Pretty v. United Kingdom (2346/02) was a case decided by European Court of Human Rights in 2002.
Diane Pretty was suffering from motor neurone disease and was paralysed from the neck down, had little decipherable speech and was fed by a tube.
[1] It is not a crime to kill oneself under English law, but the applicant was prevented by her disease from taking such a step without assistance.
[3] In a unanimous judgment, the Court, composed of seven judges, found Pretty's application under articles 2, 3, 8, 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights admissible, but found no violation of the Convention.
Significant conclusions include that "no right to die, whether at the hands of a third person or with the assistance of a public authority, can be derived from Article 2 of the Convention".