Gloucestershire CCG v AB [2014] EWCOP 49, [2014] MHLO 126
"All parties are now agreed that AB's life is futile, in the sense of that word used by Lord Goff in the Bland case. ... AB has no awareness. He merely exists. There is no prospect of recovery. This court accepts the fundamental importance of the sanctity of life, but, as Butler-Sloss P noted in the passage cited above, that is not an absolute principle and does not impose an obligation to provide treatment where life is futile. ... I unhesitatingly conclude that ... it would be in his best interests for artificial nutrition and hydration to be withdrawn, provided this is carried out in an appropriate fashion by nursing staff trained in the provision of palliative care. In his final report, Professor Wade makes a number of recommendations as to the management of the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration and subsequent treatment ... and I endorse those recommendations."