The court of appeal has rejected a request by a paralysed man that doctors should be allowed to help him die.
Paul Lamb, 57, from Leeds, had taken on the “right to die” case originally brought by Tony Nicklinson, a sufferer of “locked-in syndrome” who died last year, and a week after losing his high court euthanasia battle.
Nicklinson’s widow, Jane, supported the appeal against the previous judgment which, she said, had condemned her husband to a life he no longer wanted to lead. Both want to overturn the prohibition on doctors helping to end the lives of their patients.
By a two-to-one majority, however, the judges did uphold another appeal by a man, known only as Martin, who is suffering from “locked-in syndrome”. He is seeking clearer guidance about whether any doctor of nurse who accompanied him to a suicide clinic in Switzerland would be prosecuted.
Lamb and Nicklinson’s lawyers argued there should be a defence of necessity available to any doctor assisting someone to die and that the current law of murder is incompatible with the right to respect for private and family life under article 8 of the European convention on human rights. That article includes a right to autonomy and self determination at the end of life.
The case was heard by a high-ranking bench of judges: the lord chief justice, Lord Judge, the master of the rolls, Lord Dyson, and Lord Justice Elias.
Earlier this year Lamb, a father of two like Nicklinson, told the Guardian in an interview at his home in Leeds that he wanted the right to end his life at a time and place of his choosing. “When the end comes, I want it to be in here, in that bed,” he said, jutting his head towards the bed in his house in the Bramley area of the city. “I want to end my life in a peaceful, dignified way.”
Dismissing Lamb and Nicklinson’s appeal, the judges said that a blanket ban on assisted suicide or euthanasia is a “proportionate interference” with their article 8 rights in relation to their self-determination at the end of their life.
The second claim was brought by Martin who wants clearer guidance from the director of public prosecutions about what action might be taken against medical staff who accompany a patient to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.
Lords Dyson and Elias said: “In our judgment, the [DPP’s] policy is in certain respects not sufficiently clear … in relation to healthcare professionals. It is not surprising that they are reluctant to assist victims to commit suicide.
“… It is not impossible or impractical to amend the policy so as to make its application in relation to cases [involving those who are not members of a patient’s immediate family] more foreseeable than it currently is.”
Lord Judge, however, opposed his request, insisting that the “answer must be, and always has been, that the law relating to assisting suicide cannot be changed by judicial decision”.
He added: “The repeated mantra that, if the law is to be changed, it must be changed by parliament, does not demonstrate judicial abnegation of our responsibilities, but rather highlights fundamental constitutional principles.”
Lawyers for Lamb and Nicklinson said they would appeal to a higher court against their judgment. Saimo Chahal, the solicitor from the law firm Bindman who acted for Jane Nicklinson and Lamb, said: “It is inevitably disappointing for my clients that the court has decided against them. They are considering grounds of appeal to the supreme court.
“It is literally a life and death issue for Paul and there is no prospect of parliament adjudicating on the issue any time soon – so there is but one option open to Paul and that is to try and persuade the courts that his concerns and real and legitimate.
“They are also shared by thousands of other people who want this issue to be resolved. It is wrong that people should be condemned to a lifetime of misery when they want to die. It is wrong that a good death should be denied to people in Paul’s situation.”
In response to the decision, Lamb said: “I am absolutely gutted by the decision. I was hoping for a humane and dignified end. This judgment does not give me that. I will carry on the legal fight – this is not just about me but about many, many other people who are being denied the right to die a humane and dignified death just because the law is too scared to grapple with these issues.”
The British Humanist Association (BHA), which intervened in the case, said it was disappointed at the decision and urged the government to help terminally ill or incurably suffering people who want to die.
Andrew Copson, BHA’s chief executive, said: “Brave individual after brave individual has brought legal case after legal case in the face of their own incredible suffering to try to secure the right to die with dignity.
“Their determination is inspiring and we will support them right up until the end, but they really shouldn’t have to be doing this at all. They represent the majority of over 80% of the British public that supports their fight and it is parliament and government who should be putting the work in on changing the law – not people who have already suffered enough.
“This is the most important bioethical issue of our time and the lack of legal or political progress in the face of massive public demand and a knock-down moral argument in favour of change is a standing rebuke to our view of ourselves as a civilised and humane society.”
Jane Nicklinson said: “As a family we are hugely disappointed with the judgment but it will not stop us. We will carry on with the case for as long as we can so that others who find themselves in a position similar to Tony don’t have to suffer as he did. Nobody deserves such cruelty.”
Responding to the appeal court’s ruling that the DPP’s guidelines should be reviewed, Keir Starmer, QC, the director of public prosecutions, said: “While I respect the carefully considered judgment of the court of appeal, I think it would be sensible for the CPS, if possible, to have the benefit of the views of the supreme court before any amendments are made to the DPP’s Guidelines in this important and sensitive area of the law.”