BRITAIN: New extended powers of attorney allowing people acting on behalf of someone who becomes incapacitated to block life-saving treatment are not "a step to euthanasia", British health secretary Patricia Hewitt has said.
The new "lasting power of attorney" was unveiled yesterday as part of a consultation paper prepared by the department of constitutional affairs on the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act, due to come into force next year.
Under the Act people would be able to nominate up to four individuals to act as "attorneys" on their behalf in matters concerning their "property and affairs" and/or their "personal welfare". Persons giving their representatives power over their healthcare would then be asked to answer a further question confirming if they wish to give them power "to refuse life-sustaining treatment" on their behalf. This is followed by a section where applicants can specify "restrictions and conditions" on their attorneys.
Matthew O'Gorman, of the campaign group Life, said patients needed to know what treatment could be refused and that if they refused treatment as defined in the Act, they would starve and dehydrate themselves to death.