Dame Esther Rantzen has issued a deeply personal appeal to MPs ahead of today’s vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, revealing that her deteriorating health has made it impossible for her to reach the Swiss clinic Dignitas.
The Childline founder, who has terminal cancer, disclosed in a statement to the Press Association that despite having “spent the money and made the plans,” she is now “too physically fragile to make the journey.”
“Everything I didn’t want to happen, I’m having to go through now,” she said.
“This means that the people I love and care about either cannot visit me or, when they do, see me suffering pain or indignity, which will inevitably get between them and our shared happy memories and may even overwhelm the way they think of me.”
Dame Esther Rantzen argued future generations should have a choice that is now ‘denied’ to her
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The veteran campaigner demanded that the law must “change and change quickly.”
Dame Esther first revealed in December 2023 that she had signed up with the Swiss assisted dying clinic, but her progressing illness prevented her from using it.
She explained: “Why did I not buzz off to Zurich as I had planned when my life became unbearable?
“Unfortunately, when I was strong enough to make the flight and go to Dignitas, my life was not unbearably painful; indeed, I was able to relax in my beloved cottage in the New Forest.”
The presenter has issued a deeply personal plea to MPs ahead of today’s assisted dying vote
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The cruel catch, she said, was that the window of opportunity closed without her realising it: “And by the time life did become unbearable, I was too physically fragile to make the journey and go through the Dignitas process.”
She would also have been required to travel alone, adding a further barrier.
Dame Esther said she did not realise at the time that it was her last chance to make the journey: “So even though I had spent the money and made the plans, I was not ready to end my life back then, and did not realise that would be my last chance.”
The Bill faces its Second Reading in the Commons today, and a successful vote would send it forward for further scrutiny by MPs and subsequently peers in the House of Lords.
Dame Esther revealed she is now too physically fragile to travel to Dignitas
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This marks the legislation’s third attempt to clear Parliament.
It secured majorities in Commons votes during both 2024 and 2025, but stalled in the Lords in April after running out of parliamentary time.
Labour MP Lauren Edwards has now reintroduced the Bill, meaning it must go through the parliamentary process again from the beginning.
Both chambers must approve the legislation before it can reach the statute book.
However, supporters have suggested using the Parliament Act, which would allow a Bill repeatedly backed by MPs to become law without the House of Lords’ approval.
Dame Esther argued that her ordeal demonstrates “why it’s so important that future generations will have the choice that is denied to me and other adults.”
She stressed that her position was not about compelling others to follow her path, stating: “I believe they should have no right to impose their choice on me.”
Under current legislation, assisted suicide carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The BBC star said she had ‘spent the money and made the plans’ to travel to Dignitas
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In Scotland, while no specific offence exists, anyone who helps bring about another person’s death risks prosecution for murder or related charges.
Dame Esther described the existing criminal framework as “messy and cruel,” adding: “Obviously, I would prefer that my end could be swift and painless and I could ask for help now I’m dying. But I can’t.”
The proposed legislation would permit assisted dying for adults in England and Wales who have received a terminal prognosis of fewer than six months.
Supporters of the Bill contend it would provide dying adults with meaningful choice over their final days.
Dame Esther has enjoyed a broadcasting career spanning more than five decades
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Opponents, however, warn that the legislation could put society’s most vulnerable at risk through coercion or by making them feel like a burden, and argue that insufficient safeguards exist.
Anna Landre, a wheelchair-using activist and disability policy researcher at UCL who speaks for the Assist Us To Live coalition, argued that priorities are the wrong way round.
She said: “We must give disabled Brits the tools to live before creating a government programme to enable us to die.”
Ms Landre called for comprehensive funding of palliative and social care services, adding: “This means fully funding palliative and social care, so people like me don’t have to fight for the basics like the ability to dress, wash, and leave our homes.”