There was a case in Britain last year of a woman who successfully sued a hospital that saved her life after making her undergo a compulsory caesarean section, after she had expressly said that she did not want the operation.
The doctors had only been able to do this because they had convinced a judge that she must be temporarily insane not to want the C-section. When she sued, the court found that this had been a dangerous definition of insanity. Just because someone has principles that mean she rejects conventional medical opinion, said the court, that doesn't make them a crackpot.
It does make them extremely ungrateful to the professionals who saved her life, but the courts, in Britain at least, don't deal in measuring gratitude yet.
In the state of Massachusetts, where The Practice (World, 8.30pm) is set, the courts don't deal with it either, but Bobby and the team are presented with a similar case when one of Rebecca's friends is advised to have a C-section, because if she doesn't the child might die. She refuses, and Bobby is hired by her husband, to try and get a judge to put the interests of the child first.
Terence Stamp the star of The Hit (World, 1.25am) was on the BBC World Service last week answering questions from listeners from all over the globe. No-one asked him anything about this film, instead he talked of Fellini, cooking for Princess Diana, his time in India and dropped tantalising hints about the new Star Wars prequel, in which he has a starring role.
But at least he didn't bring up The Hit when one questioner asked him to name the films he was most embarrassed by.
