LADY Esther Rantzen says she joined Dignitas assisted dying clinic after battling lung cancer.
The BBC television presenter was told she had stage four terminal cancer in January and does not know how long she has left.
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Dame Esther Rantzen said she will end her life at Dignitas
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In May, she was told she had terminal four Credits: Rex Features cancer
Speaking on the Today Podcast, Esther, 83, said she doesn’t know how long she has to live.
Esther said: “I joined Dignitas.
“I have the thought in my head, ‘Well, if the next scan shows it’s not working, I might as well rush to Zurich,’ but, you know, it puts my family and friends in a difficult position because they’d want to go with me.”
“And that means that the police could prosecute them.
“So we have to do something.
“It’s not really working at the moment, is it?”
Whether or not assisted dying should become legal in the UK has long been a matter of debate.
Dame Esther’s comments are likely to spark renewed debate over Britain’s ban on it.
Speaking about her decision to Nick Robinson and Amol Rajan on today’s podcast, Esther added: “My family says it’s my decision and my choice.
“I explained to them that I don’t really want their last memories of me to be painful because if you watch someone you love die badly, that memory erases all the happy times and I don’t want that to happen.
“I don’t want to be that kind of victim in their lives.”
The presenter, who hosted the BBC’s long-running consumer show That’s Life! on the BBC until 1994, she said she was awaiting a brain scan and would decide when to go to Dignitas after receiving the results.
She said about her mortality: “I didn’t think I would see my birthday (June 22).
“I definitely didn’t think I’d live to see this Christmas, which I did, it seems.”
“Although anything can happen; I live in the forest, a tree can fall on me.
“For some reason I have to leave my seat, and I’m 83, damn it, so I should be very grateful, which I am.”
It comes as…
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Esther’s daughter Rebecca said: “My mother never makes a decision in complete isolation, but she doesn’t care what other people think.
“It’s terrible and she always promised us she’d live forever and she’s not one to break her promises – but this is her choice.
“I would have wanted to ground her plane if she was going to Zurich, but that’s her choice. He is absolutely right.
“My late father did not have a nice death. It was horrible. His death replaced our memories of him for a very long time.
“That’s what mom wants to avoid.”
Founded in 1998, more than 2,100 people have died with the help of Dignitas, in assisted suicides at home or in a society house near Zurich.
The Swiss society helps members with serious physical or mental illnesses, as well as the terminally ill, to end their own lives.
Members who wish to die assisted must prove that they have sound judgment and must be capable of causing their own death.
They must submit a formal request, including a letter explaining why they want to die, and their wishes must be approved by doctors who are not part of the organization.
British dying patients have traveled to Switzerland to pay for an assisted death in one of Dignitas’ rented flats.
Both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in the UK, and euthanasia carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The only exception to this is “passive euthanasia,” which involves withdrawing treatment to prolong a person’s life, such as turning off life support.
In Switzerland, active euthanasia is also illegal, although prescribing lethal drugs is not a crime, provided the recipient actively participates in taking them.
Basically, Swiss law only allows the provision of means to commit suicide, as long as the reasons for doing so are not selfish.
Dignitas reportedly charges between €4,000 (£3,600) and €7,000 (£6,400) for an assisted suicide.
What is the law in the UK?
Assisted suicide is illegal in the UK and can result in a 14-year prison sentence for anyone who takes part in it.
The only exception is “passive euthanasia,” where treatment that could prolong a person’s life is withdrawn.
A common example of this is a life machine that has been turned off by doctors or nurses.
The only alternative for terminally ill patients in the UK is hospice care or refusal of treatment, which mentally competent patients are entitled to.
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Esther said she didn’t believe she would see her birthday in June after her diagnosisCredit: Doug Seeburg – The Sun
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