PRO-life MP David Crausby is seeking to close legal loopholes which allow for the withdrawal of treatment for terminally ill patients.

Mr Crausby is concerned about a series of recent legal decisions which have led to patients being denied food, fluids and vital drugs with the purpose of causing death.

He is ready to take a case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming court hearings which allowed such withdrawals had not taken into account the requirement that "no one should be deprived of his life intentionally".

The announcement came on the day Diane Pretty lost her High Court battle over the right to commit suicide with the help of her husband.

The 42-year-old mother-of-two from Luton, Bedfordshire, is confined to a wheelchair after being diagnosed with untreatable motor neurone disease in 1999.

She had challenged the refusal by David Calvert-Smith, the director of public prosecutions, to rule out taking action against her husband, Brian, if he helps her take her own life.

Mr Crausby, MP for Bolton North-east, said the court was right to throw out the case.

He has joined an all-party group of MPs and Peers to launch a campaign to challenge English and Scottish case law.

The group met in London yesterday and launched the Human Rights Care Card -- a document which promises legal action against anybody withdrawing food and fluid from the carrier.

Mr Crausby said: "I am concerned at the manner in which courts are increasingly taking over the role of democratic government and making changes to the law on a wide range of issues.

"A series of legal decisions have opened loopholes in the protection of vulnerable patients. These loopholes must be closed -- either by Statute or by the ruling of a higher court."

Article 2 of the European Convention states "No one should be deprived of life".

Yet, Mr Crausby said, the British Medical Association's guidelines allow the withdrawal of treatment from some patients who are not dying.

Dr Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South-east, has backed his colleague but has refused to join the all-party group, preferring instead to fight independently.

He said: "I am against euthanasia in all its forms. I believe there should be more hospices in Britain available via the NHS to deal with terminal cases.

"They are able to offer good care of people who are dying and are a viable alternative to death, in my opinion."

The campaign against Euthanasia is being run by the Right to Life organisation which will also finance any legal proceedings.