Law needs to change over right to die, says Telford MP Lucy Allan
Telford MP Lucy Allan today called for a "fundamental review of the law" to give people the right to die.
Ms Allan said something needed to be done so the law better reflects both the world we live in and public opinion on the issue.
It comes after terminally ill Shrewsbury man Noel Conway continued his fight in court for his right not to undergo a "distressing and undignified" death.
Ms Allan said that both Mr Conway and the case of Alfie Evans, the one-year-old who died last weekend after a high profile life-support battle, highlighted the role that the state plays in our lives.
"In Alfie’s case, the State made the decision, against the wishes of his parents, that he should not receive life support nor further treatment. This decision was made by medical professionals and supported by the courts. In their opinion, further treatment for Alfie was not in his best interests irrespective of the parents’ views or those of other medical experts.
"In Noel’s case, he has Motor Neurone Disease. He is fighting to have choice at the end of life, freedom to decide the time and nature of his death, free from suffering, as he slowly loses his ability to function.
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"Under current law the State prohibits assisted dying. A family member assisting Noel to travel abroad to die, could be prosecuted and face prison.
"These two cases raise fundamental issues about the role the state plays in our lives."
Ms Allan said that fundamental freedoms were "too important" to be delegated to professionals or the State.
"People value the freedom to choose what is right for them and for their family," she said.
"For the State to forcibly impose its view, renders the individual powerless. It removes our choice and control over our lives. And is not their choice to make – it is ours. We live in a free society where the individual has the right to self-determination.
"There needs to be a fundamental review of the law in this area so that it better reflects the world we live in, and better reflects public opinion.
"Our fundamental freedoms are too important to be delegated to professionals and the State, however well-intentioned they may be."
Mr Conway, 68, said he felt "entombed" by his illness. The retired lecturer appeared at Telford County Court this week as judges consider his Appeal Court challenge against a ban on assisted dying.
He said he wants to be helped to die – which the law currently prevents – when he has less than six months left to live, still has mental capacity to make the decision and has made a "voluntary, clear, settled and informed" decision.
He has proposed that he could only receive assistance to die if a High Court judge determined that he meets all three of those criteria.
