A man paralysed in a road accident has joined the legal campaign for the right to a doctor assisted death, saying that he wants to “call it a day”..
Paul Lamb, previously identified only as ‘L’, has waived his right to anonymity after the Court of Appeal ruled he could be part of the case of the late Tony Nicklinson.
Lamb’s case will also be attached to separate action by Nicklinson’s widow Jane and both cases will be heard in the court of appeal in May.
“Paul is 57, and was immobilised after a road accident in 1990,” said the British Humanist Association, which is backing Lamb’s campaign.
“He says that in the past twenty-three years he has endured a life which is monotonous and painful, and that he no longer wants to live.”
Tony Nicklinson suffered a catastrophic stroke in 2005 which left him with locked-in syndrome, and he died in August last year.
Lamb told the BBC: “I just badly would like to see this law changed and then have that choice to just say, as and when I choose, you know, call it a day.”
“I am in pain every single hour of every single day. I have lived with these conditions for a lot of years and have given it my best shot,” the BBC cited him as saying in a court statement.
“I spend my day sitting in my wheelchair. My daily routine is tedious, monotonous and pointless. I often go to bed at 5pm – such is the pointlessness of it all.”
Andrew Copson, chief executive of the BHA, said: “In the absence of legislation on assisted dying, we have to establish the right to a doctor-assisted death through the courts.
“We also hope that Paul?s case will help to stimulate public debate on this issue, and convincep parliament to listen to the massive majority opinion in this country and legalise assisted dying.”
A YouGov poll in September last year found that 81 percent of UK adults support the notion of mentally competent individuals with incurable or terminal diseases who wish to end their lives receiving medical assistance to do so, the BHA said.
Crash victim seeks right to doctor-assisted death
