means that doctors, who had argued that her refusal to have dialysis for kidney damage was a symptom of mental health problems, must stop their attempts to give her the treatment. As a result, the woman will die within 10 days.

In his ruling in the UK's Court of Protection, the judge said that despite her "impulsive" habits, the woman was fully able to make decisions for herself, and, under the 2005 Mental Capacity Act, she has the legal right to refuse to be treated.

He said that the woman, identified only as C, is an excessive drinker and a "completely indifferent mother" to her three daughters, one of whom is still a teenager.

She has had four marriages and a number of affairs, each of which she ended when the man's money ran out after she spent it recklessly.

The woman became angry when one of her daughters announced she was pregnant because it meant she would be a grandmother and "past her sell-by" date.

She also previously turned down chemotherapy for breast cancer in case it affected her appearance in a bikini, and refused to take medication prescribed for the disease because she said it made her fat.

Mr Justice MacDonald said that, on being diagnosed, the woman said she was "actually kind of glad because the timing was right".

The judge said that the woman's belief that "the prospect of growing old, the fear of living with fewer material possessions and the fear that she has lost, and will not regain, her 'sparkle' outweigh a prognosis that signals continued life will alarm and possibly horrify many".

He added: "I am satisfied that the ongoing discomfort of treatment, the fear of chronic illness and the fear of lifelong treatment and lifelong disability are factors that also weigh heavily in the balance for her. Her decision is certainly one that does not accord with the expectations of many in society.

"Indeed, others in society may consider her decision to be unreasonable, illogical or even immoral within the context of the sanctity accorded to life by society in general. None of this however is evidence of a lack of capacity."

The woman was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. In August this year her business collapsed after the break-up of a relationship, and she lost her income and her home while building up debts.

She was also arrested and charged with a crime over an incident that happened during the break-up.

One of her daughters told the court that her mother did not want to "live in a council flat, be poor or be ugly [which she equates with being old]".

In September, she took a drug overdose but later woke up and went to hospital, where she was diagnosed with acute kidney injuries.

Doctors told the court that if the woman accepted dialysis there was a strong chance she would make a full recovery. The South London-based King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said that her wish to refuse treatment was a symptom of personality disorder and that doctors should be able to enforce treatment by sedating her before dialysis.

But the judge said that the woman was fully able to make her own decisions.
Mr Justice MacDonald said the woman had led a life "characterised by impulsive and self-centred decision-making without guilt or regret".

He went on: "She has... been an entirely reluctant and at times completely indifferent mother to her three caring daughters. Her consumption of alcohol has been excessive and, at times, out of control.

"She is, as all who know her and she herself appears to agree, a person who seeks to live life entirely, and unapologetically on her own terms; that life revolving largely around her looks, men, material possessions and 'living the high life'.

"In particular, it is clear that during her life she has placed a significant premium on youth and beauty and on living a life that, in her words, 'sparkles'.

"With respect to youth and beauty, her daughter states that just as she has never seen herself as a mother, she has never seen herself getting old."

To her, the prospect of growing old, the fear of living with fewer material possessions and the fear that she has lost, and will not regain, her "sparkle" outweigh a prognosis that signals continued life, said Justice MacDonald.

- Daily Mail