In October 2010, Hassan Rasouli was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, and underwent surgery to remove it at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.\u00a0He subsequently developed bacterial meningitis which caused brain damage.<\/p>\n
Within a few days, Mr. Rasouli lost consciousness. He was given a tracheostomy, a ventilator, and a feeding tube.\u00a0 Mr. Rasouli was deemed to be in a persistent vegetative state in January of 2011. Continued use of the ventilator was deemed futile.<\/p>\n
Doctors told Mr. Rasouli\u2019s wife, Parichehr Salasel, that he would be taken off the ventilator unless she obtained a court injunction.\u00a0By presenting evidence that locked-in syndrome is often misdiagnosed as PVS \u2013 a condition from which many recover \u2013 Ms. Salasel was able to get the injunction.<\/p>\n
The doctors appealed, arguing that Ontario\u2019s Consent and Capacity Board did not have power to rule in the case.\u00a0 The Appeals Court held that the CCB had authority, and the Charter did not permit a doctor to withdraw care against the patient\u2019s wishes.\u00a0 The doctors\u2019 appeal was dismissed, so they brought their case to the Supreme Court of Canada.<\/p>\n
Hassan Rasouli\u2019s condition was upgraded to a \u201cminimally conscious state\u201d (MCS) in January 2012.\u00a0 The doctors maintained that they should have the right to disconnect the respirator even if Mr. Rasouli was in an MCS, because their patient could not communicate.<\/p>\n
Mr. Rasouli\u2019s case was argued before the Supreme Court of Canada in December of 2012.\u00a0 The Supreme Court ruled<\/a> that that withdrawal of life support constituted \u201ctreatment,\u201d to which Mr. Rasouli\u2019s wife needed to consent.<\/p>\n At the beginning of 2014, Mr. Rasouli was moved to the West Park Healthcare Centre<\/a>, where he remains today.<\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"