Paralyzed Briton seeks right to die

LONDON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A man left paralyzed by a stroke has asked Britain's High Court to declare that any doctor who terminates his life will be protected against murder charges.

A stroke in 2005 left Tony Nicklinson, 57, with locked-in syndrome, paralyzed from the neck down, The Guardian reported.

On Monday, he began his high court battle to allow a doctor to end his life with assurance no murder charges would be brought.

The case raises "difficult legal, moral and ethical questions," said Nicklinson's lawyer, Saimo Chahal.

Because Nicklinson is not in a vegetative state -- he can move his head and eyes and communicate through the use of an Eye-Blink computer or Perspex alphabet board -- he cannot take his own life other than by slow starvation. He said he has considered traveling to Switzerland, where medically assisted euthanasia is legal, but decided against it because he would be unable to administer any lethal drugs himself, a requirement of the Swiss Dignitas organization.

Lawyers for the Ministry of Justice said the case should be "struck out" as such a change in law would be for Parliament to decide, not the courts.

Nicklinson's case goes beyond assisted suicide, The Guardian said, because he cannot be helped to kill himself; he must be killed.

"We are saying there should be a defense to the law of murder and want a declaration that it would be lawful for a doctor to administer a lethal drug to terminate Mr. Nicklinson's life," Chahal said.

Nicklinson previously laid out his plight in a statement: "What I have to look forward to is a wretched ending with uncertainty, pain and suffering whilst my family watch on helplessly. Why must I suffer these indignities? If I were able-bodied I could put an end to my life when I want to. Why is life so cruel?"