Bridgnorth widower who watched wife die in agony to make assisted dying plea at Conservative Party conference

Warwick Jackson will be speaking at the 'Dignity in Dying' fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Monday.

Mr Jackson, 63, from Bridgnorth, whose wife Ann tragically died as a result of stage 4 peritoneal cancer in August 2020, will make a heartfelt plea to MPs, urging them to support a change in the law that would allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults the option of an assisted death.

The plea comes as a bill awaits debate in the House of Lords, another is expected to introduced in the House of Commons, and the Prime Minister has committed to making parliamentary time available for debate on the issue.

Mr Jackson will say: "You have the power to prevent others from experiencing the horror my wife endured. The law as it stands forces people to die in agony when all they want is a dignified and peaceful end. Ann deserved better, and so do the thousands of people facing a similar fate.”

Mrs Jackson was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer following a sudden illness in 2018.

After undergoing chemotherapy, she was told there was nothing more that could be done.

In her final days she experienced severe difficulty breathing.

Mr Jackson has spoken of the harrowing hours leading up to his wife's death, and the traumatic experience of watching her gasping for breath, despite receiving the maximum dose of sedatives allowed.

He said the experience had been torturous for both her and himself.

He says he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of witnessing what he calls her "slow, agonising, and traumatic death", an experience he feels she would have chosen to avoid if she’d had the option of assisted dying.

Mr Jackson will speak at a Dignity in Dying fringe event at the conference titled ‘Assisted dying: the Conservative case for reform’.

It takes place at 1pm in the Churchill Theatre, Birmingham ICC on Monday, September 30.

Mr Jackson said: "We were repeatedly assured by doctors that palliative care would prevent Ann’s suffering, but she suffocated in front of me. For four long days and nights I had to watch my partner of 37 years struggling for breath, begging the nurse to end her suffering, something that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

"MPs need to know that no amount of palliative care could have eased her torment; Ann deserved a proper say over her death, including the option of assisted dying. It’s time for the law to change. I fully support the call for a free vote on assisted dying because this is a personal issue for so many of us – and we need MPs to listen.”

The event comes after, earlier this month, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his promise to Dame Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, to make parliamentary time available for debate on the issue.