Premium
Brain death, murder and the law
Author(s) -
Gerber Paul
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1984.tb108229.x
Subject(s) - appeal , cardiorespiratory arrest , law , criminal law , criminology , political science , psychology , medicine , anesthesia
The withdrawal of all nourishment and hydration from a patient who had suffered severe brain damage as a result of a cardiorespiratory arrest was recently held by a Californian court of appeal not to constitute an unlawful killing. The possible implications of this decision, both at common law and under the various criminal codes in Australia, are considered.