Health
Last rights: The battle for a dignified death
LAST December Alayne Buckley, a 61-year-old former receptionist from Wakefield in the north of England, told New Scientist about the dilemma she was facing. Buckley had been diagnosed with motor neuron disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive paralysing condition that is almost always fatal. By Christmas, Buckley needed a ventilator to help her …