U.K. court denies euthanasia requests from two men with locked-in syndrome

Tony Nicklinson's wife Jane wipes away tears as he reacts as a statement is read regarding the decision made by High Court judges not to allow him to ask a doctor to end his life on Aug. 16, 2012 in Melksham, England.

/ Matt Cardy

(CBS/AP) Tony Nicklinson, a man with "locked-in syndrome," has been denied by a British court his wish to die from physician-assisted euthanasia.

Britain's High Court on Thursday rejected Nicklinson's and another man's attempts to overturn the country's euthanasia law by refusing to legally allow doctors to end his life.

PICTURES: U.K. court says no to euthanasia for men with locked-in syndrome

Nicklinson suffered a stroke in 2005 that left him unable to speak or move below his neck. He requires constant care and communicates mostly by blinking, although his mind has remained unaffected, and his condition is not terminal.

Locked-in syndrome is the term for a rare neurological disorder in which patients are completely paralyzed and only able to blink. Patients with the syndrome are conscious and don't have any intellectual problems.

In January, the 58-year-old former rugby player had asked the High Court to declare that any doctor who kills him with his consent will not be charged with murder.

His lawyer, Saimo Chahal, at the time had said, "Most people who want to die, who are physically able to do so, can lawfully commit suicide."

The High Court however in its ruling said that challenges from Nicklinson and another man named only as "Martin" to allow others to help them die without being prosecuted were a matter for Parliament to decide.

Nicklinson said he was "devastated and heartbroken" and planned to appeal the decision.

"I am saddened that the law wants to condemn me to a life of increasing indignity and misery," he said in a statement.

Martin, 47, also has locked-in syndrome and asked for the court to allow professionals to help him die either by withholding food and water or by helping him go to a clinic in Switzerland, where euthanasia is legal, to die. His wife said she respects his wishes but does not want to help kill him.

The judges wrote that they were both "tragic cases," but said to allow euthanasia as a possible defense to murder "would usurp the proper role of Parliament."

Nicklinson had argued that British law violated his right to "private and family life" as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, on the grounds that being able to choose how to die is a matter of personal autonomy. He has previously described his life as "a living nightmare."

Legal experts weren't surprised by the ruling.

"This is a really slippery case," said Richard Huxtable, deputy director of the Ethics in Medicine department at Bristol University. "The feeling seems to be that only Parliament could give adequate thought to what sort of law should be in place and the safeguards required."

In Europe, only Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands allow euthanasia. Switzerland allows assisted suicide and is the only country that helps foreigners die at a clinic near Zurich. The country allows doctors to prescribe a fatal dose of medicine for patients to take themselves.

Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of medical ethics at New York University's Langone Medical Center, said the British cases were a major departure from past euthanasia debates because neither man is terminally ill.

"Most of the cases which triggered legislation in the past were about dying people and their quality of life," he said. "We will see more of these discussions as people live longer and we decide what to do about those who are severely impaired."

Nicklinson said he hoped the courts would grant him another hearing later this year. Experts said he could take his case to the Supreme Court or to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

10 Photos

U.K. man denied euthanasia request dies at home

[alphaa10000]

RESEARCH ON NEURAL REPAIR
http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20060621/stem-cells-help-reverse-paralysis?src=rss_cbsnews

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=your-inner-healers&print=true

NEURAL REHABILITATION AND NEURAL REPAIR
http://nnr.sagepub.com/

GENERAL DISCUSSION OF STEM CELLS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE
http://www.jeccr.com/content/30/1/9/

COMPUTER-BASED "PROSTHESIS" FOR MOVING OBJECTS
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500368_162-1798389.html

[Transatlantique]

The sad thing is that his wife won't/can't help him, probably because she is afraid of incarceration. If he were my husband, I would move to Switzerland, help him die, and make up a story that he died in his sleep with the doctor's help to throw the English government of my back. I wouldn't watch someone suffer like that. I have had several of my animals euthanised, why not people? The courts only think with their brains and not their hearts. The emotional quotient, different from the intelligence quotient, is very low in governments.

[magnumdr]

Toughen up. Many people have bad conditions they live with and that is no reason to want to die. I have severe cronic back pain that I live with 27/7. You just have to find something to occupy your mind with and feel like you are doing something. Maybe start to paint and sell your art?. Please don't want to die, you are not useless.

[Transatlantique]

You are a blithering idiot. Did you not read the article... Einstein? He can only blink, and do nothing else. How is he supposed to paint when he can't move anything but his eyelids, you moron? You aren't in his situation, so how can you say what he is feeling? "Toughen up?" Who the hell are you to say this to anyone? I hope you get into his situation someday and eat your words, if you can.

[gnimelf1968]

27/7 hey? Where do you live that has 27 hours in a day? Mars? Try reading an article once in awhile, then comment.

[wardove]

yes this is sad , I have often wondered is it worth it living this nightmare but to live like that....SAD .Its even illegal to kill your self.

[gadfly65]

I just read the Wikipedia article on locked-in syndrome and it includes a sentence that chilled me - "The symptoms are similar to those of sleep paralysis."
I've had several occasions of sleep paralysis and forcing someone to continue living in any similar state is utterly inhumane.

[Transman52]

That "goverment healthcare" system in the UK makes ObamaCare's "death panels" look like a better deal than what they do over there. The government over there insists on keeping you alive, even against your wishes. Our current administration wants that kind of control over us....to decide who lives or dies, whether we want to or not. Coming soon to a hospital near you.....

[Solarrays247]

It's always been that way here in the United States. Where in the hell have you been? Remember Dr. Jack Kevorkian? He was imprisoned because he challenged social taboos about disease and dying and helped dozens of terminally ill patients end their lives humanely! It's called assisted suicide.

[Jaylah54200]

In this regard, we treat our pets better than we do our fellow humans.

[lesserof2evil]

Glad i live in the state of Washington.

[Solarrays247]

Yes, you are fortunate.

[john92021]

so we have to suffer for the pleasure of the courts. If they develop an artificial body and stick your head on it to keep you alive we could have warehouses full of people pleading to die.
Makes me want to eat my gun while I still can

[JamesHouston]

This is another great example of patient and family over confidence in the healthcare system. Patient and family perceptions of what is medically possible is all too often far removed from reality. It is too bad that at the time of the stoke the family and doctors didn't really appreciate the situation and the expected outcome. Or they just refused to accept death at the time and chose to do everything medically necessary no matter the costs. They now know that there is something worse than death. Now they are suing for death, but it is too late. It's too bad that they all have to suffer because of our perceived medical perfection.