About Health – Woman loses assisted suicide case

About Health –

Debbie Purdy is concerned her husband could be prosecuted.

A woman with multiple sclerosis has lost her Appeal Court case to clarify the law on assisted suicide.

Debbie Purdy, 45, from Bradford, is considering going to a Swiss clinic to end her life, but fears her husband may be charged on his return to the UK.

She wanted clarification of where her husband, Omar Puente would stand legally if he helped her in any way.

Ms Purdy, was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in 1995 and can no longer walk.

In England and Wales, aiding or abetting a suicide is a crime punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.

There have so far been no prosecutions of relatives of 101 UK citizens who have gone to the Dignitas clinic.

High Court judges ruled in October that a code of practice issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) along with the general safeguards of administrative law were adequate and satisfied human rights laws.

Ms Purdy said she was “disappointed and shocked” at their decision.

The Appeal Court judges had been asked to rule if further official guidance was necessary.

But they said: “Notwithstanding our sympathy for the dreadful predicament in which Mrs Purdy and Mr Puente find themselves, this appeal must be dismissed.”

And they said the DPP could not adopt a “case-specific policy in the kind of certain terms sought by Ms Purdy”.

Prosecution

Ms Purdy has always said she would still consider travelling to Switzerland to take a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by Dignitas doctors.

She wants her husband at her side, but wants to know if he could face prosecution on his return to Britain for helping her by buying train tickets, or by accompanying her abroad.

As a result, she says she may have to make the trip earlier than she really wanted.

It is not the first time the issue has been raised in the courts.

In 2001 Diane Pretty, who had motor neurone disease, failed to get immunity from prosecution for her husband if he helped her to die in the UK.

Several attempts to legalise suicide in Britain have also been rejected.

About Health – Woman loses assisted suicide case

About Health –

Debbie Purdy is concerned her husband could be prosecuted

A woman with multiple sclerosis has lost her High Court case to clarify the law on assisted suicide.

Debbie Purdy, 45, from Bradford, is considering going to a Swiss clinic to end her life, but fears her husband may be charged on his return to the UK.

She wanted a guarantee that her husband, Omar Puente, would not be prosecuted.

There have so far been no prosecutions of relatives of 101 UK citizens who have gone to the Dignitas clinic.

Ms Purdy was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in March 1995. She can no longer walk and is losing strength in her upper body.

She has suggested that at some point she may travel to Switzerland to take a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by doctors at Dignitas.

Ms Purdy wants her husband at her side but fears he may be prosecuted on his return to Britain where aiding or abetting a suicide is a crime punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.

A judicial review was granted to Ms Purdy on the grounds that the DPP had acted illegally by not providing guidance on how decisions on prosecution are reached.

But two High Court judges have ruled that her human rights had not been infringed.

During the hearing earlier this month, she argued the lack of clarification was a breach of her human rights.

Lord Justice Scott Baker said: “We cannot leave this case without expressing great sympathy for Ms Purdy, her husband and others in a similar position who wish to know in advance whether they will face prosecution for doing what many would regard as something that the law should permit, namely to help a loved one go abroad to end their suffering when they are unable to do it on their own.

“This would involve a change in the law. The offence of assisted suicide is very widely drawn to cover all manner of different circumstances; only Parliament can change it.”

It is not the first time the issue has been raised in the courts

In 2001 Diane Petty, who had motor neurone disease, failed to get immunity from prosecution for he husband if he helped her to die in the UK.

Several attempts to legalise suicide in Britain have also been rejected.