Locked-in syndrome appeal allowed

Tony Nicklinson's widow Jane has been given permission to bring an appeal against a High Court ruling

Mr Nicklinson, 58, died a week after he lost his legal bid to end his life with a doctor's help.


The family vowed to continue Mr Nicklinson's campaign, and it has been confirmed that the Court of Appeal has given permission for his widow Jane to bring an appeal against the High Court decision.


Mrs Nicklinson has said that continuing the legal battle is likely to involve a long campaign, fraught with legal technicalities, but the family sees it as "part of Tony's legacy, we're fighting for him, on his behalf".


Three judges sitting at the High Court in London referred to his "terrible predicament" and described his case as "deeply moving and tragic".

But Lord Justice Toulson, Mr Justice Royce and Mrs Justice Macur 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". They said doctors and solicitors who encouraged or assisted another person to commit suicide were "at real risk of prosecution".

Refusing judicial review, the judges agreed that the current law did not breach human rights and it was for Parliament, not the courts, to decide whether it should be changed. Appeal judges will now have to decide whether or not they agree with the High Court's stance.

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