Assisted suicide and euthanasia: Unravelling the law

There is considerable confusion at present in people's minds as to what the law is on assisting someone to die. In February 2008 a husband, having suffocated his wife who was suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence (Fletcher, 2008). He had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and aiding and abetting his wife's suicide. Yet there have been no prosecutions where relatives have helped patients to go to Switzerland to end their lives. It is not surprising that Debbie Purdy went to court in 2008 to obtain clarification of the law to ensure that her husband would not be prosecuted should he take her to Switzerland for her life to be ended. This article seeks to identify the basic legal principles which apply in cases such as these.