British Judge Allows "Suicide Tourist" to Go to Switzerland to Die

A British judge refused to block a couple from traveling to Switzerland so the wife can kill herself. Mr. Justice Headley of the Family Division of the High Court ruled November 30 that the courts cannot abridge the "right" of the woman, known only as Mrs. Z, to make her own decision, according to The Independent. She died on December 1, according to the Press Association.

However, Justice Headley said that her husband could still be held accountable by criminal justice authorities for violating British laws banning anyone from assisting in a suicide, The Independent reported. Mrs. Z has cerebellar ataxia, which is a degenerative brain disease, according to Agence France-Presse.

"The evidence clearly establishes that she has legal capacity and her decision is her own, freely arrived at with full knowledge of its consequences," the justice wrote, according to The Independent. "The court is not entitled to test that decision against what the court thinks is right. The right and responsibility for such a decision belongs alone to Mrs. Z."

At least 22 Britons have taken advantage of permissive Swiss euthanasia laws and traveled there to die. Mrs. Z seeks to follow their example by killing herself with the help of euthanasia group Dignitas. Since she is unable to travel on her own, her husband has agreed to take her there, The Independent reported.

The case was initially brought by Mrs. Z's local council, which provides health care services for her. After the council discovered her suicide plan, it asked the court to clarify whether it had a responsibility to put a stop to the couple's actions. In his decision, Justice Headley told the council that it needed only to inform police about the couple's intentions, according to the Daily Mail.

Euthanasia advocates praised the decision, saying that the ruling chips away at British laws banning suicide assistance. "This is a very important judgment, a watershed," said Deborah Annetts of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, the Daily Mail reported. "It means the Suicide Act is on its last legs."

Pro-life groups, however, strongly criticized euthanasia proponents and others who support suicide requests of patients such as Mrs. Z. "This is yet another example of the pro-euthanasia lobby taking advantage of a vulnerable person's suffering to advance its cause, rather than offering the compassionate help this woman clearly needs," said Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children.

"If a healthy person asks for assistance to commit suicide, it is understood that there is a problem and that the person concerned needs help to address the problem - - not help to kill themselves."