'British law is broken': Shropshire campaigner speaks after Court of Appeal refuses permission for judicial review on assisted dying
Shropshire campaigner Noel Conway has spoken out after the Court of Appeal refused permission for a judicial review on assisted dying.
Mr Conway's case was rejected by the Supreme Court in November 2018 and a further court action pursued by 49-year-old Phil Newby from Rutland has also failed.
Mr Conway, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2014, said: "I am very sorry that Mr Newby’s appeal has been refused, although I have to say I am not surprised after my own experience.
"Of course our cases were different because Mr Newby was seeking a much broader change to the law which would allow non-terminally ill patients, who are mentally competent, to obtain assisted death.
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"Increasing numbers of people who are suffering because of their health conditions, who may or may not be within six months of dying, are demanding the right to a civilised exit to their lives.
"Those who have the money and are still capable of transport are taking the option of going abroad to Switzerland.
"But for those without the means or capacity, they must continue to suffer at end-of-life.
"The Supreme Court has already recognised this is a violation of people’s basic human rights but nevertheless will not take any steps to remedy the situation.
"British law is broken in this respect and will not provide a solution."
Mr Conway, a retired lecturer who lives near Shrewsbury, believes the only way forward is now to lobby Parliament.
He said: "Parliament must approve such a legal change to the current law.
"MPs again debated whether they should review current laws in practice once more on Monday. Although this debate was extra Parliamentary in Westminster Hall with only a small representation of MPs present, there were proponents for and against setting up a further enquiry into the effects of introducing such a law.
Suffer
"The weight of the argument was in favour of allowing a parliamentary enquiry. This is a signal that the new parliament is ready to return once again to this crucial issue on which many thousands of lives depend.
"We have also seen considerable movement in other regimes to accept assisted dying, for example New Zealand is now going to carry out a referendum on the whole issue. It is likely this will be successful."
Mr Newby, who also has Motor Neurone Disease, asked the courts to undertake a “detailed examination of the evidence” to determine whether the blanket ban on assisted dying is compatible with his human rights. He had appealed against a decision from the High Court in November 2019 which denied his case permission to proceed, but were unsuccessful.
His case was the first time assisted dying had been heard by the Courts since Mr Conway’s case was rejected. He had asked the courts to examine a large body of evidence and to cross-examine experts, a departure from the norm.
The decision comes as Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying organisation, published its figures for 2019. They reveal that 42 Brits were assisted to die there last year, up from 24 in 2018.
Life Circle, another Swiss organisation, revealed that 11 Brits were assisted to die there in 2019, down from 19 in 2018. This now means that one British person travels to Switzerland for an assisted death at least every seven days, up from one every eight days in recent years.
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “While it is disappointing that the courts have refused to examine this issue, there are now growing calls for the Ministry of Justice to lead a Government inquiry to examine how our outdated laws on assisted dying affect terminally ill people like Phil, their families, the police and other public services.
“These latest figures from Switzerland show that banning assisted dying does nothing but drive the practice overseas, thereby forcing terminally ill people and their families to shoulder the cost and risk prosecution in the process.
"For those who cannot afford the £10k price tag, many are forced to take matters into their own hands, with hundreds of terminally ill people ending their lives in the UK every year.
"Others without the strength or means to act are forced to suffer unbearably against their wishes in their final weeks and days."
