Debbie Purdy, and a farewell to the Law Lords

Yesterday, in one of its final cases heard as Britain's highest court, the House of Lords accepted MS sufferer Debbie Purdy's bid to clarify the law on assisted suicide.

Ms Purdy, whose case has been covered in previous issues of The Specialist Paralegal, has been seeking a formal policy statement from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the circumstances in which a person might face prosecution for helping a loved one end his or her life abroad.

To date, 115 people have travelled from Britain to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland to be helped to die. Assisting a suicide is illegal in England and Wales under the Suicide Act 1961, but the DPP has declined to prosecute the relatives and friends of those - such as paralysed rugby player Daniel James - who have chosen to end their lives in this way as a matter of public policy. However the reasons behind this decision, which is made on a case by case basis, has never been publicised.

While yesterday's judgement will not affect the legal position, Ms Purdy's victory will clarify the circumstances in which a person such as her husband may face prosecution for helping a loved on end his or her life.

Ms Purdy was "ecstatic" at the verdict. "It feels like everything else doesn’t matter and now I can just be a normal person," she said. "It gives me my life back.

"I want to live my life to the full, but I don’t want to suffer unnecessarily at the end of my life. This decision means that I can make an informed choice, with Omar [Puente, her husband], about whether he travels abroad with me to end my life because we will know exactly where we stand. I am grateful to the law lords for listening and rising to the challenge that this case presented."

You can read the full judgement via the House of Lords.

On a separate note, callers to the now-defunct House of Lords Judicial Office from today are being greeted with a recorded message featuring the world's most popular funeral song.

Calling 0207 219 3111 connects with a recorded message listing the last appeals heard by the Lords - all to the background music of Frank Sinatra's "My Way".

Hang on until the end, for the office admin team's (literal) swansong.