Dame Esther Rantzen, broadcaster and advocate, has called on people to write to their MPs in support of new parliamentary legislation that would allow for assisted dying. She expressed concerns over the lobbying of MPs by Catholics who oppose any change to the assisted dying law. Currently, a bill introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater is expected to be debated in November, with Dame Esther arguing for the importance of a democratic process that hears “all voices”.
In a BBC Radio Solent interview with presenter Lou Hannan, Dame Esther revealed that she had already registered with Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland. She argued that people should be able to “give up a life which has become unbearable” and supported the need for “good reasons for change” to be presented to MPs. The broadcaster rejected calls by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, England and Wales’s most senior Catholic, to lobby MPs to oppose assisted dying legislation.
Dame Esther cited witnessing her father’s “horrific” end of life and admitted she did not want her children to have similar memories of her. She referred to a time when “discreet GPs used to bump people off if life got unendurable”, but added that “Dr Shipman changed all that because everything tightened up”. Dr Harold Shipman was convicted of murdering 15 of his patients, making him Britain’s most prolific serial killer.
Dame Esther’s own MP, New Forest East’s Sir Julian Lewis, has expressed reservations about supporting legislative change. He argued that there could be “no safeguards” against feelings of being a burden to loved ones or incurring costs, and backed the need for enhanced palliative care. However, he stated that he will “carefully consider all the arguments when they are debated”
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