Paralysed Briton loses right-to-die court battle

LONDON (AFP) - A British man who is paralysed from the neck down lost his high court battle on Thursday to end his life of "pure torture" with the help of a doctor.

Mr Tony Nicklinson, who suffers from locked-in syndrome, which has left his body paralysed but his mental faculties intact, wept as the verdict was announced.

"You can see from Tony's reaction he's absolutely heartbroken," said his wife Jane, vowing to continue with their legal fight to ensure that any doctor who helped her 58-year-old husband die would not face a murder charge.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide remain illegal in Britain, but an inquiry recommended in January that lawmakers should consider changing the law to let doctors help some terminally ill people end their lives.