The law on assisted suicide should be made “appropriate for the 21st century”, right-to-die campaigner Debbie Purdy said today as prosecutors began work on new guidelines following her landmark legal win.
Ms Purdy, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, said the historic House of Lords ruling backing her call for a policy statement on when prosecutions over assisted suicide would be brought would provide key safeguards to protect the vulnerable.
But she said she would continue her campaign to force a change in the law and pledged to play a full role in the debate.
Ms Purdy took her case to the Lords because she wants to know what would happen to her Cuban husband Omar Puente if he helped her travel abroad to end her life.
The couple were at the House of Lords yesterday to hear five Law Lords unanimously back her call for a policy statement from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the circumstances in which a person such as Mr Puente might face prosecution for helping a loved one end his or her life abroad.
DPP Keir Starmer QC said prosecutors would begin work immediately on an interim policy setting out the reasons why prosecutions should or should not be brought.
The interim policy should be ready by September, followed by the final version by spring next year, he said.
Ms Purdy told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The only way to determine what the policy should be is to discuss it so that we can make sure that all safeguards are considered and thought about and we get a policy which is appropriate for the 21st century."
She played down fears that the new guidance would lead to an increased number of people being pressured into ending their life.
"The DPP has got the responsibility of making sure that financial gain is definitely not something which should be allowed for assistance," she said.
The policy should distinguish between a malicious act and a compassionate act, Ms Purdy from Undercliffe, Bradford, West Yorkshire, said.
"I want to be involved in the discussion about what the policy should be and also a campaign to change the law in this country.
"We can't allow de facto changes in the law, it has got to be the result of proper open discussion."
PA