A judge in England has ruled that a young woman who has coronavirus as well as an underlying health condition and remains in a medically induced coma a month after giving birth should be allowed to die.
According to Mr Justice Hayden, sitting at an urgently convened, virtual hearing of the Court of Protection, doctors at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust can lawfully end the woman's life-support treatment since her chances of recovery are "zero".
Her family, who are Muslim, strongly object to the ruling, saying that they believe only God may end life.
"This family is seeking a miracle," the judge said, adding that the woman's situation is "a tragedy of almost-unspeakable sadness".
The patient, who is in her thirties, suffers from Addison's disease, a rare disorder when adrenal glands do not produce enough of certain hormones. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalised a month ago when she was 32 weeks' pregnant. Her son was delivered through a C-section. She also has a three-year-old daughter.
Doctors told the judge that the woman's CT scans showed "essentially no normal lung function". In addition to this, her pancreas had ceased to function.
"The objective is not to shorten her life...but to avoid the prolongation of her death," the judge said, adding that a palliative care plan has been prepared for the patient and her family would be able to see her.