Right to die: Shrewsbury MP tells of 'extraordinarily emotional' meeting with campaigner Noel Conway
The “extraordinarily emotional” experience of visiting a terminally-ill man campaigning for his right to die, has been shared in Parliament by a Shropshire MP.
Shrewsbury & Atcham’s Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski made the comments when taking part in a debate on assisted dying, organised by Nick Boles MP.
Although he said he had not yet decided which way he would vote on the issue, Mr Kawczynski spoke of the impact of meeting 69-year-old county man Noel Conway, who has fought a legal battle for the right to end his own life.
Mr Conway, a former lecturer, has motor neurone disease (MND), and was refused permission by the Supreme Court to challenge the law on assisted dying in November.
Recounting his meeting with Mr Conway, Mr Kawczynski told Parliament: “I had the privilege of visiting him and his wife at their beautiful Shropshire home, where I spent the afternoon finding out about his daily life and how his wife is caring for him.
Answer
“As I am sure honourable members will realise, it was an extraordinarily emotional afternoon, especially when I found out about some of the very difficult conditions my constituent is living under and the constant care that he needs.
“I spoke to Mr Conway about the possibility of him travelling to Switzerland, and his answer will stay with me forever; he said, ‘No, I am an Englishman and I want to die in England’.
“I think that is extremely important, because although some constituents have the wherewithal, financial means and opportunities to travel to Switzerland to take things into their own hands, that is not always the case for all our constituents bearing in mind financial restrictions, but also the fact that some people do not want to leave our country to be able to die.
“This is their home; this where their families live; and this is where they want to die.”
Mr Kawczynski told the debate that although he is a Roman Catholic, he did not always agree the church gets everything right “when it comes to how human beings behave, interact and ultimately decide to die”.
He said: “I have always been a Roman Catholic – having been born in Poland, I come from a very strict Roman Catholic family – and my Christian belief is very important to me, but I have disagreed with my own Church on numerous issues.”
