Right-to-die: law must clarify whether doctors can aid euthanasia Martin needs the assistance of a professional, most likely a doctor, nurse or a carer, to help him to die. Currently the DPP policy does not make clear whether such people are unlikely to be prosecuted. Martin is therefore unable to find anyone to take him to Dignitas. Richard Stein, a partner from law firm Leigh Day, who represented Martin, said: "This is a crucial victory for Martin and those other people who find themselves in this tragic position. This case has been all about giving people the choice to decide when and how they can end their own life. This is a right all able-bodied people have but is denied to Martin because of his condition. Speaking by means of special computer software, Martin commented in response to today's judgment: "I am delighted by the judgment today. It takes me one step closer to being able to decide how and when I end my life. However, in a separate part of the case, the family of late locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson and paralysed road accident victim Paul Lamb lost their right-to-die challenges at the Court of Appeal. Tony Nicklinson with his wife Jane at home in Melksham before he died (JAY WILLIAMS) The judges announced their decision in an appeal brought by Mr Nicklinson's family following his death, and will also give rulings in two other cases. The three judges rejected the Nicklinson and Lamb cases, but in a majority ruling the court allowed an appeal by a locked-in syndrome sufferer known as "Martin," who sought clarification of Director of Public Prosecution guidance relating to the position of health professionals in assisted suicide cases. However campaigners vowed to keep fighting. Jane Nicklinson, the widow of Tony said: "They're not going to get rid of us that easily. We will apply to be allowed to appeal to the Supreme Court. Our legal team think there shouldn't be any problem with this. I saw the way that Tony suffered and I would hate to think anyone suffering the way he did. I wouldn't want my worst enemy going through what he had to go through. It's cruel. Father-of-two Mr Nicklinson, 58, died at home in Melksham, Wiltshire, last August, a week after he lost a High Court bid to end his life with a doctor's help. Mr Nicklinson, who was paralysed by a stroke while on a business trip to Athens in 2005, had refused food and contracted pneumonia after he was "devastated" by the decision of Lord Justice Toulson, Mr Justice Royce and Mrs Justice Macur. But his widow Jane has been continuing the battle in the courts, which she said was "part of Tony's legacy." Her challenge against the High Court's ruling was heard at the Court of Appeal in May alongside those brought by two severely disabled men. The appeal judges heard argument that people who are too sick or disabled to end their "unbearable" lives without help are currently being condemned to "suffer in silence or make desperate attempts to kill themselves." Paralysed road accident victim Paul Lamb, 57, from Leeds, also won the right to join the litigation to continue the battle started by Mr Nicklinson. Paul Lamb is quadriplegic, cannot use any of his limbs other than a slight movement in one hand and is unable even to use the lavatory (Sky News) Mr Lamb is immobile except for limited movement in his right hand and has been in significant pain since the 1990 tragedy. The third case is that of a locked-in syndrome sufferer whose case was rejected at the High Court on the same day as Mr Nicklinson's. The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons and is referred to as "Martin," suffered a massive stroke in August 2008. He is unable to speak and virtually unable to move, describing his life as "undignified, distressing and intolerable" - and wants to be allowed a "dignified suicide." In Mr Lamb's case he wants a doctor to help him die in a dignified way, preferably by a lethal injection, with his family around him in his own home. The former builder and father of two says he feels worn out and fed up of going through the motions of life rather than living it. Giving their ruling last year, the three High Court judges referred to the "terrible predicament" of Mr Nicklinson and Martin, describing their cases as "deeply moving and tragic." While expressing deep sympathy for their plight, they unanimously agreed that it would be wrong for the court to depart from the long-established legal position that "voluntary euthanasia is murder, however understandable the motives may be." They said doctors and solicitors who encouraged or assisted another person to commit suicide were "at real risk of prosecution." They agreed that the current law did not breach human rights and it was for Parliament, not the courts, to decide whether it should be changed. Mr Nicklinson had sought declarations that there should be a defence of necessity available to a doctor assisting him to die, and that the law was incompatible with his right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which he argued includes a right to autonomy and self determination at the end of life. Mr Lamb was hoping to win the same declarations originally sought by Mr Nicklinson. Paul Bowen QC, representing Mrs Nicklinson and Mr Lamb in their cases against the Ministry of Justice, told the appeal judges that the High Court had "rejected the claims because, in summary , it considered Parliament, not the courts, should be responsible for changing the law in this area." The appeal judges were told that 'Martin' had never asked the courts to decriminalise assisted suicide, but "seeks clarity about how the DPP's prosecutorial discretion will be exercised." His QC, Philip Havers, said: "Martin loves his family, enjoys spending time with them, and likes to read. But he finds his life and his condition following his stroke to be undignified, distressing and intolerable. He is not going to recover, and does not want to continue living like this. He wants to die. Mr Havers submitted that "Article 8 requires the DPP to develop his policy so as to remedy a disproportionate interference with Martin's Article 8 right to decide by what means and at what point his life will end." Speaking before the ruling on BBC Breakfast, Mrs Nicklinson said: "What we are hoping for is that people like Tony who find themselves in such a terrible situation, as Paul Lamb does, when they feel they have had enough, a doctor can take their life for them because they are unable to do it themselves," It would be done on a one-by-one basis, each case would heard by the courts and approved by the courts before it could be carried out. She added: "There would be huge safeguards put in place. The person who wanted this would have to prove that it is what they wanted, that they are not being coerced. It would only be for patients who are so severely disabled that they cannot do it themselves, but that are mentally competent to make the decision for themselves. She said she was "passionate" about continuing her campaign even after her husband's death. This is something I feel passionately about. I have seen the way that Tony suffered. I do not think anyone should have to go through that," she said. I think quality of life is down to the person. I know that there are people who suffer with locked-in syndrome who lead full and meaningful lives, they can cope with their lives... that is great for them, but everyone is different. Everyone has different expectations from life. Tony could not cope with life like it. For him, life like this was torture. Edited by Sunita Patel-Carstairs