Locked-in man loses court battle
Stroke victim 'heartbroken and devastated' after losing
right to die case
A severely paralysed man has lost a court battle to be allowed
to end his life with the help of a doctor.
Tony Nicklinson, 58, has suffered from locked-in syndrome since
having a massive stroke in 2005. He cannot speak and can hardly
move but his mind still works normally. He describes his life as
"pure torture".
He went to court to try to win the right to end his life when he
chooses with a doctor's help. But three judges concluded that
anybody who helped Mr Nicklinson to die could be found guilty of
murder.
The judges said they felt sorry for Mr Nicklinson and that his
situation was "deeply moving and tragic". But they said it would be
against the law to help him end his life. It was Parliament's job
to decide to change the law, not the court's, they explained.
Mr Nicklinson was very active and outgoing before a stroke left
him paralysed from the neck down. He can communicate only by
blinking and slightly moving his head.
"I need help in almost every aspect of my life," he said. "I
cannot scratch if I itch. I cannot pick my nose if it is blocked
and I can only eat if I am fed like a baby - only I won't grow out
of it, unlike a baby."
Mr Nicklinson could live like this for another 20 years or
more.
After the court's decision he said he was devastated and that he
had been sentenced to a life of misery. He plans to appeal against
the verdict.
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Locked-in man loses court battle
A question of life and death: but who should
decide?
The plight of Tony Nicklinson is beyond the imagination of those
of us fortunate enough to be able-bodied and able to
communicate.
A globe-trotting engineer, he suffered a massive stroke seven
years ago. He was left paralysed and able to "speak" only by
nodding or blinking at an alphabet board. He needs help with every
other bodily function or movement. He has come to view it as a
living death, or "pure torture", and a doctor to be able to give
him a lethal injection without risking being charged with
murder.
His case has re-opened a highly charged debate.
At its heart is the age old question: whose life is it
anyway?
Some believe that life is given by God and can only be ended at
a moment determined by its creator. Others want the freedom to
decide when their existence is no longer tolerable.
These decisions are very complex. People experience and tolerate
pain differently, and pain relief works better for some than for
others.
Temperaments are variable. Some people can accept massive
limitations to their normal lifestyle. Others go mad with
frustration and resentment.
No other human can second guess the state of mind or level of
despair.
Opponents of assisted suicide argue that people can feel
suicidal for a short time and can be given support to help them
beat depression. Others suggest that changing the existing law puts
the lives of disabled people in danger from the actions of others,
perhaps relatives, whose motives may be suspect.
Tony Nicklinson's case is made the more difficult by the fact
that he cannot end his life by himself.
Even Dignity in Dying, an organisation that campaigns for the
law on assisted dying to be changed, argues only for those who are
terminally ill with six or fewer months to live.
That would exclude Tony Nicklinson, whose condition is open
ended and not of itself painful, but who wants to die. Whose life
is it anyway?
Click here to see some
arguments for and against assisted suicide.
Lesson ideas and
suggestions
Join the Daily What News Facebook group
Watch us LIVE on Glow TV