Jacqueline Laing is mistaken in her belief that the Mental Capacity Bill will pave the way for euthanasia, nor does it invite wholesale abuse and homicide by omission (see [2004] Gazette, 25 November, 12). The Law Society is clear that the purpose of the Bill is to empower people to take individual decisions in the event of future incapacity, if they wish to do so, and there is nothing in this Bill which would permit any form of euthanasia.


The introduction of advance decisions will allow adults with capacity to refuse specific medical treatments if they loose the ability to do so in the future, thus enabling the exercise of a right of choice and control over one's own life and body.


No one can ask for and be given unlawful procedures, such as assistance in suicide. The law relating to murder, manslaughter or assisting suicide is unchanged.


Under a Lasting Power of Attorney, decisions about the carrying out or continuation of life-sustaining treatment can only be made if the donor has included a specific and clear statement to this effect in the document.


The Court of Protection will decide the extent of powers it wishes to confer on a deputy and will specify the decisions or actions the deputy is authorised to take. However, the Law Society believes it is essential that all serious treatment decisions, especially involving cases of people in a persistent vegetative state and non-therapeutic sterilisation, must continue to be referred to the court for a declaration.



Janet Paraskeva, Chief Executive, Law Society, London