Conway assisted suicide case – autonomy is not absolute and this appeal should be dismissed

Jan 19, 2018 by Jill

by Dr Peter Saunders, Christian Medical Fellowship:

A 67-year-old Shropshire man with motor neurone disease (MND) who wants help from doctors to kill himself has been granted permission to appeal an earlier decision rejecting his case.

The judgement was handed down today (18 January 2018) following an oral hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Noel Conway is backed by the former Voluntary Euthanasia Society (now rebranded Dignity in Dying (DID)), whose lawyers have argued that the current blanket ban on assisted suicide under the Suicide Act is incompatible with his rights under section 8 of the Human Rights Act (respect for private and family life).

Following a four-day hearing in the high court last July three senior judges dismissed Conway’s case on 5 October. They summarised their conclusions as follows:

‘It is legitimate in this area for the legislature to seek to lay down clear and defensible standards in order to provide guidance for society, to avoid distressing and difficult disputes at the end of life and to avoid creating a slippery slope leading to incremental expansion over time of the categories of people to whom similar assistance for suicide might have to [be] provided… we find that section 2 (right to life) is compatible with the Article 8 rights (private and family life) of Mr Conway. We dismiss his application for a declaration of incompatibility.’

The Divisional Court refused permission to appeal, so Mr Conway then filed an application in the Court of Appeal seeking permission directly. This has now been granted.

Read here