Judge praises 'courageous' woman

LONDON, England -- A paralysed woman has been described as courageous and determined by the High Court judge who granted her the right to die.

The 43-year-old woman, paralysed from the neck down, was granted permission from the court on Friday after doctors refused for ethical reasons to switch off her ventilator.

Delivering her landmark ruling, Judge Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss said: "I would like to add how impressed I am with her as a person, with the great courage, strength of will and determination she has shown in the last year, with her sense of humour, and her understanding of the dilemma she has posed to the hospital.

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"She is clearly a splendid person and it is tragic that someone of her ability has been struck down so cruelly," she said via video link to the High Court in London from Birmingham where she was on other court business.

"I hope she will forgive me for saying, diffidently, that if she did reconsider her decision, she would have a lot to offer the community at large."

Miss B was born in Jamaica and moved to Britain at the age of eight.

Dame Elizabeth said of her background: "She had an unhappy childhood but triumphed over many difficulties to achieve a degree in social science and social work, and a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration."

She became the head of the social work department at a London hospital. Although she never married and had no children, she had a close circle of friends and was devoted to a godchild, said Dame Elizabeth.

Miss B was paralysed when a blood vessel ruptured in her neck a year ago. She was unable to breathe unaided.

Doctors had warned her in August 1999 that a malformation of blood vessels in her spinal column could result in severe disability, prompting her to write a will expressly stating her wish not to receive treatment if she was left suffering from a life-threatening condition, permanent mental impairment or unconsciousness.

Miss B's barrister, Richard Stein, said outside the High Court on Friday he thought the ruling was important because it would force doctors to abide by a patient's choice. "She's delighted with the outcome. She feels very much that she's been vindicated in her feeling that the hospital should've complied with her wishes many months ago.

"Now that it's been confirmed that she is able to make her own treatment decision, she'll be making her decisions about how to proceed in due course.

"I think it's a very important judgment. The position is the law has always been clear that a competent adult, a person who's able to come to a proper decision is entitled to decide not to continue with treatment. This hospital just weren't willing to comply with those wishes. And the importance of this case is that it confirms that they must do so."