A paternalistic approach to capacity: who ‘controls’ when someone may take their own life?

This article compares reported cases of anorexia sufferers who are assessed as lacking capacity (under the test in s 2(1) Mental Capacity Act 2005) to make decisions about their care and treatment; and the experience of some suicidal patients who have reportedly been told that they have capacity to take their own lives. The article considers whether the test for capacity influences the decisions made by care providers to recommend and/or provide treatment, and whether the requirement for a diagnostic test results in paternalistic capacity determinations

The full article will be published in the June issue of Family Law. 

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Read the full article here.