The woman at the centre of a legal battle over her right to die might not live long enough to hear the verdict, her husband says.
Wellington lawyer Lecretia Seales, who has an inoperable brain tumour, was "talking less and less" as her condition worsened, her husband Matt Vickers posted on his blog.
"Lecretia is not well. Her eyes are closed most of the time. She is having trouble swallowing. She is talking less and less."
On Friday morning Ms Seales' paralysis spread to her entire body, leaving her "rigid as a plank", Mr Vickers wrote.
A hospital bed was delivered, with some difficulty, to the couples' home, which meant Ms Seales did not have to be moved to a hospice, which was against her wishes.
"Lecretia's choice is imminent, and we don't know yet if she will get to make it," wrote Mr Vickers.
"She's been through a few things already that she would rather not have had to go through, but she has taken all of this in her stride and with as much grace and dignity as she can muster."
Mr Vickers said while he did not know whether his wife would choose to die if the court ruled she could, "for Lecretia, it was always having the choice that mattered, not the choice itself".
Last week, in a three-day hearing in front of Justice David Collins in the High Court at Wellington, evidence was given by Ms Seales' oncologist, who said she had weeks or some short months to live.
Ms Seales' legal team has argued that not allowing Ms Seales' doctor to administer lethal medication that would relieve her suffering was contrary to the Human Rights Act.
However, the Crown argued that there was nothing in current legislation that allowed for doctors to lawfully help to end someone's life and only a change in legislation would make it legal.
Professor Paul Rishworth, QC, said Ms Seales' arguments around who could apply for doctor-assisted death led to a slippery slope and there were details such as the definition of the word terminal that would have to be dealt with.
- By Tess Nichol of NZME. News Service
