Mother asks judge to end daughter’s life-support care

A PENSIONER has asked a judge to give doctors permission to stop providing life-support treatment to her severely ill middle-aged daughter.

The pensioner, who is in her 70s, said her daughter had suffered from Huntington’s disease, which damages nerve cells in the brain, for more than 20 years and showed no awareness.

She said medical evidence indicated that her daughter, who is in her 50s and has grown-up children, is in the end stages of life. She said relatives and doctors agreed that treatment should stop.

The mother has begun litigation on her daughter’s behalf in the Court of Protection. After a written application and a hearing, Mr Justice Peter Jackson has allowed the pensioner to instruct lawyers representing her daughter.

Allowing a relation to be a “litigation friend” in such circumstances is rare. But solicitors assured Mr Justice Jackson that the pensioner had no “interest contrary” to her daughter’s.

A ruling is expected on June 22.