MS sufferer wins clarification on assisted suicide
MS sufferer wins clarification on assisted suicide
Also In The News
|
By inthenews. |  |
Thursday, 30, Jul 2009 04:48
Multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy has won a landmark appeal at the House of Lords calling for a clarification of the law on assisted suicide.
Ms Purdy is currently considering going to Switzerland to end her life but fears her husband will face prosecution when he returns to the UK.
The 46-year-old MS sufferer is hoping to seek assurance Omar Puente will not be placed on trial if she does indeed decide to take her own life.
At present, the maximum penalty for aiding and abetting suicide is 14 years in jail, although no one has been prosecuted under such circumstances.
At the House of Lords on Thursday, the law lords backed Ms Purdy's calls for the current law to be clarified.
Ms Purdy was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in March 1995. The 46-year-old cannot walk and is said to be losing the strength in her upper body.
In recent cases involving assisted suicide, police have gathered evidence of potentially criminal assistance by relatives but as yet prosecutors have chosen not to pursue the cases.
Speaking outside court, Ms Purdy said: "It's fantastic, I feel like I have my life back."
Following today's ruling, the director of public prosecution must now state under what circumstances those who help friends and family members in assisted suicide can be prosecuted.
The lords also ruled Ms Purdy's human rights have been breached by the current rules in the UK.