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| MS woman wins right-to-die fight | MS woman wins right-to-die fight |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A woman with multiple sclerosis has made legal history by winning her battle to have the law on assisted suicide clarified. | |
| Debbie Purdy, 46, from Bradford, is considering going to Switzerland to end her life. | Debbie Purdy, 46, from Bradford, is considering going to Switzerland to end her life. |
| She had gone to the House of Lords seeking an assurance her husband, Omar Puente, would not be prosecuted. | She had gone to the House of Lords seeking an assurance her husband, Omar Puente, would not be prosecuted. |
| The Law Lords are now likely to ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to set out when prosecutions would happen. | The Law Lords are now likely to ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to set out when prosecutions would happen. |
| No one has been prosecuted for assisting someone's death, although the law says they could potentially face 14 years in prison. | No one has been prosecuted for assisting someone's death, although the law says they could potentially face 14 years in prison. |
| But the Law Lords said the law was not as clear and precise as it should be. | |
| They have told the DPP he must prepare an "offence-specific policy" identifying facts and circumstances which he would take into account when deciding whether or not to prosecute in cases like Debbie Purdy's. | |
| However the Law Lords, in their last judgement prior to the establishment of a UK Supreme Court, said it was not their role to dictate what the law should be but to clarify it. | |
| The DPP has previously said he does not want to have his hands tied, and needs to have the right to decide prosecutions on a case-by-case basis. | The DPP has previously said he does not want to have his hands tied, and needs to have the right to decide prosecutions on a case-by-case basis. |
| Ms Purdy also won on a second point - the Law Lords said she did have the right to choose how she died, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. | |
| She had previously lost challenges in the High Court and Court of Appeal. The Lords ruling was her last chance of success in the UK legal system. | She had previously lost challenges in the High Court and Court of Appeal. The Lords ruling was her last chance of success in the UK legal system. |
| No action | No action |
| Ms Purdy was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in March 1995. She can no longer walk and is gradually losing strength in her upper body. | Ms Purdy was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in March 1995. She can no longer walk and is gradually 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 the controversial Dignitas organisation. | She has suggested that at some point she may travel to Switzerland to take a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by doctors at the controversial Dignitas organisation. |
| More than 100 UK citizens have so far ended their lives at Dignitas, and no-one who has accompanied them has ever been prosecuted on their return to the UK. | More than 100 UK citizens have so far ended their lives at Dignitas, and no-one who has accompanied them has ever been prosecuted on their return to the UK. |
| However, the reasons why legal action has not been taken have never been made clear. | However, the reasons why legal action has not been taken have never been made clear. |
| Ms Purdy, who wants her husband to be at her side when she dies, wants to be confident he will not be arrested upon his return. | Ms Purdy, who wants her husband to be at her side when she dies, wants to be confident he will not be arrested upon his return. |
| She has previously said that if the law was not clarified she would have to end her life earlier than she wanted to. | She has previously said that if the law was not clarified she would have to end her life earlier than she wanted to. |
| But if the risk of prosecution was sufficiently low, she would be able to wait until the last moment before travelling to Switzerland with her husband's assistance. | But if the risk of prosecution was sufficiently low, she would be able to wait until the last moment before travelling to Switzerland with her husband's assistance. |
| 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. | 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. | Several attempts to legalise suicide in Britain have also been rejected. |