'Victory for common sense'

ALERT is delighted at the decision announced on Thursday 18th October that Diane Pretty has lost her High Court battle over the right to commit suicide with the help of her husband.

Mrs Pretty, who has motor neurone disease, was told by three judges that human rights enshrined in the European Convention allowed her to 'live with dignity' but not to 'die with dignity'.

Mrs Pretty has indicated her intention to appeal to the House of Lords.

Dr Michael Howitt-Wilson for the pressure group Alert said: 'If one has the right not to be killed, to give somebody immunity against prosecution for killing would make a nonsense of that. It is a victory for common sense.

'It shows that the Director of Public Prosecutions was right in the first place.' Dr Howitt-Wilson said he sympathised with Mrs Pretty but said: 'I think she was misguided to think that having her life ended in that way would be better for her than dying naturally.

'There have been awful stories of every sufferer of motor neurone disease dying by choking but that is totally untrue, particularly if you have palliative care, and I think Mrs Pretty should find a doctor who specialises in that to help her.'

(Dr Richard Lamerton of the Human Rights Society has said in a Press Release "We are encouraged to know that Mrs Pretty has now been offered help from her local hospice. They would be able to ensure that palliative care relieved her pain and they were anxious to alleviate her unfounded fear of suffocation.")

Andy Berry said "I am relieved that Lord Justice Tuckey said the provisions of the human rights convention were aimed at 'the protection and preservation of life and dignity of life' and that 'It is to stand the whole purpose of these provisions on its head' to say that euthanasia would be a good way to die."

"We await the House of Lords verdict" Andy continued, "and hope that they too show the same common sense as the High Court."

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