Court defeat for MS sufferer over assisted suicide law
Woman suffering from multiple sclerosis loses appeal to clarify UK law on assisted suicide
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Thursday, 19, Feb 2009 08:15
A woman suffering from multiple sclerosis has lost an appeal to clarify the UK law on assisted suicide.
Debbie Purdy, 45, wants to determine whether her husband Omar Puente will be prosecuted if he helps her travel to a Swiss suicide clinic.
But three court of appeal judges ruled that Ms Purdy, diagnosed with MS 14 years ago, did not have the legal right to seek such clarification.
"Notwithstanding our sympathy for the dreadful predicament in which Ms Purdy and Mr Puente find themselves, this appeal must be dismissed," they said
Ms Purdy is a member of Dignitas, a Swiss-based clinic that allows people with terminal illnesses to commit suicide. No family members from the 101 UK citizens who have used the clinic have been prosecuted upon their return to Britain.
But Ms Purdy said she had "no choice" but to continue her legal battle.
"I haven't got a choice to stop because every day Omar has to choose if he will support me in this fight," she told Sky News. "And if I want to live, I must carry on with it."