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The case of Desmond &
Maria Watson, a victory and a love story
Editor’s note.
This appeared Tuesday on the blog of Alex Schadenberg,
executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention
Coalition, at
http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2011/03/case-of-desmond-maria-watson-victory.html
Recently the case
of baby Joseph created an incredible amount of media
interest. At the same time, similar cases are being
heard in Canada, one of which is the case of Desmond
Watson.
Toronto Star
reporter Robert Cribb reported on March 18 and March
20th on the case of Desmond & Maria Watson.
The case
concerning Desmond Watson who has been living at the
Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital with failing health
for the past 14 months is another case concerning who
has the right to decide when to withhold or withdraw
end-of-life treatment or care.
Maria Watson, who
has been married to Desmond for 69 years, was told by
the doctor recently that they were going to remove the
ventilator from Desmond. Maria is the legal Power of
Attorney for Desmond, refused to consent to the decision
of the doctors. At the time, Desmond had pneumonia and
was ventilator dependent, but since then his pneumonia
has cleared up and he is once again breathing on his
own.
The case was sent
to the Consent and Capacity board whereby Mark Handelman
represented Maria Watson in defense of their desire to
continue receiving medical treatment for Desmond, based
on his previously expressed beliefs.
What is different
about this case is that Maria Watson won the case. As
stated in the Toronto Star article the Consent and
Capacity board - "ordered doctors at Oakville Trafalgar
Memorial Hospital to act against their own wishes and
provide him with aggressive, life-saving treatment if
his health falls into crisis."
What is important
about this case is that Desmond Watson had legally
appointed his wife Maria to be his Power of Attorney.
There was no dispute on that matter. The dispute related
to whether the physicians had the right to impose a
treatment plan - that consisted of no treatment - on a
patient against the wishes and consent of a legally
appointed Power of Attorney.
The fact that the
Consent and Capacity board sided with Maria Watson is a
victory for people, who have significant medical
conditions, when their medical condition is unlikely to
improve, but who want to receive medical treatment. This
case is also important for people who have cognitive
disabilities.
This case was also
a victory for people who live their life based on a
faith perspective. The Toronto Star article on March 20
stated:
"Desmond’s wife
and two of his daughters ... insisting the devout
Catholic (Desmond) would have wanted to be given every
chance at life despite any suffering he may be
enduring."
The Toronto Star
article quoted Maria Watson as stating:
“I’ve been
carrying this thing for so long,” said a jubilant Maria,
who plans to celebrate her 70th wedding anniversary with
her husband in June. “(Hospital medical staff) gave me
hell, lots of sleepless nights, but it’s over. I did
it.”
Maria Watson's
lawyer, Mark Handelman, stated to the Toronto Star.
“This was a case
that basically pitted a person’s values and beliefs
against his objective medical condition,” he said.
“There’s a substantial obligation to the patient who, at
that point, is among the most vulnerable people in our
society. How can you be more vulnerable than to be dying
and have other people adjudicating your rights?”
The Halton
Healthcare Service issued a written statement saying it:
“respects the
direction given by the Consent and Capacity Board” and
will “continue to work with the patient’s substitute
decision-maker for consent to treatment as the need
arises.”
It doesn't matter
whether you or I would choose to receive medical
treatment in Desmond's condition. What matters is
whether Desmond would have wanted the treatment withheld
or withdrawn? The fact is that Maria clearly explained
the beliefs, based on 69 years of marriage to Desmond,
and she defended that he would want treatment to
continue and she wanted to fulfill his wishes by
continuing to care for Desmond.
As much as this
story is a great victory for people wishing to receive
medical treatment, the issues are not settled in law.
There is currently another case in the courts - the
Rasouli case - whereby the doctors for Hassan Rasouli
are arguing that it is not necessary for them to receive
consent to remove the ventilator from Rasouli because
the doctors deem it to be not providing any further
benefit.
Once again, the
problem with these cases is that every case creates new
precedents and there are many bad precedent decisions in
Canada. The Rasouli case is currently being appealed to
the Superior Court.
The article in the
Toronto Star concluded by stating:
On Sunday, Maria
said medical staff at Oakville Trafalgar told her
Desmond could soon be moved out of the intensive care
unit after showing steady improvement in recent weeks
including a clearing of his pneumonia and removal of his
ventilator.
“His face is like
it used to be. It’s amazing,” says Maria. “It’s a
miracle.”
Part Two
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