Equality and Human Rights Commission

Article 10 says:

• Every human being has the right to life.
• Governments must do everything necessary to ensure disabled people enjoy this right on an equal basis with other people.

What does this mean?

This means that the State must not take away anyone’s life, and government must take reasonable steps to protect your life. For example there should be adequate laws in place to protect you from others who might try to take away your life.

There have been legal cases about ‘Right to Life’ under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The right to life only applies once people are born. Authorities must protect life where they know or ought to know of immediate risk to life from oneself or from another (for example, a stalker). Doctors must provide life-prolonging treatment, such as water and artificial feeding, if a terminally ill patient with capacity to make this decision asks for it. Also, if a disabled person dies an unnatural death, whilst living under the care of the State, for example by committing suicide in prison or a mental health institution, an investigation must be carried out