from our blog: living with dying |
Debbie Purdy wins 'significant legal victory' on assisted suicide
Multiple sclerosis patient succeeds in arguing that it is a breach of her human rights not to know whether her husband will be prosecuted if he accompanies her to Swiss clinic Dignitas
Great Britain, by Afua Hirsch, The Guardian, Thursday, July 30 2009, 6:10 pm
Debbie Purdy has won a significant legal victory in the House of Lords which lawyers are describing as a turning point for the law on assisted suicide.
Purdy, 46, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who has primary progressive multiple sclerosis, succeeded in arguing that it is a breach of her human rights not to know whether her husband, Cuban jazz violinist Omar Puente, will be prosecuted if he accompanies her to Swiss clinic Dignitas where she wishes to die if her condition worsens.
The decision – the last ever by the law lords before they recommence work as justices of the new supreme court in October – went further than expected in Purdy's favour, lawyers say.
Ordering the director of public prosecutions to issue a policy setting out when those in Puente's position can expect to face prosecution, the court ruled that the current lack of clarity is a violation of the right to a private and family life.
"It's a complete victory," said Saimo Chahal, partner at Bindmans who represented Purdy. "I always knew we would have to go to the House of Lords to get a judgment that was reasoned and considered."
Purdy's two previous attempts to request a policy from prosecutors failed after the courts said the current situation was lawful.
Despite at least 115 British people already known to have travelled abroad for an assisted suicide, with an average of two a month since 2002 and despite scores of police investigations, not a single family member has been prosecuted.
A report last month from campaign group Dignity in Dying, which has supported Purdy's case, warned that a further 34 Britons were in the final stages of travelling abroad for the same purpose.
Earlier this month renowned British conductor Sir Edward Downes, 85, and his wife Joan, 74, joined those who have ended their lives at Dignitas. Their death, watched by their children Caractacus, 41, and Boudicca, 39, is still the subject of a police investigation.
In a further development last year, DPP Keir Starmer published a decision not to prosecute the relatives of 23-year-old rugby player Daniel James even though there was enough evidence, because it was not in the public interest.
Campaigners welcome today's victory for Purdy as a recognition of rights for those who wish to die in a manner of their choosing, and say that what is ultimately needed is a change in the law.
"Parliament urgently needs to acknowledge the fact that people are travelling overseas to die – and this trend shows no sign of stopping", said Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying.
"It's time the 1961 Suicide Act was brought up to date to reflect what's really going on in UK courts".
Parliament has so far resisted attempts to change the law, with the latest proposals defeated in the House of Lords by 194 votes to 141 this month. But campaigners say today's ruling will place unprecedented pressure on parliament to act.
"This case means the DPP will have to publish the factors for and against prosecuting those who assist suicide abroad, but it would only be retrospective," Wootton said. "But it sends a clear message that the law can distinguish between different types of behaviour, and saying that compassionate assistance is not a crime. Surely parliament will need to react to that."
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