The British Humanist Association (BHA) is supporting ‘Your Death, Your Choice’, a new legal campaign from the law firm Bindmans which aims to change the law on assisted dying throughout the UK. The firm, which previously represented locked-in sufferer and humanist Tony Nicklinson in his appeals to change the law, is now seeking £50,000 in crowdfunded donations to begin a fresh legal case seeking the right to die for all those suffering from a terminal or incurable condition who have made a rational and committed decision to end their lives.
Bindmans intends to act for two families, including the family of Jeffrey Spector, a committed humanist who shared his last moments in a short film recorded last year. Spector had a painful tumour in his spine that was extremely likely to lead to full paralysis. Faced with an increasingly debilitating condition and no hope of recovery, he chose to have an assisted death abroad before his condition could progress further. Before death, he expressed his desire for a progressive assisted dying law which could allow him to die peacefully in his own country at a time of his choosing. Such a law would have afforded him more time with his family, secure in the knowledge that the option was there should he need it.
The ‘Your Death, Your Choice’ campaign is ambitious, but well-placed for success. It hopes to gather together legal and subject experts, including some involved in the famous Carter v Canada case which mandated the legalisation of assisted dying in Canada last year, in the hopes of winning a declaration of incompatibility between the assisted dying ban in the UK and the human rights of sufferers. To stand a chance at this, it needs to crowdfund £50,000 from members of the public for the first stages of the campaign.
The case is made possible because of the Nicklinson judgment in 2014 in which the BHA intervened in support of a change in the law. The Supreme Court justices reserved their right to rule again on assisted dying should Parliament fail to legislate decisively on the issue.
BHA Director of Public Affairs and Policy Pavan Dhaliwal commented, ‘We strongly believe it is the right of individuals who are suffering with incurable or terminal conditions to decide whether or not an assisted death is the right option for them. For the hundreds of people in this country like Jeffrey Spector, or Tony Nickinson, or Simon Binner, the present law is as inhumane as it is unyielding. The majority of the public supports a change in the law and we hope that through a fresh legal challenge, the courts will see sense and compel Parliament to act.’
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For further comment or information contact BHA Director of Public Affairs and Policy Pavan Dhaliwal at pavan@humanists.uk or on 0773 843 5059.
Donate to support Elaine Spector’s crowdfunder for pre-litigation funding at http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/yourdeathyourchoice.
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethically and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion of belief.
The BHA had previously worked on the case with Bindmans and its member Simon Binner, who travelled to Switzerland to end his life in October 2015 due to the rapid progression of his condition. His story was told in the documentary How to Die: Simon’s Choice, which aired on BBC Two in February.
The BHA previously intervened in the Nicklinson cases. You can read more about the Supreme Court’s judgment here: https://humanists.uk/2014/06/25/assisted-dying-appeals-supported-bha-dismissed-supreme-court-parliament-urged-review-law/