THE General Medical Council's appeal over the rights of terminally-ill patients to decide their care is being decided today.
Leslie Burke, 45, who has a degenerative brain condition, won a court ruling last year to stop doctors withdrawing food and drink when his illness reaches the final stages.
He feared GMC rules might allow his wishes to be over-ruled.
But the ruling by Mr Justice Munby - which was hailed as a landmark decision for such patients - could put doctors in an impossibly difficult position, the GMC told the Appeal Court in May.
Philip Havers QC, for the doctors' organisation, said the ruling would oblige a doctor to provide treatment which the patient demanded, even if the doctor's view was that the treatment would not provide any benefit or would be futile.
He said a patient did not have the right to demand any particular form of treatment.
Mr Burke, of Lancaster, had feared reaching the point where, unable to communicate, he would be denied food and water and would take two to three weeks to die.
The Appeal Court was giving its judgement today.
