Shrewsbury MP in U-turn over assisted dying
A Shropshire MP who was once opposed to making assisted dying legal says the case of a constituent has made him change his mind.
Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, had previously spoken against a change in the law due to his Catholic faith.
But the MP said his many conversations with constituent Noel Conway had finally convinced him that the law needed to be changed. He said he would now be lobbying the Government to allow assisted dying in the UK.
But Mr Kawczynski said watching Mr Conway and others suffer had convinced him that in certain circumstances, with the appropriate safeguards, there were cases where it should be allowed.
"In recent months I have seen people who are very ill, where they think they can't go on, but are being kept alive artificially, sometimes against their wishes," he said.
Mr Kawczynski said he had found it difficult to reconcile assisted dying with his Christian beliefs, but said advances in modern medicine meant some people were experiencing great suffering as their lives were prolonged.
Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of anti-euthanasia alliance Care Not Killing, said: “The current laws put a blanket ban on assisted suicide and euthanasia. Over the last two decades they have been reviewed more than 30 times by Parliaments across the UK, the Courts and even by the former DPP.
"Every time, they have rejected introducing a law that would treat disabled people, the terminally ill and those with chronic conditions differently in law, to the young and healthy.
"We know that in the small number of countries that have removed these universal protections vulnerable people feel under pressure to end their lives prematurely."
If you have been affected by this article, you can call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit Samaritans.org.
