Dignity for mother and unborn baby

The panel of judges said it was in the best interest of the unborn child to authorise the withdrawal of life support in what was a "tragic and unfortunate case". Photo / Thinkstock

Irish court rules on brain-dead woman.

A Dublin court has ruled in a landmark decision that a clinically brain-dead pregnant woman's life support machine be switched off.

Dublin's High Court said keeping the young mother alive against the wishes of her family would deprive her of dignity in death and subject her father, partner and two young children to "unimaginable distress" in a "futile exercise".

Doctors with the best interests of both the mother and unborn fetus do not believe there is any medical or ethical reason for continuing with the "grotesque" process, the court was told.

The woman had suffered a catastrophic internal injury resulting from a blood clot and was transferred to a specialist unit in Dublin last month. Doctors were unable to revive her.

She was transferred back to the original hospital where she is now.

Her family had sought to switch the equipment off, but doctors refused over fears they might be prosecuted under Ireland's restrictive abortion laws, which give the 18-week-old fetus the same constitutional rights as the mother.

Under the Irish constitution, the fetus is regarded as a citizen.

The panel of judges said it was in the best interest of the unborn child to authorise the withdrawal of life support in what was a "tragic and unfortunate case".

President of the High Court Justice Nicholas Kearns, Justice Marie Baker and Justice Caroline Costello agreed it had little chance of survival. "It will not be possible for the pregnancy to progress much further or to a point where any form of live birth will be possible," they said.

Medical evidence showed the unborn fetus was facing into a "perfect storm" and had no realistic prospect of emerging alive.

The woman's father took the case against Ireland's Health Service Executive after agreeing with the woman's partner the life support should be switched off.

"His daughter's two children are aware that their mother is sick and believe she is being looked after by the nurses 'until the angels appear'," the court ruling stated.

-Independent