Diane Pretty

Diane Pretty (15 November 1959 - 11 May 2002) was a British woman who became known for a debate on laws of euthanasia. She had attempted to change British law so she could end her own life because of the pains and problems of the terminal illness motor neurone disease.

Over time, the disease worsened and made it impossible for her to move or communicate easily even though her mental faculties remained normal. The illness resulted in her having to be looked after continuously by her husband and nurses. Pretty took her case to court using the Human Rights Act to argue not to prosecute anybody involved in helping her to die. British courts did not accept Pretty's arguments, with the House of Lords eventually turning her case down. The European Court of Human Rights refused to acknowledge that the European Convention on Human Rights provided a right to die, and her appeal to that court also failed. She died aged 43, as a result of her condition.