Published 20 February 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b742
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b742

News

Debbie Purdy fails to win protection for her husband to help her die

Clare Dyer

1 BMJ

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A British woman with multiple sclerosis has lost her Appeal Court bid to ensure that her husband will not face prosecution if he helps her end her life by assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Debbie Purdy launched the appeal after the high court ruled that it could not force the director of public prosecutions to issue a policy statement explaining the circumstances in which relatives and friends who helped loved ones to die would or would not be prosecuted for aiding or abetting a suicide.

Ms Purdy, 45, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, argued that without assurances that her husband, Omar Puente, would escape prosecution, she would be forced to end her own life while she was still capable of killing herself. She contended that being denied the right to die at the time of her choosing breached her right to respect for private and family life under article 8 of the . . . [Full text of this article]


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