132-33, § 43). The more serious the harm involved the more
heavily will weigh in the balance considerations of public health and
safety against the countervailing principle of personal autonomy. The
law in issue in this case, section 2 of the 1961 Act, was designed to
safeguard life by protecting the weak and vulnerable and especially
those who are not in a condition to take informed decisions against
acts intended to end life or to assist in ending life. Doubtless the
condition of terminally ill individuals will vary. But many will be
vulnerable and it is the vulnerability of the class which provides the
rationale for the law