Rajinder Rai looks into the recent judgment in Morris v Morris
The recent judgement of the England and Wales High Court (EWHC) in Morris v Morris [2024] EWHC 2554 Ch has raised the sensitive issue of assisted dying.
The case centred around Myra Morris, a 73-year-old woman who travelled to a clinic in Switzerland with her husband and adult children to end her life. She died on 5 December 2023 having struggled for two years suffering from multiple system atrophy. At the clinic, she self-administered a lethal drug dose with the help of staff. This meant that under the Suicide Act 1961, her husband would have lost his right to inherit his wife’s assets for assisting in her death.
Myra had made a will in December 2021, where her husband was the main beneficiary of her estate, with their children as secondary beneficiaries. However, the forfeiture rule posed a threat to this arrangement due to her husband’s involvement in the events leading to her death. Her husband sought relief from the court to enable him to inherit under his wife’s will.
The court found Myra had mental capacity to end her life and was satisfied that the test under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 was corroborated by her solicitor. The court allowed her husband to inherit her estate as she had wished. The court also decided that Myra’s children had risked forfeiting their inheritance because of travelling with her to end her life. However, they found their presence was to comfort her in her final moments, with no actions seen to be encouraging her decision, and thus allowed their inheritance to remain intact too.
The judgment not only brings closure to a grieving family but also sets a legal precedent. It clarifies that accompanying a loved one to a clinic where they choose to end their life, without more, does not automatically amount to assisting suicide under UK law. In its judgment the court commented on the presentation of evidence that led to its decision.
If the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill becomes law, and the loved one of a terminally ill person (with a lifespan of six to 12 months) is asked for help to end their life, it will potentially, depending on the evidence presented, no longer be a crime. That may provide the legal protection and peace of mind that families seek as they face impossible choices.
On the other hand, there are arguments against making it legal, such as when the individual doesn’t have that terminal lifespan but still wants to end their life nonetheless.
There are undoubtedly many more reasons for and against the bill, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. The bill is due to be debated in the Commons on 29 November.
