Esther Ranzen says she is too fragile to travel to Switzerland to end life
Broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen has revealed she is too physically fragile to travel to Switzerland for assisted suicide. She is using her situation to urge UK MPs to vote in favor of legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales.
Why it matters
The case brings a high-profile human face to the legislative debate regarding the morality and legality of assisted dying in the UK.
Image source, PA Media By Aleks Phillips Published 23 minutes ago Dame Esther Rantzen has said she is now "too physically fragile" to travel to Switzerland to end her life at an assisted suicide clinic.
The veteran broadcaster, 86, said she would have to fly to the country, where the practice is legal, alone, which she could only have done before her life became "unbearable" and before she was ready to end her life.
The Childline founder, who is terminally ill with cancer, first revealed in December 2023 that she had joined the Dignitas clinic.
Dame Esther used her statement on Thursday to reiterate a plea for MPs to vote in favour of legalising assisted suicide in England and Wales when proposed legislation is revisited by Parliament on Friday.
She announced she had joined Dignitas about a year after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
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