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Noel Conway wins national campaigning award

Noel Conway, a man with terminal motor neurone disease who has spent his final months campaigning for a change in the law on assisted dying, has been awarded a prestigious prize for his efforts. Noel, who was the lead claimant in a judicial review challenging the ban on assisted dying, won the ‘Best Use of Law’ award at the SMK National Campaigner Awards in London yesterday (Wednesday 27 March 2019).

In December 2016, Noel, supported by Dignity in Dying, instructed law firm Irwin Mitchell to bring 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. Noel, 69, a former college lecturer from Shropshire, feels, like many terminally ill people, 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, Noel’s case won huge public support and 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 upon 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’.

Noel, who was unable to attend the 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.”

***ENDS***

Notes to Editor:

For further information and interviews with representatives of Dignity in Dying, please contact Ellie Ball at ellie.ball@dignityindying.org.uk / 0207 479 7732 / 07725 433 025

Noel Conway v Secretary of State for Justice

The current law on assisted dying in the UK

The true cost of the law

International developments

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