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The death of humanity?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
14 September 2012 / Seamus Burns
Issue: 7529 / Categories: Features , Public , Human rights
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The Nicklinson case confirms the supremacy of Parliament, says Seamus Burns

The tragic and harrowing case of Tony Nicklinson, has reignited the on-going debate about the prohibition of active voluntary euthanasia (AVE), and assisted suicide (AS), in the UK (R (on the application of Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice; R (on the application of AM) v Director of Public Prosecutions and others [2012] EWHC 2381 (Admin), [2012] All ER (D) 105 (Aug)).

Tony Nicklinson (the applicant) had suffered a catastrophic stroke in June 2005, at the age of 51, rendering him paralysed below the neck and unable to speak. He was incapable of moving anything but his head and eyes and could only communicate by alternatively blinking to indicate a letter held up by his wife on a Perspex board or by use of an eye blink computer to word process faster. Tony could eat mashed up food but swallowing was “a difficult and laborious business”, and fluids were obtained by means of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube. He was “virtually

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