4:04am Wednesday 29th October 2008
© Press Association 2011
A woman suffering from multiple sclerosis is due to learn whether she has succeeded in a landmark legal bid to clarify the law on assisted suicide.
Wheelchair-bound Debbie Purdy is seeking a High Court declaration that could force the Director of Public Prosecutions to make the position clear.
She wants to know if her husband will be prosecuted if he helps her travel abroad to die.
Ms Purdy, 45, from Undercliffe, Bradford, West Yorkshire, says she wants to "live forever".
However she is a member of Dignitas, the Swiss organisation which operates specialist euthanasia clinics.
Now gradually losing strength in her upper body, she plans to travel to Switzerland to end her life if her condition becomes unbearable,
But she fears that her husband, Cuban violinist Omar Puente, could face a jail sentence if he helps her.
In England and Wales, aiding and abetting suicide is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Lord Justice Scott Baker and Mr Justice Aiken will rule at London's High Court on whether she is entitled to further guidance.
If she does not succeed in her legal action, she believes she may have to end her life earlier than otherwise might be necessary so that she can do it without help, and thus avoid putting her husband at risk of prosecution.
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