Leonard Arthur
Encyclopedia
Dr Leonard John Henry Arthur MB, BChir
, MRCP
, D Obst RCOG
(20 April 1926 – 25 December 1983) was a British
doctor tried in 1981 for the attempted murder
of John Pearson, a newborn child with Down's Syndrome
. He was acquitted
.
An important test case, the trial brought to public attention the dilemmas for doctors in treating severely handicapped newborn babies. Dr Arthur felt strongly that doctors should always act in the best interests of the baby, with the full support of the parents. In some cases this meant not prolonging the baby’s life, in order to prevent future suffering. Opinion polls taken at the time of the trial indicated huge public support for Dr Arthur’s approach . The outcome of the trial confirmed that ‘nursing care only’ is an acceptable form of treatment, and that administering a drug to relieve suffering is not an offence, even if it accelerates death. Ambiguities remain, however, about what is legally permissible in the treatment of handicapped babies: if a doctor or anyone else intentionally kills a child, however disadvantaged, this would still be considered to be murder.
. In 1954 Arthur married Janet Stella Brain, daughter of Walter Russell Brain, a former president of the Royal College of Physicians. Together they had one son and five daughters.
Dr Arthur was described by a colleague as a “a kind, gentle, compassionate man who cared deeply for his patients and their families. A great supporter of the weak or poor, he was motivated by firm Christian beliefs”. When he was suspended from work after his first court appearance, a petition with some 19,000 signatures, including three Derbyshire MPs, called for his reinstatement. A former patient wrote in 2001: “He was the very best doctor around. I know. I was one of his patients. And after all these years I still miss him.”
Dr Arthur was subsequently charged with murder, but the possibility that the baby’s death was caused by his other defects caused the original charge to be reduced, during the trial, to attempted murder.
, Director of Public Prosecutions
, described the decision to prosecute Arthur as the "most difficult" of his career. Arthur was tried on 5 November 1981 in Leicester
Crown Court
and defended by George Carman
. Like Dr. John Bodkin Adams
, Arthur did not give evidence in his own trial. His defense did call other distinguished expert witness
es though, such as Sir Douglas Black
, then President of the Royal College of Physicians
, who said:
Carman argued in his closing speech:
The jury
deliberated for 2 hours and found Arthur not guilty
.
During the trial the Daily Mail
published an opinion article about euthanasia
by Malcolm Muggeridge
, and was tried for contempt of court
. Although the newspaper was aware the trial was going on, their defense was that the article was a discussion of public affairs under section 5 of the newly-enacted Contempt of Court Act 1981. The House of Lords held that the article did create a substantial risk of serious prejudice to the trial but, as it was written in good faith to support a pro-life by-election
candidate, and made no mention of the Arthur case, the risk of prejudice was merely incidental.
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
, MRCP
MRCP
MRCP may be:* Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, in medical imaging, a technique to visualise the biliary tract and pancreatic ducts....
, D Obst RCOG
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is a professional association based in the UK. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is, pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexual and reproductive health...
(20 April 1926 – 25 December 1983) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
doctor tried in 1981 for the attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
of John Pearson, a newborn child with Down's Syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
. He was acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
.
An important test case, the trial brought to public attention the dilemmas for doctors in treating severely handicapped newborn babies. Dr Arthur felt strongly that doctors should always act in the best interests of the baby, with the full support of the parents. In some cases this meant not prolonging the baby’s life, in order to prevent future suffering. Opinion polls taken at the time of the trial indicated huge public support for Dr Arthur’s approach . The outcome of the trial confirmed that ‘nursing care only’ is an acceptable form of treatment, and that administering a drug to relieve suffering is not an offence, even if it accelerates death. Ambiguities remain, however, about what is legally permissible in the treatment of handicapped babies: if a doctor or anyone else intentionally kills a child, however disadvantaged, this would still be considered to be murder.
Family
The descendant of Sir George Arthur, Arthur's father was a civil servant in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In 1954 Arthur married Janet Stella Brain, daughter of Walter Russell Brain, a former president of the Royal College of Physicians. Together they had one son and five daughters.
