TV legend Dame Esther Rantzen says it is too late for her to ‘buzz off’ to Dignitas
Dame Esther Rantzen says she is now too ‘physically frail’ to make it to Dignitas and has told of her fear her loved ones will see her “suffering pain or indignity”
Dame Esther Rantzen says it is too late for her to ‘buzz off’ to Dignitas(Image: Getty Images)
TV legend Dame Esther Rantzen is receiving end-of-life care and has revealed it is too late for her to “buzz off” to Dignitas as planned.
On Friday, MPs will vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and the Childline founder has issued a plea to MPs to vote in favour of legalising assisted dying for England and Wales. Dame Esther, 86, who is terminally ill with cancer, first revealed in December 2023 that she had joined the assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.
But, she’s now revealed how despite having “spent the money and made the plans” to go to Dignitas, she was at the point where she’s “too physically fragile to make the journey”.
The prominent campaigner for the legalisation of assisted dying insisted the law must “change and change quickly”, as she renewed her plea ahead of the latest debate and vote on the historic bill.
MPs will vote on what is known as the Second Reading of the Bill. If it passes, it will continue its journey through Parliament for further consideration by MPs and peers in the House of Lords. It must pass both Houses to become law.
While the Bill passed two votes in the Commons in 2024 and 2025, it ran out of time in the Lords in April. It was reintroduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards, where it must begin the parliamentary process again.
It would allow terminally ill people in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to seek an assisted death, subject to approval by doctors and legal professionals.
Dame Esther said: “Everything I didn’t want to happen I’m having to go through now, which means that the people I love and care about either cannot visit me, or when they do, see me suffering pain or indignity which will inevitably get between them and our shared happy memories, and may even overwhelm the way they think of me.
“Obviously, I would prefer that my end could be swift and painless and I could ask for help now I’m dying. But I can’t. I knew it would be like this if I died in this country because the current criminal law preventing anyone to help me shorten my death is messy and cruel.”
Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. While it is a specific criminal offence in Scotland, assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to being charged with murder or other offences.
Dame Esther said she would have had to travel to Dignitas alone, and before she became too ill.
She added: “Why did I not buzz off to Zurich as I had planned when my life became unbearable? Unfortunately, when I was strong enough to make the flight and go to Dignitas, my life was not unbearably painful, indeed I was able to relax in my beloved cottage in the New Forest.
“And by the time life did become unbearable I was too physically fragile to make the journey and go through the Dignitas process. So even though I had spent the money and made the plans I was not ready to end my life back then, and did not realise that would be my last chance. “
She said her experience shows “why it’s so important that future generations will have the choice that is denied to me and other adults”. Dame Esther said she is not trying to “impose my choice on anyone else, but I believe they should have no right to impose their choice on me”.
While campaigners in favour of a change in the law say the Bill would offer choice to dying adults, those against argue it could pose a danger to the most vulnerable in society through coercion or feeling like a burden, and insist there are not enough safeguards in place.
Lauren Edwards, writing in the Guardian, said: “On Friday, I will be asking MPs to send the bill back to the Lords. There they can amend the bill if they choose, just like any legislation, and if the Commons agrees, that’s fine. But they should not be allowed to frustrate the will of the elected chamber a second time.
“I am not reopening divisions in the Labour party or in parliament, as some have claimed. Exactly the reverse is true. MPs have already made their decision. In a democracy, we settle our differences by voting on them. Last time, opponents in the Lords prevented a vote taking place on the bill’s provisions.
“The voters put us here to tackle the big issues they care about, not to constantly kick them down the road. After a shaky start, this parliament has the chance to show that it can deliver; that we won’t shirk our responsibilities and will start to restore the public’s faith in our democratic system.”
