For libertarians or anybody who supports an individual’s right to end his or her own suffering, what’s happening in the United Kingdom is an important and useful reminder of why some conservatives are wary about allowing this right. There is a slippery slope here: An individual’s right to decide can transform into a government’s insistence on making that call for those who aren’t in a position to assert themselves. Western governments use their authority to override parents’ decision-making in many areas, from schooling to vaccinations. But what’s supposed to be a mechanism to shield children (who have little agency) from parental abuse becomes a method for paternalistic intervention.

After all, what Gard’s parents are doing is essentially the opposite of what should trigger government intervention. They are not abusing the child. They are doing what parents are supposed to do: everything they can to save him. And they should have the liberty to do so.