i‘m thinking of the paul lamb case, the tony nicklinson case.n them what they wanted — assisted suicide, the right to die — because you are guided by law, and you‘ve concluded it would not be legal. should the law change? well, there is an act of parliament that makes it a criminal offence to help somebody to commit suicide. i would draw a very clear distinction, incidentally, between assisted suicide and euthanasia, killing somebody, however much they may want to be killed. i think it‘s a very important distinction. but we... there is an act of parliament, and an act of parliament is the law, so we could never have changed it. i was one of the twojustices in the nicklinson case who said that there is... the right to choose the time and manner of your own death is part of the right to respect for private life, which is protected under the european convention on human rights. the question, therefore, is whether the absolute ban on anybody helping you is a proportionate interference with that right. lord kerr and i thought that it was not, and tha

i was one of the two justices in the nicklinson case who said that there is — the right to choose thean rights. the question, therefore, is whether the absolute ban on anybody helping you is a proportionate interference with that right. lord kerr and i thought that it was not, and that there was a solution that could be devised that would make it acceptable and protect the people who need to be protected. so that‘s — that was my view. it is fascinating, and it‘s complex. i want to end with this one extraordinary quote from your fellow supreme courtjustice, sitting with you on the bench, lord sumption. he recently said this of the assisted dying debate. he says, i think the law should continue to criminalise assisted suicide, but i also think that the law should be broken from time to time. it is an untidy compromise, but i don‘t think there is always a moral obligation to obey the law, and ultimately it is for each person to decide. would you go along with that? no. because? i believe the law should be respected. but i believe the law should attempt to accommodate the different moral

i was one of the two justices in the tony nicklinson case who said that there is the right to choose part of the right to respect for private life, which is protected under the european convention on human rights. the question, therefore, is whether the absolute ban on anybody helping you is a proportionate interference with that right. lord kerr and i thought that it was not, and that there was a solution that could be devised that would make it acceptable and protect the people who need to be protected. so that's — that was my view. the people who need to be protected. so that's - that was my view. it is fascinating, and it's so that's - that was my view. it is fascinating, and its complex. i wa nt to fascinating, and its complex. i want to end with this one extraordinary quote from yellow supreme courtjustice, sitting with you on the bench, lord's assumption. he you on the bench, lord's assumption. h e rece ntly you on the bench, lord's assumption. he recently said this of the assisted dying debate. he says i think the lord should continue —— law should continue to criminalise ass

well, that's not quite correct because tony nicklinson's challenge went to the supreme court and thearliament to look at it. debbie purdy's case was a success in that the dpp had to put forward guidelines about who he would or would not prosecute in cases of assisted dying. so a great deal of progress has been made already. so what next step do you think you could achieve in this case? so in phill's case, what he wants to do is invite the courts to really tackle the issue of why the law should be changed by putting forward expert evidence from ten experts, all around the world who are experts in this field and who can show that a change in the law won't affect the weak and vulnerable, that it's not going to create a slippery slope and that it's right and proportionate that the law should help people who have a progressive illness, who are terminally ill to have a compassionate death in this country. what is the prognosis of your condition expected to unfold over that period? who knows, it is progressing relentlessly at a steady rate. i hope to be able to stay the course and if not, i