Shropshire Star comment: A salute to Noel Conway in his brave fight

He has been fighting for the right to die with dignity through the High Courts.

And though his case has been rejected by three senior judges, who believe Parliament should be the final arbiter of a move towards euthanasia, Mr Conway has created a legacy that will last for some time.

He has started a new national debate on whether Britain should follow in the footsteps of Switzerland by allowing people with grave illnesses to terminate their lives.

Clearly, the High Court has ruled that Britain is not yet ready to do so.

However, Mr Conway intends to take his fight to the Supreme Court and advance the rights of terminally ill people who want the right to die peacefully, with dignity, on their own terms.

My Conway is a truly remarkable man. He and campaigners from Dignity in Dying remain undeterred by the outcome of the High Court. They will continue their fight with renewed vigour. Defeat only makes them stronger.

He, it seems, believes the right to die is a fundamental right and is campaigning for one of the most valuable commodities in our society: a sense of justice.

There are equally strong views on both sides of the debate, of course, and those from Care Not Killing have welcomed the decision not to permit euthanasia citing fears regarding the possible abuse, coercion and exploitation of vulnerable and sick people.

Clearly, Mr Conway is not in that category. He is independently minded and has behaved in an eminently respectful and dignified manner.

While acknowledging the concerns of pro-life campaigners, he believes the law must not protect life at all costs, when it is clear that life is ebbing away and the terminally ill wish to draw a line.

Mr Conway is clear in his view that the options remaining open to him are barbaric.

He does not want to travel to Switzerland to end his days in a clinic, he does not want to jeopardise his loved ones by involving them in the premature ending of his life and he does not want to suffer needlessly.

He has accepted that death is inevitable in a short space of time and wishes to exercise some control over the process.

The debate will rage and we can but salute his courage.