The Right to Unilaterally Refuse Life Support: Oral Arguments in the Rasouli Case

Ontario has one of the most effective mechanisms in the world for resolving medical futility disputes: the Consent and Capacity Board.  But there are material limitations to the CCB.  It only gives providers consent to their proposed treatment plan when that treatment plan is consistent with the patient's preferences and/or best interests.  When the evidence suggests that patient really would have wanted treatment (for example because he is a Shia Muslim) that is not recommended by her providers, the CCB is of no help to providers.  



Accordingly, some Ontario providers would like another dispute resolution mechanism (at least for these intractable futility disputes with irreplaceable surrogates).  The Ontario Court of Justice rejected that argument in March, holding that the CCB is the exclusive forum for resolving these disputes.  This morning, the Court of Appeal for Ontario heard oral arguments on the appeal of that March ruling.