MS sufferer who wants husband to help her die wins landmark ruling

A multiple sclerosis sufferer who wants her husband to aid her in ending her life has won a landmark review of the law on assisted suicide.

Two judges gave permission yesterday for Debbie Purdy to bring a High Court challenge forcing the Director of Public Prosecutions to clarify under what circumstances people can be prosecuted for helping a loved one to die.

Lord Justice Latham, sitting with Mr Justice Nelson at the High Court, said that "without wishing to give Ms Purdy any optimism", she did have an arguable case that should go to a full hearing.

Ms Purdy, who was diagnosed in 1994 with primary progressive MS, believes she may have as little as a year left before she is unable to perform day-to-day tasks unaided. She wants her husband, Omar Puente, to accompany her to a Swiss clinic to end her life once her suffering has become unbearable.

However, she fears he would face prosecution and up to 14 years in jail if he returned to Britain and was found guilty of assisting, aiding or abetting her suicide. She claims the refusal of Sir Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, to issue guidance on whether, and in what circumstances, people might be prosecuted in such cases means she will have to make her final journey much sooner than she would like, so that she can travel alone and guarantee that Mr Puente will not face trial.

Ms Purdy, 45, of Bradford, was in court yesterday to hear the judges order a judicial review. Her lawyers had argued that Sir Ken's decision breached Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to respect for personal and family life.

She is the latest in a succession of terminally ill people who have sought to clarify the law. In 2001, Diane Pretty, a motor neurone disease sufferer, failed to secure immunity from prosecution for her husband if he helped her to die in Britain.

Ms Purdy, a former journalist and marketing executive, led an active life before MS struck and still water-skis despite her condition. She has no desire to end her life prematurely and plans "to live to the full and for ever if I can". She is even planning a parachute jump.

But she says she cannot bear the thought of her husband, a Cuban musician, being prosecuted if he accompanies her abroad. By then, she said, her illness would be at the stage where she is unable to complete such tasks as gathering medical documents, buying train tickets or even pushing her wheelchair.

Ms Purdy said: "I am delighted to have won this ruling. I am not being overly dramatic when I say we are talking about saving my life. I am in an impossible situation. I do not want to die and I want to live for as long I possibly can, until the last possible moment before my illness becomes unbearable. But my condition means the day will come when I am wheelchair-bound and unable to do things that would enable me to make the journey on my own.

"I love my husband and I will not put him in a situation where he could end up in prison. The law as it stands means I have to make that journey on my own and I may not have much more than a year before I am unable to. I will have to make this journey before I should. It is time for the judiciary to confront this issue and change the law so that people like me do not have to die without our loved ones beside us."

Ms Purdy is a member of Dignitas, which runs a clinic in Zurich where terminally ill people take lethal doses of barbiturates prescribed by doctors. Ninety-two Britons have ended their lives at the centre. In at least eight cases, their relatives were questioned by British police about their involvement in the deaths. Despite investigations lasting several months and one arrest, no one was prosecuted.

Sarah Wooton, of the Dignity in Dying group, which is backing Ms Purdy's case, said: "If the DPP issues a policy on the law, Debbie may be able to live longer. Of course, the decision to travel abroad is far from ideal. People who are terminally ill and mentally competent should have the option of requesting a medically assisted death in the comfort of their own country, surrounded by the people they love."

Last night, the Crown Prosecution Service said it was beyond Sir Ken's remit to grant immunity from prosecution and that position was unchanged by the ruling. The judicial review will be heard in October.

Euthanasia in other countries

*Switzerland: Since 1941, it has been legal to hasten death by assisting someone who is terminally ill or severely mentally ill but competent enough to opt for suicide. Only Switzerland lets foreigners use its non-profit clinics. Doctors can issue a lethal dose of drugs once they are satisfied of a patient's condition. Police must be informed.

*Belgium: A 2002 law permits euthanasia. The lethal drugs can be administered by injection or a prescribed overdose and the patient must be a Belgian resident. The law requires two doctors to be involved, and a psychologist where the competence of the patient is in question.

*Netherlands: Voluntary euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide has been permitted since 1984, although it was not made law until 2002. Like Belgium, any decision must be made by two doctors and a psychologist where necessary.

*Oregon: The only US state where assisted suicide is legal. A patient with an illness that will kill them within six months can request lethal drugs from a doctor. The request must be confirmed by two witnesses, one of whom cannot be related or known to the patient. Only when the patient has waited a further 15 days and reconfirmed the request can the lethal dose be given.