Legal permission will no longer be required to end care for patients in a permanent vegetative state, the Supreme Court has ruled.
It will now be easier to withdraw food and liquid to allow such patients to die.
When families and doctors are in agreement, they will be able to remove feeding tubes without applying to the Court of Protection.
Lady Black ruled there was no violation under the Human Rights Convention.
The Court of Protection has ruled on cases for 25 years but the process can take months or years, and it costs health authorities about £50,000 in legal fees to lodge an appeal.
