A disabled woman has challenged Shropshire MP Daniel Kawczynski to watch her “living” after he says he will be lobbying the Government to legalise assisted suicide.
Daniel Kawczynski, (Shrewsbury and Atcham) who previously opposed assisted suicide in alignment with his Catholic faith, has confirmed that he will be lobbying the Government in a bid to legalise assisted suicide.
But Nikki Kenward, also from Shropshire, is passionately opposed to a change in the law on assisted suicide. She told SPUC: "MP Daniel Kawczynski questions his faith and the morality of watching people dying in difficult circumstances. It is hard to watch another person die.
"But I would like Mr Kawczynski to watch me living and to hear why I don't want a change in the law on assisted suicide. I would like to know what Mr Kawczynski is doing to support disabled people, but my fear is that once you see death as a solution to disability and illness, everything else can easily disappear.
“The reason I feel so strongly on this issue is because of my own experience. Nearly three decades ago, I found myself suddenly locked into agonising immobility, with my whole body paralysed except for my right eyelid.
"What this nightmare taught me was not only to cherish the preciousness of life, even when trapped in an immovable state, but also to see the dangers of allowing the medical profession to wield untrammelled authority.”
Look again at the Christian message of true care
Antonia Tully of SPUC’s campaign Lives Worth Living said: “Daniel Kawczynski has obviously been moved by seeing the suffering of dying people. Noel Conway, who has motor neuron disease and has campaigned to legalise assisted suicide, is one of Mr Kawcyznski’s constituents.
“I would urge Mr Kawczynski to look again at the Christian message of true care and compassion for sick and dying people. Deliberately killing a vulnerable person is not compassionate.”
Resurgence of demands to change the law
In a resurgence of demands to change the law, Derbyshire woman, Mrs Munns is also calling on MPs to launch an inquiry in the law which prohibits assisted suicide. Mrs Munns wants assisted suicide to be legal because her mother faced a criminal trial after she helped her husband to die.
Antonia Tully of SPUC’s campaign Lives Worth Living said: “We are hearing more stories of people clamouring for assisted suicide as a solution to pain and suffering. We need stories to show that life is worth living even in the midst of debilitating sickness or disability.
“The current law protects every citizen, especially the elderly, sick and disabled. Offering people the choice to end their lives creates unacceptable pressure for them to choose death. It is vital that we resist all attempts to embed the abhorrent practice of assisted suicide into society."