LONDON, July 30 (UPI) -- A British woman suffering from multiple sclerosis won a key ruling Thursday from the Law Lords, who ordered prosecutors to clarify policy on assisted suicide.
Debbie Purdy fears her husband, Omar Puente, a Cuban violinist, might be prosecuted if he helps her travel to a Swiss clinic. In a unanimous decision, the Law Lords said the Director of Public Prosecutions should draw up a policy statement on the prosecution of relatives, The Times of London reported.
Purdy lost legal appeals on her right to end her life, with the High Court finding the issue is a matter for legislators, not the courts, to decide. The Law Lords agreed but said the policy on prosecutions should be in writing.
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said he expects to release an interim policy in September.
"I think people are beginning to realize now that this is not about a right to die -- it is about a right to live," she said. "Now is an incredible starting point so the Director of Public Prosecutions knows what the public wants."
Purdy said current British law is out of date.
