Dame Esther Rantzen intends to end life at Dignitas if lung cancer becomes 'unbearable'
Dame Esther Rantzen plans to end her life at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland should the pain from her terminal lung cancer become "unbearable".
Dame Esther Rantzen plans to go to Dignitas if the pain from her lung cancer becomes "unbearable".
The 85-year-old presenter has been a vocal advocate for assisted dying since being diagnosed with a terminal form of the disease in 2023 and explained that she is contemplating ending her life at the Swiss clinic should things become too painful, as she hit out at the House of Lords for delaying the assisted dying bill.
Esther told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I am still planning to go alone to Dignitas if my life becomes unbearable. Even if the new Bill became Law, it could not apply to me because I am rapidly running out of time.
"But I really feel our law makers will be letting down generations of terminally ill patients in the future if they fail to reform the current cruel, messy, criminal law."
The Terminally ill adults (End of Life) bill was passed by the House of Commons last June but has been held up in the Lords, where peers have tabled more than 1,000 amendments.
It will fail if it is not given final assent prior to the King's Speech in May – although campaign group Dying in Dignity has launched a petition to make sure the Government allows enough time to ensure that the public's wishes are carried out.
Esther said: "I wish this petition every success, and I hope the House of Lords are paying attention to it."
The Childline founder added: "I am profoundly disappointed by the filibustering and unashamed sabotage going on in the House of Lords to block the Bill.
"They have no interest in improving the Law, which is their democratic duty. A handful of them simply want to block the Bill for their own personal reasons and sadly it looks as if they will succeed."
Rantzen's daughter Rebecca Wilcox explained that the family didn't wade into the assisted dying debate for the sake of the former That's Life! presenter.
The 46-year-old presenter explained: "Mum has the privilege, if that's the word, to be able to go to Dignitas and so many people don't.
"I know from watching dad die, and I know from friends of mine who have died during this campaign that the fear of death and the after effects of my family that witnessed it are indelible, long-lasting, traumatic and avoidable. That's the worst bit. It's all avoidable."
