UK High Court Gives Consent to Euthanize Severely Disabled 12-Year-Old Girl, Joni Eareckson Tada Calls Decision 'Terrifying'
- Updated Nov 10, 2014
Critics are worried that a high court decision to allow a British mother to euthanize her 12-year-old disabled daughter may set a dangerous precedent.
In August, Charlotte Fitzmaurice Wise was given legal authority to euthanize her daughter, Nancy, who was born blind and suffers from hydrocephalus, meningitis and septicaemia. Nancy needed round-the-clock care.
Charlotte told judges that pain killers were not helping Nancy. It is the first time the British courts have allowed for a child who was not suffering a fatal disease or on life support to be euthanized.
I miss my beautiful girl every day and although I know it was the right thing to do, I will never forgive myself," Fitzmaurice Wise said.
Disability activist Joni Eareckson Tada, who is a quadriplegic, author and founder of Joni and Friends International Disability Center, said that the decision will "open the door" for other guardians to euthanize their loved ones based on something as subjective as "quality of life."
"The judge's statement sets a precedent that quality of life now becomes a measuring rod as to whether or not a child with a disability should live or die. That's horrific. That's terrifying," Eareckson Tada said in an interview with The Christian Post.
Publication date: November 10, 2014
