MELKSHAM, England – A right-to-die case brought by the family of a severely disabled man in the UK can proceed, a High Court judge ruled Monday.
Tony Nicklinson, from Melksham in southwestern England, suffers from "locked-in syndrome" and communicates only through the use of a Perspex board or by using his Eye-Blink computer.
The 57-year-old married father-of-two wants a doctor to be able "lawfully" to end his life, which he described as "dull, miserable, demeaning, undignified and intolerable."
Nicklinson's wife Jane told Sky News, "The only way to relieve Tony's pain and suffering is to end his life. There is nothing else that can be done for him."
He launched a legal action seeking court declarations that a doctor could intervene to end his "indignity" and have a "common law defense of necessity" against any murder charge.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) applied for Nicklinson's action to be "struck out" and had argued that "necessity can never afford a defense to a charge of murder."
However, Judge Justice Charles, sitting in London, ruled Monday that Nicklinson's case is arguable and should proceed to a full trial.
Nicklinson's lawyer, Saimo Chahal, said, "This is a very good result for Tony. It would be completely wrong if the arguments on Tony's behalf could not be fully argued on the grounds that we should wait for parliament to change the law."
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