In their last judgment in their current home, the highest judges in the land have given MS-sufferer Debbie Purdy (represented by Paul Bowen) fresh hope that she will be able to decide the time of her dying herself without incriminating her partner if he assists her.

Ms. Purdy has primary progressive MS, a degenerative disorder that affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. It is incurable and worsens unpredictably. She wishes to retain some control over how she meets her death, preferring to take the option of travelling abroad to a country where assisted suicide is lawful, such as Switzerland, to the gradual decline in her motor functions that will inevitably lead to her choking to death. Over 100 British citizens have trodden the same path in the last few years, often assisted by friends or loved ones, but not a single prosecution for assisting a suicide has followed. Nevertheless, Ms. Purdy is concerned that her husband, Omar Puente, runs the risk of prosecution if he helps her in making the arrangements for her to travel to Switzerland.

The Law Lords have now instructed the Director of Public Prosecutions to clarify the law and to prepare an "offence-specific policy" identifying facts and circumstances which he would consider in coming to a decision on whether or not to prosecute in similar cases.

The Law Lords also said she did have the right to choose how she died, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Media

• BBC News MS woman wins right-to-die fight read

• Stephen Cragg in The Guardian A victory for human rights read
  Debbie Purdy's victory shows the power of article 8 of the human rights act - the right to live undisturbed by the state