Assisted suicide campaigner Debbie Purdy dies aged 51

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/29/assisted-suicide-campaigner-debbie-purdy-dies

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Debbie Purdy, who won a landmark ruling to clarify the law on assisted suicide, has died at the age of 51.

The right-to-die campaigner from Bradford had lived with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) for almost 20 years.

Purdy, who had been in the city’s Marie Curie hospice for a year and had been refusing food, died on 23 December. Her husband, Omar Puente, confirmed the death of his wife in a statement, describing her as “a much loved wife, sister, aunt and friend”, the BBC reported.

“We would like to thank the Marie Curie hospice in Bradford for the care the staff gave her, which allowed her last year to be as peaceful and dignified as she wished,” he added.

In her final interview with BBC Look North, Purdy said the painful realities of her condition meant her life was “unacceptable”.

She said: “It’s painful and it’s uncomfortable and it’s frightening and it’s not how I want to live. If somebody could find a cure for MS I would be the first person in line. It’s not a matter of wanting to end my life, it’s a matter of not wanting my life to be this.”

In 2009, Purdy won a legal victory in the House of Lords which lawyers described as a turning point for the law on assisted suicide.

She succeeded in arguing that it was a breach of her human rights not to know whether Puente, a Cuban jazz violinist, would be prosecuted if he accompanied her to the Swiss clinic Dignitas if her condition worsened.

The decision went further than expected in Purdy’s favour, lawyers said. Ordering the director of public prosecutions to issue a policy setting out when those in Puente’s position could expect to face prosecution, the court ruled that the current lack of clarity was a violation of the right to a private and family life.

That led Keir Starmer – the then director – to publish guidelines in February 2010 setting out what was taken into consideration when weighing up a prosecution. He said a range of factors should be taken into account, including the motivations of the person assisting and the victim’s ability to reach a clear and informed decision about their suicide.

However, it still remains an offence to encourage or assist a suicide or a suicide attempt in England and Wales.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph on Sunday, about 80 doctors, writers, actors, clerics and politicians said an “overwhelming majority” of the public now supported a change in the law and that parliament must allow time to finally resolve the issue.

The signatories, who included Lord Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, and Ian McEwan, the author and winner of the Booker prize, argued that Britain was “closer than ever” to a historic change after progress in the House of Lords on a bill tabled by Lord Falconer, the former lord chancellor.

Refusing to allow a debate of the issue in parliament would be “heartless”, they said, adding that one Briton a fortnight was now travelling to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland – and that for every one who did, 10 more terminally ill people were taking their lives in the UK.