Ruling due in British assisted suicide case
30 July 2009
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British multiple sclerosis sufferer who hopes to die one day by assisted suicide will learn Thursday whether she can die with her husband by her side.
Debbie Purdy has said she wants to die next to her husband, Omar Puente.
Debbie Purdy, 46, has been waging a lengthy legal battle to clarify Britain's ambiguous laws on assisted suicide.
Her battle reaches its end Thursday afternoon when Britain's highest court, the Law Lords, issues a ruling on her appeal.
Purdy's condition is getting worse. She has primary progressive multiple sclerosis, which means her symptoms deteriorate over time.
She has said she wants the option to travel abroad to have an assisted death should her condition one day become unbearable.
Britain's current law makes it illegal to help someone commit suicide, and anyone found guilty faces up to 14 years in prison. But it doesn't make clear at what point that person would face prosecution -- whether that includes sitting with that person on the plane to the clinic, opening the door of the car to the airport, or even helping them arrange the trip. What's your view? When is assisted suicide acceptable?
Purdy has said she wants to die next to her husband, Omar Puente. If she gets no clarity on the law, Purdy has said she will choose to die while her condition is still bearable, because that way she can make the trip unaided.source: cnn.com