Robert Sharp summarises 2 judgments for Family Law Week that consider the role of parental views in 2 withdrawal of treatment applications before the High Court Family Division in August 2025 brought by hospital trusts seeking permission to withdraw treatment from seriously ill babies.
Background
Although the 2 cases sat at the extremes of parental engagement or non-engagement, the same legal principle applies: in a ‘best interests’ decision, the parent's/parents' opinion may be taken into account but are not determinative.
Decisions
The Family Court judges who took the decisions that permitted withdrawal of treatment (Mrs Justice Theis in Z, and Mr Justice McKendrick in J) both cited decisions of Mr Justice MacDonald in which he reviewed and summarised the legal framework -taken from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust v Fixsler & Ors [2021] EWHC 1426 (Fam).
- The views of parents do not carry weight in and of themselves. They are relevant only to the extent that they illuminate the feelings and ‘best interests’ of the child in question.
- The court may adjourn if there is a strong prospect that the parents’ views may become known, and that they will genuinely illuminate the best interests assessment. This will be relevant in cases where the judge considers the decision to be finely balanced. However, in cases where the other evidence already points to a particular outcome, delaying judgment to allow parental participation is unlikely to be in the best interests of the child.
View the summary of the judgment in The Trust v Z [2025] EWHC 2100 (Fam) on Family Law Week.
View the summary of the judgment in An NHS Foundation Trust -v- J [2025] EWHC 2247 (Fam)