WINNIPEG, Dec 15 (LSN) – In a unanimous, precedent-setting decision, the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled last week that physicians are permitted to refuse to resuscitate critically ill patients, even against the wishes of next of kin. The case involved a boy of nearly one year who was judged by doctors to be in a “persistent vegetative state,” allegedly due to violent shaking. Doctors recommended a do-not-resuscitate order be placed on the child's chart, on the grounds resuscitation would only prolong his suffering (even though they also claimed the child had no sensation). Winnipeg Child and Family Services, who had obtained custody of the child, agreed
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