Assisted dying should be legalised to give people 'dignity', say Mirror readers
Dame Esther Rantzen has revealed she is "optimistic" that assisted dying will be legalised in the UK - as more than 5,500 Mirror readers call for statutory change.
This comes as the Childline founder has signed up to the Switzerland-based euthanasia clinic Dignitas, after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The broadcaster has been campaigning to make physician-assisted suicide legal to spare families the pain of watching their loved ones suffer.
Speaking on Radio Times this week, she said: "Having been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, I’m now, at the age of 83, dedicated to a new campaign close to my heart – to change the law on assisted dying.
"I’m optimistic about the prospect of that being legalised within ten years because there is now a huge majority of the public in favour of change. The law at the moment just doesn’t work. Anyone supporting change should please, please, write to their MP.
"I’ve signed up to Dignitas – and going to Zurich is still an option I’m considering if my life gets unendurable." Dame Esther hopes to be able to end her own life when she feels the time is right for her, but her family risk being penalised if they help her travel to Switzerland.
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Under current laws, people who aid those who seek assisted suicide abroad could be accused of murder - and the broadcaster hopes the laws will change before she reaches the point of wanting to end her life.
She added: "If I ask my children to come with me, so I can say goodbye surrounded by my nearest and dearest, when they return they still risk being charged with conspiring to murder me. When in fact, although they support my right to choose, it is entirely my decision."
Last year the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said assisted dying is an "act of great generosity, kindness and human love" and that changing the law is "profoundly Christian " to stop people suffering. However, the current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby warned in 2021 that a law-change would be "unsafe" and "no amount of safeguards" could protect vulnerable people.
The practice is currently banned in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said in December: "The government has not decided to bring forward legislation, but if Parliament in some form or another decided that it wanted to have a fresh look at this, given it was some years ago that we last did so, that's not something that I would be resistant to."
We asked Mirror readers if they think assisted dying should be legalised in the UK, and a staggering 79 percent supported the proposal. Around 7,059 readers took part in our poll, and a hefty 5,578 supported Dame Esther’s campaign.
Voicing their opinions in the comments section, one reader penned: "I would agree with it - as long as I felt that secure measures were put in place to identify situations where vulnerable people may be coerced into speeding up their own death, by those who would benefit from it."
Another shared: "I don't think some people understand the level of suffering that can be involved at the end, especially in the underfunded NHS. It is way past time for assisted dying to be made legal. It is legal in many European countries and those countries have proven the concerns of those that oppose the practice to be unfounded."
A third added: "If there is nothing else that can be done to help the person who is ill and they have no chance of survival then I think the person it affects should have that choice. I've looked after people whose life was near the end and some have been painful due to the illness they have. So I'm all in for personal choice. If it was me then I'd like to have the choice."
A fourth wrote: "Yes, assisted death should be allowed. I'm a Brit physio expat living in Switzerland. I witnessed the cruel way terminal patients suffered when the doctors wanted to prolong life. I was profoundly shocked. I am a member of Exit, similar to Dignitas, and have been ever since it was founded. I want to die decently."
"We should be allowed to die with dignity here in the UK. We put our animals to sleep when they are suffering, the same should be allowed for humans," posted another.
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Meanwhile, 21 percent are in favour of UK legislation preventing assisted dying. Taking to the comments, one user wrote: "No, assisted suicide should not become law in Britain. God gives and God takes away."
Another expressed: "Assisted dying would worry me, when things happen you often wish you were dead but then a while later you will be glad you are not, all depends on how you are feeling one day to the next. Also what if people were feeling or bullied to die?"
The Church of England has warned that allowing assisted dying would lead to tens of thousands of elderly people being pressured to end their lives each year.
Please note that the poll is still live, so these results may change after the article has been published.
You can still vote in the poll HERE to have your say on assisted dying Do you think it should be legalised in the UK? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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