(ANSA-AFP) - FRANKFURT AM MAIN, 26 FEB - Germany's highest court on Wednesday ruled that a 2015 law banning professional assisted suicide was unconstitutional, as it robbed terminally ill patients of "the right to a self-determined death". Judge Andreas Vosskuhle said the right included "the freedom to take one's life and seek help doing so". The ruling is a major victory for the terminally ill patients, doctors and assisted suicide organisations who brought the case, complaining that the existing law went too far. Known as Paragraph 217, the 2015 legislation penalised anyone offering assisted suicide as a professional service, whether they accepted payment or not. It was mainly aimed at barring associations dedicated to supporting patients wanting to end their lives, but also meant medical personnel faced prosecution for prescribing life-terminating drugs.

The verdict on Wednesday from the Karlsruhe-based court was closely watched in a fast-ageing country where Catholic and Protestant Churches still exert strong influence, but polls show growing public support for physician-assisted suicide.

(ANSA-AFP).