by After ‘locked in syndrome’ sufferer Tony Nicklinson was denied the right to die by the highest court in the land, experts said he could easily get government backing by finding oil in his back garden then not allowing them access to it.
Nickolson and a fellow sufferer were told they cannot legally get someone to help them die, despite a life which was described as ‘utterly miserable’ – all because the government only supports the death of people in the way of something it wants.
The judge said, “This is a moving case of two tragic individuals who simply don’t own anything the government cares about.”
“My hands are tied, legislatively speaking, until they happen to find they have something Downing Street really wants.”
“If they were to happen upon a few billion barrels of oil and tell the government it can’t have any, then I can assure them there would be little in the way of them securing a speedy death.”
Right to Death
Constitutional experts said the government is in a tough position, as there is a massive difference between allowing somone to die as per their wish, and considering their death acceptable compared to a given objective.
As Professor Simon Williams explained, “One is letting someone kill themselves by having their own way, the other is killing someone for getting IN the way.”
“It’s a subtle but important difference, and the government can’t simply go around letting people kill themselves. They have to be responsible for it themselves.”
“So my message to Mr Nickilson is ‘get someone to start digging’.”
