A severely disabled British man who wants a doctor to be able to lawfully end his “intolerable” life can proceed with his court case, a judge ruled on Monday. The High Court in London ruled that Tony Nicklinson, who is paralysed from the neck down but whose mental faculties are unaffected, can continue his legal fight to ensure that a doctor who kills him would not face a murder charge. The Ministry of Justice wanted the case to be struck out, arguing that only parliament can change the law on murder.
Nicklinson, who suffers from locked-in syndrome following a stroke in 2005, has described his life as “dull, miserable, demeaning, undignified and intolerable”. The 57-year-old, from Wiltshire in south-west England, is forced to communicate by controlling a computer with eye movements. His paralysis is so severe that killing him would go beyond assisted suicide.
Nicklinson’s wife Jane said there was “huge” public support for his campaign for a doctor to be able to lawfully end his life. “The only way to relieve Tony’s suffering will be to kill him. There is absolutely nothing else that can be done for him,” she said before the ruling. Judge William Charles struck out only one part of Nicklinson’s claim on Monday, allowing most of the case to proceed.
The judge said Nicklinson did not have a realistic chance of persuading a court to declare that “existing domestic law and practice fail adequately to regulate the practice of active euthanasia”.
