Should minors be allowed to refuse life-saving medical treatment?
A teenage girl who has refused a life-saving heart transplant insisted yesterday: ‘I know what’s best for me.’ Hannah has a hole in her heart, a side-effect of treatment for leukaemia. But with the loving support of her parents, Andrew and Kirsty, she has made the momentous decision that she wants to spend the rest of her time at her home in Marden, near Hereford. ‘I’m not a normal 13-year-old,’ Hannah says without prompting from her mother. ‘I’m a deep thinker. I’ve had to be, with my illness. It’s hard, at 13, to know I’m going to die, but I also know what’s best for me. ‘My parents have always encouraged me to make my own decisions. When it comes to my heart, I’d much rather do things my way than have other people decide for me. ‘It wasn’t an easy choice, but being in hospital reminds me of bad times. I’ve spent long enough in hospital. I just want to be at home – even if that means my life might be shorter.’ Hannah speaks with a maturity way beyond her years, but should any 13-year
