Australian court allows quadriplegic right to dieAn Australian court on Friday ruled that a quadriplegic quadriplegic /quad·ri·ple·gic/ (-ple´jik) 1. of, pertaining to, or characterized by quadriplegia. 2. an individual with quadriplegia. man who has begged to be allowed to die has the right to order his carers to stop feeding him. In a landmark decision A landmark decision is the outcome of a legal case (often thus referred to as a landmark case) that establishes a precedent that either substantially changes the interpretation of the law or that simply establishes new case law on a particular issue. , Western Australia's chief judge Wayne Martin said the Brightwater Care Group would not be criminally responsible if it stopped feeding and hydrating severely paralysed Christian Rossiter, 49. Martin said Rossiter had the right to direct his own treatment, and that food and water "should not be administered against his wishes". The ruling sets a legal precedent in Australia, where assisting someone to take their own life is a crime punishable by life in prison in some states. The judge found Rossiter was not terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. or dying and had the mental capacity to make an informed decision about stopping his treatment. Martin ordered that medical staff fully explain to Rossiter the consequences of ceasing nutrition and hydration hydration /hy·dra·tion/ (hi-dra´shun) the absorption of or combination with water. hy·dra·tion n. 1. The addition of water to a chemical molecule without hydrolysis. 2. through a tube into his stomach. In a statement read to the court Friday, the former stockbroker and outdoor adventurer said he was unable to undertake the most basic of human functions. "I am unable to blow my nose," he said. "I am unable to wipe the tears from my eyes." He made a public plea last week to be allowed to end his suffering, which he described as a "living hell". "I'm Christian Rossiter and I'd like to die. I am a prisoner in my own body. I can't move," he told reporters. "I have no fear of death -- just pain. I only fear pain." Rossiter developed spastic spastic /spas·tic/ (spas´tik) 1. of the nature of or characterized by spasms. 2. hypertonic, so that the muscles are stiff and movements awkward. spas·tic adj. 1. quadriplegia quadriplegia: see paraplegia. after separate accidents in which he fell 30 metres (100 feet) from a building and was then hit by a car whilst riding his bicycle. "I believe (quadriplegics) should be allowed to exercise their freedom of choice but my choice is to die," he said. "I can't wipe my own bottom. I'm fed suppositories suppositories, n.pl solid capsules made of materials that melt at body temperature and are used to deliver medicinal substances into the rectum. every three days to induce me to open my bowels and it's a very painful process that can take six to eight hours," he added. Brightwater, the group that runs the nursing home where Rossiter lives, sought a court ruling on whether ceasing to feed him would place it in breach of its duty of care, and said it held no position on his wish to die. 
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