Cancer forces Dame Esther Rantzen to pull out of assisted dying debate by MPs at Westminster
VETERAN broadcaster and New Forest resident Dame Esther Rantzen says she is too ill to attend a landmark Westminster debate on assisted dying.
The campaigner and former That’s Life! presenter (83) revealed last December that she had joined Swiss assisted suicide service Dignitas, seven months after announcing her stage four lung cancer diagnosis.
MPs are holding the debate for the first time in almost two years on Monday.
This comes after more than 200 people signed a petition backed by Dame Esther, Dignity in Dying and the Daily Express.
In a statement, she said: “While, sadly, my health issues (I have stage four lung cancer) prevent me from attending it myself, I will be watching the debate closely as it affects my own decision to go to Dignitas in Zurich if necessary, to protect my family from witnessing a painful death.”
She continued: “I know palliative care can be wonderful in this country, but it cannot guarantee the dignified, pain-free death we terminally ill patients all hope for.
“The current law means my family could be prosecuted for supporting me if I go to Switzerland.
“This is not right, it is not ethical and, as it is my life I, like the majority of the public, believe it should be my choice.”
Legislation to introduce assisted dying for terminally ill people in Scotland was published last month, with the MSP behind it saying there was “compelling evidence” to support it.
Holyrood is likely to vote on the proposals later this year, for the third time after two previous overwhelming defeats.
Assisted dying proposals in Jersey and the Isle of Man are also set to be debated in the coming months.
Dame Esther became a household name presenting popular BBC consumer affairs show That’s Life! from 1973 to 1994.
In 1986, she founded the children’s charity Childline, and in 2013 set up The Silver Line, a charity which helps older people overcome loneliness.
She was made a DBE in 2015 for her charity work.
