A man who helped his terminally ill wife travel to Switzerland to end her own life is entitled to inherit part of her estate, a judge has ruled.
Philip Morris, 76, with “very great reluctance” assisted his wife, Myra Morris, then 73, when she went to the Pegasos clinic in Liestal, Switzerland in December 2023 and self-administered a fatal dose of pentobarbital.
The Forfeiture Act 1982 precludes a person who has unlawfully killed another from acquiring a benefit in consequence of the killing. However, after a challenge by Philip Morris, Mr Justice Trower ruled in the high court that the forfeiture rule should not apply in the case at hand.
At the time of her death, Myra Morris had multiple system atrophy, a rare and degenerative neurological disorder with no known cure, and was in constant pain. In November, before they travelled to Switzerland, she made a statement to solicitors explaining her wish for an assisted death and that no one should get in trouble as a result. Her husband said that he had considered his wife’s wish to end her life “too horrendous” but she persisted until he realised he could not ignore what she wanted.
In his written judgment last week, Trower said: “Philip sacrificed his own happiness and put himself at risk of prosecution to honour the heartfelt wishes of his wife. It is clear to me that this was not because he wanted her to die, far from it, but rather because he loved and respected his wife too much to disregard her wishes.”
Under the current law in England and Wales on assisted dying, which could change in a forthcoming parliamentary vote, assisting someone to end their life is a criminal offence which carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 14 years, although prosecutions are rare.
The day after returning from Switzerland, Morris reported his wife’s voluntary assisted death and his involvement to police at Colindale station, north-west London. He was told in writing that there was nothing to report.
But Morris had not been given any advice regarding the forfeiture rule and, when he became aware of it, it was said to have caused him “very considerable distress”.
However, under section 2 of the Forfeiture Act, the court can modify the effect of it if “the justice of the case requires the effect of the rule to be so modified in that case”.
Describing it as “a tragic case”, Trower said: “I had no doubt at the end of the hearing that this is a case in which I should modify the forfeiture rule by excluding its application in full.”
Morris, who was supported by his two adult children with his late wife in challenging the application of the forfeiture rule, said in his witness statement: “For a woman of such beauty, intelligence, dignity and grace, being so physically incapacitated and reliant on others made life intolerable for Myra.
“I was desperate for Myra to change her mind, but she was solid in her decision that she wanted to be dignified to the end which is why she chose to end her life. She faced a future that she did not want.”
A bill legalising assisted dying for people in England and Wales with less than six months to live is due to be published on Wednesday.
