Police hell of lecturer who took his partner to Dignitas
A LECTURER who helped his terminally-ill partner travel to a euthanasia clinic was subjected to a six-month police probe.
James Howley, 57, drove Helen Johnson, 59, to Dignitas in Switzerland after lung disease left her with just 15 per cent breathing capacity.
They made the journey in a specially adapted car complete with oxygen tanks and nebulisers so she could end her life in November 2016.
But after he returned home to West Bromwich, Mr Howley was questioned by police.
They were investigating a breakin at his home during his absence and a neighbour told them about the Dignitas trip. Assisted dying is illegal in Britain and carries a sentence of up to 14 years in jail.
Mr Howley said: ‘The stress and worry was unbearable at times. I was at rock bottom. There were times when I thought I wouldn’t get through it.
‘I was exhausted, fearing I would end up in jail, all for doing the right thing by the person I loved most in the world, so that she did not have to die an undignified and agonising death.’
Helen, also a college lecturer, was diagnosed with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in 2004 and forced to retire due to ill health five years later. She contacted Dignitas in 2015 as the rare condition slowly began to suffocate her.
‘Helen had reached a helpless situation,’ Mr Howley said. ‘She was in pain and suffering every day. She said “I’m not frightened of dying, but I am frightened about the way I die”.
‘It became very clear to her there was only going to be one course of action. She was conscious of doing it on her own, all the research, the contact with Dignitas, the payments. She had my support at every stage but said if I was uncomfortable with going she would consider going alone.
‘We knew there could be a legal issue but there was no way I was ever going to let her be waved off at the door.’
The couple boarded a Eurotunnel train in their car and later
‘Not frightened of dying’
checked into a Zurich hotel for their final hours following 32 years together. Mr Howley told the Daily Mirror: ‘She was fitted with a cannula to administer the life-ending drugs. When the time came we said our goodbyes and she passed away incredibly peacefully.’
But within hours of arriving home, he was being quizzed by police: ‘Initially they were fine. The detectives said I had nothing to worry about. I told them I had a letter written by Helen outlining her decision and we had copies of all of her medical notes and letters between her GP and consultant. They just said they would be in touch.’
But he was summoned to be interviewed under caution and police did not drop the case until June last year – six months on. West Midlands Police put the delay down to a long wait for the medical records.
A force spokesman said: ‘The investigation was delayed because, despite West Midlands Police requests for medical records, they were not made available until June last year.
‘That month it was decided that it did not meet the evidential threshold for prosecution and the investigation was discontinued.’
Mr Howley is now campaigning with the charity Dignity in Dying to overturn the UK’s ban on assisted dying.
He supports 68-year-old Noel Conway – a retired college lecturer from Shrewsbury with motor neurone disease – who will today appear at the Court of Appeal for the latest hearing in his fight to legalise assisted suicide. In 2015, MPs voted against an assisted dying bill by 330 votes to 118. Tom Watson, Labour Party deputy leader, said Mr Howley’s story had caused him to make a U-turn on the issue.
Referring to the case of another constituent, Julie Smith, 48, whose husband Paul wanted to travel to Dignitas after being diagnosed with cancer, he said: ‘When this issue came to Parliament nearly three years ago MPs didn’t agree that the law should change.
‘I was among those not convinced by the arguments. Hearing James and Julie’s stories has changed my mind.’
Mr Smith could not travel to the Swiss clinic because his doctors refused to give him his medical notes, as required by Dignitas.
It meant he ‘died in agony’, his widow said. Polls show that a majority of Britons and doctors favour the introduction of a restricted assisted dying law.