Assisted dying campaigner Noel Conway, who has motor neurone disease (MND) and wants a change in the law to allow assisted dying in the UK, has taken his case to the Supreme Court today.
Noel, a 67-year-old retired lecturer from Shrewsbury and a member of Humanists UK, suffers from terminal MND. Noel is campaigning to change the law and wants the right to die if his condition worsens to the point that he has six months or fewer to live. The permission hearing for his case was held at the Supreme Court and Noel is now awaiting the outcome of the decision.
Humanists UK, which is supporting Noel’s legal bid, will apply to intervene in the upcoming case if the court grants permission, as it did at the High Court and Court of Appeal. Humanists UK campaigns to legalise assisted dying across the UK for people who are terminally ill or incurably suffering and who have made a clear decision, free from coercion, to end their lives.
Lawyers acting for Noel have argued that the current law is an intrusion into Mr Conway’s right to privacy and therefore incompatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.
MND is a progressively degenerative condition in which a person’s muscles weaken and they struggle to grip, walk, speak, swallow, or breathe. Noel himself is currently dependent on a ventilator to breathe for nearly 20 hours a day.
The case comes almost two months after the death of Omid T, a Humanists UK member who was forced to travel to Switzerland to die with dignity while awaiting his High Court case.
Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson said: ‘Noel hopes to establish that all people who are terminally ill must be able to make their own choices about how they want to die and to have these choices protected by law. We are proud to support Noel’s case.
‘In any assisted dying law there must be strict legal safeguards in place but being able to die, with dignity, in a manner of our choosing, must be understood to be a fundamental human right.’
Nancy Collins, Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, who represents Humanists UK, said: ‘We welcome today’s permission hearing by the Supreme Court. We hope that permission will be granted and that the Court will swiftly consider Mr Conway’s case that he should be allowed to choose the manner and timing of his death. We continue to represent Humanists UK who have long campaigned for the right to assisted dying.
‘We hope that the Supreme Court will make a positive finding in support of Mr Conway and the proposed scheme for assisted dying so that terminally ill people are able to choose how and when to die, where they wish to do so. We believe that this is a fundamental right that should now be recognised and protected by the law.’
Noel Conway is being supported by campaign group Dignity in Dying.
NOTES:
For further comment or information, please contact Humanists UK press manager Casey-Ann Seaniger at casey@humanists.uk or phone 020 7324 3078.
Humanists UK is represented by Nancy Collins from Hodge Jones & Allen LLP and Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC and Graeme Hall of Doughty Street Chambers.
Read more about Noel Conway’s case in our previous news item here: https://humanists.uk/2018/04/26/humanists-uk-to-intervene-in-conway-assisted-dying-case-at-court-of-appeal/
Read more about Humanists UK’s campaigns work on assisted dying: http://humanists.uk/campaigns/public-ethical-issues/assisted-dying/
Read more about the case of Omid T which Humanists UK also supported: https://humanists.uk/2018/10/04/humanists-uk-mourns-death-of-assisted-dying-campaigner-omid-t-who-has-died-in-switzerland/
At Humanists UK, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. Our work brings non-religious people together to develop their own views, helping people be happier and more fulfilled in the one life we have. Through our ceremonies, education services, and community and campaigning work, we strive to create a fair and equal society for all.