British Judge Allows "Suicide Tourist" to Go to Switzerland to Die.

A British judge refused to block a couple from traveling to Switzerland so the wife can kill herself. Mr. Justice Headley of the Family Division of the High Court ruled November 30 that the courts cannot abridge the "right" of the woman, known only as Mrs. Z, to make her own decision, according to The Independent. She died on December 1, according to the Press Association.

However, Justice Headley said that her husband could still be held accountable by criminal justice authorities for violating British laws banning anyone from assisting in a suicide, The Independent reported. Mrs. Z has cerebellar ataxia, which is a degenerative brain disease, according to Agence France-Presse.

"The evidence clearly establishes that she has legal capacity and her decision is her own, freely arrived at with full knowledge of its consequences," the justice wrote, according to The Independent. "The court is not entitled to test that decision against what the court thinks is right. The right and responsibility for such a decision belongs alone to Mrs. Z."

At least 22 Britons have taken advantage of permissive Swiss euthanasia laws and traveled there to die. Mrs. Z seeks to follow their example by killing herself with the help of euthanasia group Dignitas. Since she is unable to travel on her own, her husband has agreed to take her there, The Independent reported.

The case ...