It should worry us when an English judge calls an ill baby ‘semi-vegetative’

Could there possibly be a harder decision to make than whether a young baby should live or die? Yesterday, that was the role which the Supreme Court assumed when it decided to back Mr Justice Hayden in his judgment that Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool should be allowed to switch off the life support machine of young Alfie Evans. Alfie is just 22 months old. He has spent most of his life in a coma. Very sadly, the decision of the Supreme Court will lead, inevitably, to his death.

This is an incredibly complex case – ethically, clinically and legally. I’m not a clinician or a scientist; nor am I coming at this from a religious perspective. I am, however, a language expert and there are aspects of this case that are concerning to me, linguistically.

There were two words that stood out in Mr Justice Hayden’s judgment: the idea that Alfie is in a ‘semi-vegetative state’.