The family of a Christian woman who was faraway from life support despite their objections is condemning the choice as a violation of her wishes. Her children say her religious convictions and right to life were disregarded by a court order.
Hyacinth McIntosh, 54, was faraway from life support and denied hydration against her wishes and beliefs, her family has said, according to Christian Concern.
A Court of Protection ruling last November authorised McIntosh’s ventilator, feeding and hydration to be withdrawn, resulting in her death on December 25, 2024. Legal documents state that McIntosh had been in a coma since May, when she experienced a heart attack followed by severe brain damage.
McIntosh’s family repeatedly voiced objections to the withdrawal of artificial hydration, pointing to her Christian faith and her stated view on “the sanctity of life,” according to The Telegraph.
Her daughter, Shanika Davis, said the whole experience, including a refusal by clinicians to supply fluids, compounded their grief. “How my mother died was beyond cruelty. There was no dignity or respect, and we refuse to imagine that it was in her ‘best interests’ to die.”
She added, “Our wishes as a family and my mother’s right to life have been trampled on by the hospital and the courts.”
McIntosh was kept alive by artificial ventilation and nasogastric feeding until December 14, when these life-saving methods were removed pursuant to the court order, in accordance with court documents. Despite a last-minute legal challenge, these devices were removed. McIntosh continued to breathe on her own until she died on Christmas Day.Â
McIntosh’s Christian convictions meant she would have desired to remain on life support, leaving the ultimate final result in what they said could be “God’s hands,” said the family.
Doctors and judges “condemned her to a cruel death from dehydration” slightly than revisiting their earlier conclusions, Davis was quoted as saying. She said the family was unable to hunt alternatives, including potential transfer to a distinct medical facility, since the Court of Protection had placed reporting restrictions on the case.
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust carried out the withdrawal of artificial ventilation, feeding, and hydration immediately following the court decision. A spokesman for the trust was quoted as saying that continuing treatment was not in her best interests.
McIntosh’s daughter obtained the support of professor Sam Ahmedzai, a retired palliative care physician who had contributed to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on end-of-life care. In his evidence to the Court of Protection, Ahmedzai called the denial of fluids “cruel, inhuman and degrading.”
He further noted, as quoted by the Telegraph: “There isn’t any justification for withdrawing existing nasogastric hydration and feeding in such a case, even after withdrawal of assisted ventilation. Even if, after extubation, [McIntosh] lives for under a matter of days, then removal of the NG tube could be an unnecessary and unusually cruel, degrading and inhuman thing to do.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which is Christian Concern’s legal arm, said: “This story raises the spectre of how vulnerable patients and families might be treated under any ‘assisted dying’ laws. It’s highly concerning. Good law protects life, doesn’t blur boundaries and may never promote death.”
McIntosh’s relatives are pressing to have “dehydration” listed as her immediate reason for death, but they’ve been informed it is going to not appear on her death certificate.
