Medical opinion was unanimous that English youth Anthony Bland was in
a persistent vegetative state with no hope of improvement or recovery.
His family agreed that withdrawal of life support was appropriate, bu
t Anthony's case went to the House of Lords for clarification of the l
egal position before any action was taken by his doctors. The court ap
plied the Bolam test - that a regimen is legally acceptable if support
ed by a body of competent medical opinion, a principle specifically re
jected by the High Court of Australia in Rogers v. Whitaker.(1)