Tony Nicklinson, 57, from Melsham, Wiltshire, was a civil engineer who travelled the world and loved playing rugby and sky-diving. But a catastrophic stroke in Athens in 2005 left him paralysed below the neck and unable to speak.
Mr Nicklinson, who communicates by blinking or limited head movement, sums up his existence as "dull, miserable, demeaning, undignified and intolerable" and wants a doctor to be able to lawfully end his life.
The married father of two adult daughters is seeking a declaration that it would not be unlawful for "on the grounds of necessity" for Mr Nicklinson's doctor to terminate his life. Speaking in June using a specially adapted computer, he said: "It is important for me because it determines what sort of death that awaits me.
Mr Nicklinson uses a Twitter account and tells his 39,000 followers about his day-to-day life, as well as telling jokes. It takes him around five minutes to write each Tweet. He revealed he does not enjoy going outside because he would be unable to brush insects away. He tells Christian followers who urge him not to end his life that he is an atheist, adding: "For me, God is a figment of your imagination."
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Assisted suicide profile: Tony Nicklinson
16th August 2012
Tony Nicklinson, 57, from Melsham, Wiltshire, was a civil engineer who travelled the world and loved playing rugby and sky-diving. But a catastrophic stroke in Athens in 2005 left him paralysed below the neck and unable to speak.
Mr Nicklinson, who communicates by blinking or limited head movement, sums up his existence as "dull, miserable, demeaning, undignified and intolerable" and wants a doctor to be able to lawfully end his life.
The married father of two adult daughters is seeking a declaration that it would not be unlawful for "on the grounds of necessity" for Mr Nicklinson's doctor to terminate his life. Speaking in June using a specially adapted computer, he said: "It is important for me because it determines what sort of death that awaits me.
Mr Nicklinson uses a Twitter account and tells his 39,000 followers about his day-to-day life, as well as telling jokes. It takes him around five minutes to write each Tweet. He revealed he does not enjoy going outside because he would be unable to brush insects away. He tells Christian followers who urge him not to end his life that he is an atheist, adding: "For me, God is a figment of your imagination."
Staff | The Daily Telegraph
Read this article in full at telegraph.co.uk