Right-to-die woman to receive ruling

Diane Pretty took her case to Europe in March

European judges will announce on Monday whether a terminally ill British woman has the right to die.

The verdict will determine whether Diane Pretty's husband can assist her suicide without fear of prosecution.

Mrs Pretty, 43, who is in the advanced stages of motor neurone disease, brought her case to the European Court of Human Rights in March.

It followed the director of public prosecution's refusal to guarantee her husband Brian immunity if he helped her commit suicide.

Mrs Pretty, from Luton, who is paralysed from the neck down, claims the refusal breaches the Human Rights Convention, which outlaws "inhuman or degrading treatment".

She says denying her the right to die when she chooses is forcing her to endure inhuman and degrading treatment.

Quick verdict

Committing suicide is not a crime in England, but because of her illness she would require help, and it is a crime to assist another person's suicide.

When her case was heard in March, government lawyers said the convention, to which Britain is a signatory, safeguards against inhuman or degrading treatment imposed by others, but cannot be regarded as referring to naturally-occurring disease.

But Mrs Pretty's lawyer said the convention's guarantee of the "right to life" implies also a right to die.

The verdict is being delivered just five weeks after the hearing. Most applicants usually have to wait years for a ruling.

But the human rights court gave top priority to the Pretty case because of the seriousness of Mrs Pretty's condition.

She and her husband attended the hearing in Strasbourg last month - their first trip abroad.