Judges To Rule On Assisted Suicide Appeal

Leading judges are to rule on the latest round of a right-to-die legal battle started by locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson.

Mr Nicklinson, 58, died at home in Melksham, Wiltshire, a week after he lost a High Court bid to end his life with a doctor's help.

The father-of-two, who was paralysed by a stroke in 2005, refused food and contracted pneumonia after he was "devastated" by the decision.

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.

She had argued that people 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 is that of paralysed road accident victim Paul Lamb, 57, who is immobile except for limited movement in his right hand and has been in significant pain since the tragedy in 1990.

The third case is that of another 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 unanimously agreed 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".

Appeal Court judges Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson and Lord Justice Elias will reveal whether they have overturned the High Court ruling later.