'I'll go to jail to save Lisa from suffering'.Byline: By JOANNE DOUGLAS News Reporter A HUDDERSFIELD woman says she is prepared to go to prison to save her partner enduring terrible suffering from a terminal illness. Denny May's partner, Lisa Cook, has Huntington's Disease and faces death from a slow, painful illness that could last 15 years. Her mobility would diminish, she would find speaking and swallowing difficult and she is likely to slowly choke to death on her own saliva. The mother-of-one has already made the decision that she wants to die before the deterioration kicks in. Denny, from Far town, says she is prepared to go to prison if she has to help her. Last week Bradford woman Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, sought to clarify the law on assisted suicide assisted suicide: see euthanasia. . But Denny and Lisa are disheartened dis·heart·en tr.v. dis·heart·ened, dis·heart·en·ing, dis·heart·ens To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. See Synonyms at discourage. that the High Court failed to say whether partners or loved ones would be exempt from prosecution. It means that Denny could face prison if she travelled with Lisa to a suicide clinic in Switzerland. The couple have now spoken out in the hope of forcing a clarification. Denny, 45, said: "It will be one of the hardest things you can imagine, but it's Lisa's wish and I am here to support her. "If I have to serve a prison sentence for doing it then that's fine, I'll do it." Lisa, 40, said: "Debbie was fairly confident that she was going to get some sense and clarity on the issue. "It is something we hoped for, not only for Debbie, where it is more immediate, but for us and many others. "I know that as someone who is terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. you want to protect those around you who care for you. "Surely after being put through seeing someone they love die - and that person making the choice that they want to die - they shouldn't have to face prosecution? "To know that at the end of all that love and care they could go to prison because they committed an act of love is something you want to protect them from. "This is my choice and I want people to respect my right to choose. We're not trying to force it on people, just give them a choice." Helping someone to die is against the law in Britain. The couple are both strong supporters of Dignity In Death, a campaign group fighting to have assisted suicide made legal in Britain. So far 101 Britons people have travelled to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland for assisted suicides. None of their partners have been prosecuted, but they have faced arrest and a police investigation on their returns. Denny said: "When the time comes Adv. 1. when the time comes - at the appropriate time; "we'll get to this question in due course" in due course, in due season, in due time, in good time I will help Lisa. I don't want her to die; I'd rather a cure was found. But until that happens Lisa wants to be able to make that choice and I want to be able to support her. "We'd rather it could be done here at home." Lisa saw her grandmother go through the deterioration of Huntington's while her mother, Sandy, 60, is experiencing symptoms. She expects that by the time she's in her 50s her own symptoms will kick in, which is when she wants to exercise her right to die. Her 17-year-old son, Joshua, is supporting her; he has a 50/50 chance of having Huntington's himself. Huntington's Disease Huntington's disease is an hereditary disorder of the central nervous system. It comes from a faulty gene which leads to a damage of the nerve cells in areas of the brain. Symptoms include uncontrollable muscular movements, stumbling stumbling an abnormal gait in which the animal does not fully extend the limb, the plantar surface is not properly placed with respect to the ground surface at the time of impact so that the limb is likely to collapse and the animal to fall. and clumsiness. Assisted suicide Dignitas is a Swiss assisted suicide or euthanasia euthanasia (y  'thənā`zhə), either painlessly putting to death or failing to prevent death from natural causes in cases of terminal illness or irreversible coma. group.
101 Britons have so far travelled to Switzerland for assisted suicide. The 1961 Suicide Act makes it an offence to aid, abet, counsel or procure a suicide or a suicide attempt suicide attempt, suicide bid n → intento de suicidio suicide attempt, suicide bid n → tentative f de suicide in Britain. CAPTION(S): CAMPAIGNERS: Huddersfield women Lisa Cook (left) and Denny May (JH311008Hlisa-03); OUR STORY: The Examiner front page of June 18 featuring Lisa's story. Left: Multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy and her husband, Omar Puente |
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