I HAD TO FIGHT FOR MY RIGHTS… NO ONE ELSE SHOULD

LORRAINE Cox, 40, took her case to court after being refused access to special rules for terminal illness.

She had not been able to demonstrate her death was reasonably expected within six months.

The mother of three from Derrylin, Northern Ireland, has motor neurone disease, which damages the brain and nerves, causing muscle wasting and eventually death.

Landmark

said: “I have been clear from the outset in taking this challenge forward that what I and others have had to go through is unfair.

“At a time when I should have been focusing on spending the remainder of my life with my family and friends, I have instead had to go through this ordeal.

“I feel my decision has been justified and I hope not a single person has to go through the same experience again.

“I hope the six-month rule can now be scrapped as quickly as possible.”

Welcoming the news, Law Centre NI legal officer Owen McCloskey, who supported Ms Cox in taking her case, said this was “a hugely important decision that will have implications for terminally ill claimants across the UK”.

In a landmark ruling, the judge found she had suffered a breach of her human rights. Mr Justice McAlinden said the difference in treatment for terminally ill claimants who cannot reasonably meet the six-month life expectancy rule was discriminatory. She