Terminally-ill campaigner Noel Conway honoured with award
A campaigner who has spent his final months fighting to change the law on assisted dying has won a prize for his work.
Noel Conway, who has terminal motor neurone disease, was the lead claimant in a judicial review challenging the ban on assisted dying.
The 69-year-old won the ‘Best Use of Law’ award at the SMK National Campaigner Awards in London on Wednesday.
In December 2016 Mr Conway, supported by Dignity in Dying, brought a case against the Secretary of State for Justice to fight for his right to have the option of an assisted death in his final months.
The former college lecturer, who lives near Shrewsbury, feels that he is denied choice and control over his death under the current law and that he may be forced to suffer against his wishes.
Over almost two years, Mr Conway made a significant contribution to the assisted dying debate in the UK.
The High Court and the Court of Appeal both reaffirmed that cases of this nature can be decided by the courts, enabling future cases to have an easier passage.
The courts also confirmed that the ban on assisted dying is an interference with the right to respect for private life, as protected by the Human Rights Act.
Although Noel’s case was denied a full hearing at the Supreme Court in November 2018, the judgment acknowledged that assisted dying is an "issue of transcendent public importance" and "touches us all".
Mr Conway, who was unable to attend the awards ceremony due to his ill-health, accepted his award via video message.
He said: “I’m very honoured to have been nominated for this award. Without the contribution of so many other people it wouldn’t have been possible, in particular the campaign group Dignity in Dying.
"Whilst we didn’t achieve the result we all hoped for, nonetheless we have made a considerable contribution to progressing the right for all of us to be able to determine where we die, when we die and how we die.
"I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart, and whilst it might not be something I will benefit from personally, it doesn’t matter.
"In the end it’s achieving that goal so that many countless thousands of people will not suffer at the end of life - which is what’s happening now and is quite unforgivable.”
Mr Conway was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neurone disease, in November 2014.
He feels that he is prevented from exercising his right to choice and control over his death under the current law and fears that he may be forced to suffer against his wishes.
He believes that his only option may be to remove his ventilator and suffocate.
