Esther Rantzen says people should have the right to ‘shorten death’ as she continues assisted dying fight

16 September 2024, 09:44 | Updated: 16 September 2024, 10:14

Dame Esther Rantzen has told LBC that people should have the right to "shorten death", as she continues her battle to legalise assisted dying.

Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, the presenter, journalist and campaigner, explained that "older people deserve the choice just as much as anyone else," as she continued to push for legalisation.

Rantzen, 85, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2023, and is now calling for a "deep, profound and all-encompassing debate" to take place in Parliament.

Speaking after Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey revealed he was "against" the idea, Rantzen explained: "Ed Davey's mother chose to live - she still had a quality of life in spite of pain.

"It was her choice. And she would be free to make her choice under the new bill," she told Nick.

The television veteran has become a fighting force for assisted dying in recent months, with aiding someone in ending their life currently remaining a criminal offence in England and Wales.

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However, during her chat, she revealed that a "miracle drug" has now extended her life expectancy, adding that a rapid debate on the subject in the House could still allow her to witness it in-person - a promise made by Starmer

"I think we need not to patronise people because they're older," Ms Rantzen told Nick on Monday, adding: "I think older people deserve the choice just as much as anyone else."

Dame Rantzen had previously labelled the current law “cruel” and warned that without change, she and others could face a “bad death”.

"All we're asking for is a choice - not to shorten life, but to shorten death," she said. "If life becomes unendurable, shouldn't we have the choice to ask for assistance?"

"We have so much help in other areas in our own lives - who we marry, whether we have babies and so on. This is one of those choices that I think we should be given."

However, a phone call with Sir Keir Starmer shortly before the Labour leader came to power, gave her hope, as the now-PM vowed to debate the issue.

Labelling Starmer a "man who means what he says," the Dame added that she hoped the debate on assisted dying would be "heard by Christmas" after announcing she may be alive to witness it thanks to a new "wonder drug".

"He wanted the debate to happen while I was still alive to witness it," she said of her conversation with the PM.

"And that was amazing and impossible - because I definitely thought I was on my way out."

"But very fortunately, I've got one of these very extraordinary 'wonder drugs', which manages to target the kind of cancer that I've got and not cure it, but delay it a bit. So it does look like it's going to be possible"

"I'm only suggesting we follow the bill that Lord Faulkener introduced in the House of Lords - which is that it only apply to people with a terminal illness, with six months or less to live, who are competent to make their own decisions," she told Nick.

The Childline founder has been a prominent figure in pushing for the law change, revealing in December that she had signed up to the renowned Swiss Dignitas clinic after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

It followed comments by Ed Davey, who told Nick on Monday that when it came to assisted dying, "Elderly people shouldn't be put in that position".

The Lib Dem leader said his party did not have an official line on the matter, explaining he was "against it personally" as he did "have some concerns" based on 'his own experience".

Sir Ed's comments follow his own mother dying of bone cancer, an illness that saw her "in great pain" but with "some quality of life".

The leader added that he worried "about the impact on thinking and feeling of elderly people feeling like they are a burden".