Difficult Conversations: Withdrawal from Life Support
There is no doubt that receiving life support is “treatment” as defined by Ontario’s Health Care Consent Act, (the “HCCA”) and it requires consent. What about the withdrawal of life support? Is the withdrawal of life support “treatment”, a medical procedure necessitating consent? In the case, Cuthbertson v. Rasouli, the Supreme Court of Canada, ruled in a split 5-2 decision that the withdrawal of life support is “treatment” for purposes of the HCCA and therefore, consent is r