Dame Esther Rantzen: ‘I don’t want to die in pain’
The TV legend and charity founder reveals why she joined Dignitas and calls for a change in the law on assisted dying.
A difficult decision
Dame Esther Rantzen, the veteran broadcaster and campaigner, has opened up about her choice to join Dignitas, the controversial Swiss clinic that offers assisted suicide to terminally ill people.
In an interview with the BBC’s Today podcast, Dame Esther said she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in January and decided to sign up for Dignitas in case her condition worsened and she wanted to end her life without pain.
She said: “I have joined Dignitas. I have in my brain thought, well, if the next scan says nothing’s working I might buzz off to Zurich – but it puts my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me.”
“And that means that the police might prosecute them. So we’ve got to do something. At the moment, it’s not really working, is it?”
A hopeful outlook
Dame Esther, 83, who is best known for presenting the consumer show That’s Life and founding the charities ChildLine and The Silver Line, said she was amazed by the advances in cancer treatment and was still hopeful of living longer than she expected.
She said: “Frankly, I didn’t think I’d last this long. I’d had friends, like the wonderful Alan Coren, still greatly missed, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer then left us very swiftly, so last January I assumed that I would probably not be around for my birthday in June and that I’d definitely miss this Christmas.”
“But when I met my oncologist I realised how ignorant I was and what gargantuan strides medicine has made recently.”
“He told me that I could be treated. That having analysed my lump they would put me on a targeted medication: one pill a day with no serious side-effects. And that while it couldn’t cure my cancer, it could hold it back and delay it. Extraordinary news. And I’m still on that tablet and I’m still here.”
Dame Esther said she was not ready to die yet, but wanted to have the option of Dignitas if she felt her quality of life was no longer acceptable. She said she was aware of the legal and ethical implications of her decision, and worried that her family could be prosecuted if they accompanied her to Switzerland.
A call for change
Dame Esther said she hoped that the law would change in the future to allow people like her to have a dignified and peaceful death at home, with the support of their loved ones and medical professionals.
She said: “I’m determined to do everything I can to try to achieve a good death, including flying to Zurich for a quick lethal dose of something, if necessary.”
“But I would much rather die in my own bed, surrounded by my family, with a doctor who knows me and who can make sure I don’t suffer.”
Dame Esther is one of the many prominent figures who have voiced their support for the Assisted Dying Bill, a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Falconer in the House of Lords, which would legalise assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults in England and Wales. The bill is due to have its second reading on 22 October 2021.
The bill is opposed by some religious groups, disability rights campaigners, and medical organisations, who argue that it would undermine the sanctity of life, put vulnerable people at risk of coercion or abuse, and compromise the role of doctors as healers.
The debate on assisted dying is complex and emotive, and raises fundamental questions about personal autonomy, human dignity, and social justice. Dame Esther’s story is a powerful and personal contribution to this ongoing discussion, and a reminder of the importance of compassion and respect for individual choices.
“I don’t want their last memories of me to be painful because if you watch someone you love having a bad death, that memory obliterates all the happy times and I don’t want that to happen.” – Dame Esther Rantzen
