Eileen's brother died from the same disease two years ago

Eileen Doran, 31, who is from an Irish travelling family, has an incurable brain disease.

Doctors at the Walton Centre want the courts to decide if it is reasonable to withhold antibiotics if Eileen gets another infection.

The centre said she does not respond, but her parents believe she is aware.

Doctors said Ms Doran, who has been at the centre since May, has a rare brain disease which means she is unconscious and does not respond to anyone or anything in her environment.

How could one determine one's life to come to an end? Felix Lynn, Eileen Doran's cousin

In a statement, the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery said: "The doctors and nurses feel it is inhumane and unjustifiable to prolong Eileen's suffering further as she has an incurable brain disease from which death is the only outcome in the coming weeks or months."

Ms Doran's brother died from the same disease two years ago and her sister was killed in a car crash last year.

Felix Lynn, her cousin, said: "They [the family] believe that nobody has the right to play God and given the upset that they have already experienced, how could one determine one's life to come to an end?"

Ms Doran's family consulted a solicitor on Wednesday afternoon and are hoping she will win an interim court order which would prevent the Walton Centre from changing her treatment in any way.

The lawyer will also ask for an independent neurologist to examine her.