Quebec hospital may remove child’s breathing tube despite parents’ objection: court

MONTREAL — A Quebec Superior Court judge has ruled that a Montreal children’s hospital can permanently remove a breathing tube from a five-year-old who has been in a coma since June.

The Sainte-Justine hospital sued the child’s parents because they are refusing to consent to the procedure unless the hospital plans to reintubate the child if things go wrong.

The hospital says doctors believe the child can breathe on his own and that continuing intubation will cause more harm. 

However, the hospital says that doctors say the child should be given end-of-life care in the event that he stops being able to breathe without support.