A 30-year-old terminally-ill woman launched a ground-breaking right-to-die case at the high court yesterday, arguing that doctors' refusal to give her pain-relieving treatment that will kill her violates her human rights.
Kelly Taylor, who has been given less than a year to live, says the refusal to increase her morphine dose to sedate her into unconsciousness condemns her to live in pain and breaches the ban on "inhuman or degrading treatment" in the European convention on human rights. She is also relying on the doctrine of double-effect - a long-standing principle of English law - that doctors may lawfully administer treatment even if they know it will shorten the patient's life, if their intention is to relieve pain and not to kill.
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