Career
After attending Aldenham School in Elstree, Hertfordshire, Arthur received an MB and BCh at Cambridge University. He did National Service on the front line in Korea, as a medical officer in support of the Durham Light Infantry. Post-registration posts followed in Birmingham, London, Newcastle and Plymouth, and he obtained the MRCP in 1957. He worked as a senior paediatric registrar in Ibadan, Nigeria and then in Bristol. In 1965 he became a consultant paediatrician in Derby. He served on the Council of the British Paediatric Association, was secretary of the Paediatric Section of the Royal Society of Medicine and chaired the Trent Regional Advisory Sub-committee in Paediatrics, sitting also on the Regional Medical Committee. He also chaired a Derbyshire County Council Advisory Committee on children at risk of non-accidental injury. He was elected FRCP shortly before he died in 1983.Dr Arthur was described by a colleague as a “a kind, gentle, compassionate man who cared deeply for his patients and their families. A great supporter of the weak or poor, he was motivated by firm Christian beliefs”. When he was suspended from work after his first court appearance, a petition with some 19,000 signatures, including three Derbyshire MPs, called for his reinstatement. A former patient wrote in 2001: “He was the very best doctor around. I know. I was one of his patients. And after all these years I still miss him.”
John Pearson
John Pearson was born on 28 June, 1980. He had Down’s syndrome and was later found to have had additional abnormalities of his lung, heart and brain. Shortly after the birth, Dr Arthur talked to John Pearson’s parents and then wrote in the case notes, “Parents do not wish the baby to survive. Nursing care only.” He prescribed DF118 (an opiate based painkiller), to be given ‘as required’ in doses of 5 mg at four hourly intervals. The baby died three days later, on 1 July 1980, the cause of death being identified as bronchopneumonia as a result of Down’s syndrome.Dr Arthur was subsequently charged with murder, but the possibility that the baby’s death was caused by his other defects caused the original charge to be reduced, during the trial, to attempted murder.
Trial
Sir Thomas HetheringtonThomas Hetherington
Major Sir Thomas Chalmers Hetherington, KCB, CBE, QC, TD , better known as Sir Tony Hetherington, was a British barrister. He was Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales from 1977 to 1987, and was the first head of the Crown Prosecution Service for the year after it was founded in...
, Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
, described the decision to prosecute Arthur as the "most difficult" of his career. Arthur was tried on 5 November 1981 in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
and defended by George Carman
George Carman
George Alfred Carman, QC , was a leading English barrister of the 1980s and 1990s. He first came to the attention of the general public in 1979, when he successfully defended the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe after he was charged with conspiracy to murder...
. Like Dr. John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, Arthur did not give evidence in his own trial. His defense did call other distinguished expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
es though, such as Sir Douglas Black
Douglas Black
Sir Douglas Andrew Kilgour Black, was a physician in the United Kingdom, famous as the author of the Black Report.He was born in Shetland in 1913, and studied medicine at the Bute Medical School, University of St Andrews, graduating with MB ChB in 1933.He conducted research into water loss and...
, then President of the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
, who said:
"I say that it is ethical, in the case of a child suffering from Down’s, and with a parental wish that it should not survive, to terminate life providing other considerations are taken into account such as the status and ability of the parents to cope in a way that the child could otherwise have had a happy life."
Carman argued in his closing speech:
"He could, like Pontius PilatePontius PilatePontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
, have washed his hands of the matter. He did not, because good doctors do not turn away. Are we to condemn him as a criminal because he helped two people [the mother and child] at the time of their greatest need? Are we to condemn a doctor because he cared?"
The jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
deliberated for 2 hours and found Arthur not guilty
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
.
During the trial the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
published an opinion article about euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
by Malcolm Muggeridge
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
, and was tried for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
. Although the newspaper was aware the trial was going on, their defense was that the article was a discussion of public affairs under section 5 of the newly-enacted Contempt of Court Act 1981. The House of Lords held that the article did create a substantial risk of serious prejudice to the trial but, as it was written in good faith to support a pro-life by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
candidate, and made no mention of the Arthur case, the risk of prejudice was merely incidental.
Legal legacy
The case established that it was acceptable practice to prescribe ‘nursing care only’. It also confirmed the principle that “the administration of a drug by a doctor when it is necessary to relieve pain is a proper medical practice even when the doctor knows that the drugs will themselves cause the patient’s death”.Criticism
M.J. Gunn and J.C. Smith are critical of the judge's summing up. Arthur had admitted to the police that the effect of the drug given, apart from being a sedative, was also to stop the child seeking sustenance and that this had been intended by him. A witness, Professor Campbell, concurred that this was a justifiable practice. The judge made no mention of this potential homicidal intent during the summing up however, something which has been criticised, amongst others, by Gerald Wright, QC.See also
- Dr David MoorDavid MoorDr. David Moor was a British general practitioner who was prosecuted in 1999 for the euthanasia of a patient. He was found not guilty, but has admitted in a press interview to having helped up to 300 people to die...
- British doctor acquitted in 1999 of murdering a terminally ill patient. Moor admitted in a press interview to having killed 300 patients over 30 years