Melksham widow waits on judges' ruling on right-to-die cases

Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson and Lord Justice Elias are announcing their decision in an appeal brought by Mr Nicklinson's family following his death, and will also give rulings in two other cases.

Father-of-two Mr Nicklinson, 58, died at home in Melksham, last August, a week after he lost a High Court bid to end his life with a doctor's help.

Mr Nicklinson, who was paralysed by a stroke while on a business trip to Athens in 2005, had refused food and contracted pneumonia after he was "devastated" by the decision of Lord Justice Toulson, Mr Justice Royce and Mrs Justice Macur.

But his widow Jane vowed to continue the battle in the courts, which she said was "part of Tony's legacy".

Her challenge against the High Court's ruling was heard at the Court of Appeal in May alongside those brought by two severely disabled men.

The appeal judges heard argument that people who are too sick or disabled to end their "unbearable" lives without help are currently being condemned to "suffer in silence or make desperate attempts to kill themselves".

One of the other cases being ruled on today is that of paralysed road accident victim Paul Lamb, 57, from Leeds, who won the right to join the litigation to continue the battle started by Mr Nicklinson.

Mr Lamb is immobile except for limited movement in his right hand and has been in significant pain since the 1990 tragedy.

The third case is that of a locked-in syndrome sufferer whose case was rejected at the High Court on the same day as Mr Nicklinson's.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons and is referred to as "Martin", suffered a massive stroke in August 2008.

He is unable to speak and virtually unable to move, describing his life as "undignified, distressing and intolerable" - and wants to be allowed a "dignified suicide".

In Mr Lamb's case he wants a doctor to help him die in a dignified way, preferably by a lethal injection, with his family around him in his own home.

The former builder and father of two says he feels worn out and fed up of going through the motions of life rather than living it.

Giving their ruling last year, the three High Court judges referred to the "terrible predicament" of Mr Nicklinson and Martin, describing their cases as "deeply moving and tragic".

While expressing deep sympathy for their plight, they unanimously agreed that it would be wrong for the court to depart from the long-established legal position that "voluntary euthanasia is murder, however understandable the motives may be".

They said doctors and solicitors who encouraged or assisted another person to commit suicide were "at real risk of prosecution" and that it was for Parliament, not the courts, to decide whether the law should be changed.

Mr Nicklinson had sought declarations that there should be a defence of necessity available to a doctor assisting him to die, and that the law was incompatible with his right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which he argued includes a right to autonomy and self determination at the end of life.

Mr Lamb is hoping to win the same declarations originally sought by Mr Nicklinson.

Mr Nicklinson's widow, Jane, said this morning she was hoping the case would be reheard in the High Court.

"What we are hoping for is that people like Tony who find themselves in such a terrible situation, as Paul Lamb does, when they feel they have had enough, a doctor can take their life for them because they are unable to do it themselves," she said.

"It would be done on a one-by-one basis, each case would heard by the courts and approved by the courts before it could be carried out."

She added: "There would be huge safeguards put in place. The person who wanted this would have to prove that it is what they wanted, that they are not being coerced.

"It would only be for patients who are so severely disabled that they cannot do it themselves, but that are mentally competent to make the decision for themselves."

She said she was "passionate" about continuing her campaign even after her husband's death.

"This is something I feel passionately about. I have seen the way that Tony suffered. I do not think anyone should have to go through that," she said.

"I think quality of life is down to the person. I know that there are people who suffer with locked-in syndrome who lead full and meaningful lives, they can cope with their lives... that is great for them, but everyone is different.

"Everyone has different expectations from life. Tony could not cope with life like it. For him, life like this was torture."