<p>This was probably the first time a judge has been asked to rule on whether life-support should be withdrawn from a person who is not in a persistent vegetative state but is minimally conscious, the Daily Telegraph reported.<br /><br />Justice Baker, who heard the argument during a Court of Protection hearing in London, described the case as unique. He said it raised "very important issues of principle".<br />Relatives wanted life-support system to be withdrawn. They said the 52-year-old woman would not want to live "a life dependent on others".<br /><br />But the lawyer appointed by the court to represent the woman opposed the relatives' application for the system to be withdrawn. He said she is "otherwise clinically stable".<br />The local health authority responsible for her care also opposed the relatives' application and said the woman's life was "not without positive elements".<br /><br />The woman-referred to only as "M"-suffered profound brain damage in 2003 after being diagnosed with viral encephalitis.<br /><br />She was in coma for several weeks and thought to be in a persistent vegetative state. Doctors later concluded that she was in a "minimally-conscious" state - just above a persistent vegetative state.</p>
<p>This was probably the first time a judge has been asked to rule on whether life-support should be withdrawn from a person who is not in a persistent vegetative state but is minimally conscious, the Daily Telegraph reported.<br /><br />Justice Baker, who heard the argument during a Court of Protection hearing in London, described the case as unique. He said it raised "very important issues of principle".<br />Relatives wanted life-support system to be withdrawn. They said the 52-year-old woman would not want to live "a life dependent on others".<br /><br />But the lawyer appointed by the court to represent the woman opposed the relatives' application for the system to be withdrawn. He said she is "otherwise clinically stable".<br />The local health authority responsible for her care also opposed the relatives' application and said the woman's life was "not without positive elements".<br /><br />The woman-referred to only as "M"-suffered profound brain damage in 2003 after being diagnosed with viral encephalitis.<br /><br />She was in coma for several weeks and thought to be in a persistent vegetative state. Doctors later concluded that she was in a "minimally-conscious" state - just above a persistent vegetative state.</p>