British Court Denies Woman's Assisted Suicide Bid

London, England - A terminally ill woman immobilized by a neurological disease lost a British High Court battle Thursday to protect her husband from prosecution if he helps her die.

The three judges who rejected Diane Pretty's plea were ``desperately sorry for her and her husband and family,'' said Lord Justice Simon Tuckey. Pretty, 42, is paralyzed from the neck down by motor neuron disease and is confined to a wheelchair. The judges acknowledged that her condition will worsen and that death was not far off.

Helping someone commit suicide is a crime in Britain punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Pretty had challenged a refusal by the Director of Public Prosecutions to rule out taking action against her husband if he helps her die, and had asked the court to rule that, by denying her the chance to supposedly ``die with dignity,'' the law infringed her human rights.

Tuckey said the public prosecutor had no power to declare he would not prosecute Brian Pretty, so ``we cannot give Mrs. Pretty the remedy for which she has asked.''

Explaining the judges' decision, he said: ``We are not being asked to approve physician-assisted suicide in carefully defined circumstances with carefully defined safeguards. We are being asked to allow a family member to help a loved one die, in circumstances of which we know nothing, in a way of which we know nothing, and with no continuing scrutiny by any outside person.''

Pro-lifers in the UK have welcomed today's ruling by the high court in London that no-one has a right to procure their own death. A coalition of pro-life groups, including SPUC, had intervened in the case.

Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: "We welcome the decision, which has been made for the right reasons. It is fallacious and dangerous to argue that, because human rights law establishes a right to life, people also have a right to decide how and when they are to die."

"Sufferers from motor neurone disease and other degenerative conditions should feel reassured and encouraged by this outcome. They should feel under no pressure from anyone - least of all the state - to ask for euthanasia or assisted suicide. Like all of us, they have a right to exist, and every effort should be made to relieve their pain and discomfort."

The judge made clear he and his colleagues understood Pretty's desperate situation.

The ruling began with a description of her illness, which they said was now advanced. She has to be fed with a tube and has no decipherable speech, although her intellect and ability to make decisions remains unimpaired.

Tuckey said Pretty faced death imminently from weakening of the breathing muscles, leading to respiratory failure and pneumonia.

Outside court, Brian Pretty said his wife ``is disappointed and very angry because she feels that she has got a right to do what she feels is right.''

Pretty's lawyers said they would submit their case to the House of Lords, Britain's final court of appeal.

Pro Life - Infonet
19. oktober 2001