Has struggled with an incurable disease since she was twelve: “It’s my last wish”
Pernilla Wallin, 40, has for several years fought for the right to end her own life. Now she has suffered another setback – rejection in the Court of Appeal.
– My last great wish is that I will be able to decide how I will die here in Sweden, and not have to go somewhere else, she says.
When Pernilla Wallin was twelve years old, she learned that she has an incurable disease that slowly breaks down her muscles – LGMD. She has needed a wheelchair since 2011, as she cannot stand or walk by herself. The disease has no known cure and she gets worse over time.
TV4 Nyheterna has previously spoken to Pernilla, who has long fought for her right to euthanasia.
– My biggest wish is for me to have the right to decide for myself how I want to die at home in Sweden. To be able to do it at my own home where I feel safe, she tells TV4 Nyheterna.
Rejection of rejection
Pernilla doesn’t want to die now. She wants to wait until her body no longer allows her to live the way she wants. Something she herself believes is about five years away.
– I have pain 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. That’s my everyday life. But when the most important parts for me are being able to be spontaneous and fly around and travel and do all these things that are so important to me, if I can’t do that then it’s no longer my life.
Together with her lawyer, Pernilla has applied to receive euthanasia by being given special medicines to be able to end her own life when she thinks it’s time. She has been rejected by the National Board of Health, the Administrative Court and now the Court of Appeal.
For Pernilla, the rejection was expected, but she is critical of the fact that it took so long, almost six months, to receive the notification.
Will take it to the European Court
Now Pernilla and her lawyer will appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, where they expect to be rejected again.
Then there remains the European Court, which Pernilla hopes will be able to help her. Her lawyer thinks there is a chance.
– As practice in the European Court of Justice looks like, we believe that we have a good chance of success. This is because assisted suicide is permitted in Sweden, and then the country is obliged to determine the criteria for assisted suicide. Otherwise, we would not have pursued the matter, says lawyer Aud Sjökvist.
“I’m not suicidal”
For Pernilla, it is important to point out that she is pushing the issue so that she can decide for herself when and how she will die, and that she will receive euthanasia in a legal way.
– People think that I am suicidal. No, I’m not suicidal. I am a very happy person. I love everything that life has to offer. My situation has forced me to take a stand for something that I wouldn’t have done if I was healthy. I want to be able to decide for myself. Because it is my life, and it is my illness, says Pernilla Wallin.
The interview with Pernilla in the player above is from a publication on November 29, 2023.
About euthanasia
Euthanasia is not permitted in Sweden. Killing another person is a crime (murder or manslaughter), even if it is done with the person’s consent. Aiding and abetting suicide, on the other hand, is not a crime in Sweden. However, the doctor who prescribes medicine to a person with the aim of taking it in order to take his own life would risk delegitimization, as the action would likely be judged to be contrary to science and proven experience.
Some countries – for example Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and some states in the USA – have regulations that allow euthanasia.
Source: Swedish Medical Association