The girl had a genetic metabolic disease that was going to kill her in childhood, and she had been in the hospital for about a year already.
This does not mean that a hospital should unilaterally be allowed to decide to "pull the plug", but that's what you get when the State owns your healthcare. You're not paying. They are, so they call the shots.
At the same time, 10 to 1 that this family was being extremely unreasonable. They would see the machine pumping her lungs and think "she's alive" even in the possible case of brain death. But again, ethically speaking, that's their choice to make IF they were paying the bills.
TL;DR - Socialized medicine plus 7th century cult worshippers equals UK shitshow.
This was a fucked up situation from all angles.
The girl had a genetic metabolic disease that was going to kill her in childhood, and she had been in the hospital for about a year already.
This does not mean that a hospital should unilaterally be allowed to decide to "pull the plug", but that's what you get when the State owns your healthcare. You're not paying. They are, so they call the shots.
At the same time, 10 to 1 that this family was being extremely unreasonable. They would see the machine pumping her lungs and think "she's alive" even in the possible case of brain death. But again, ethically speaking, that's their choice to make IF they were paying the bills.
TL;DR - Socialized medicine plus 7th century cult worshippers equals UK shitshow.