20 February 2024 , 00:01
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Dame Esther Rantzen has said she would like to be remembered “with love and laughter” after her death.
The 83-year-old broadcaster revealed last year that she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and she has been campaigning to make physician-assisted suicide legal in the UK. The TV star, who also set up the charity Childline in 1986, has signed up to the Switzerland-based euthanasia clinic Dignitas.
Speaking on Radio Times this week, she also addressed her campaigning to change the laws around assisted dying. 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.
She is considering the option of assisted dying (PA)
She said she might to go to Switzerland if the UK law doesn't change (PA)“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.
“However, 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.”
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During an interview with LBC, she also shared her dream final supper before she ends her life through assisted suicide. She said: “I’d like to fly off to Zurich with my nearest and dearest. Have a fantastic dinner the night before. I’d love caviar, if possible. The fact it doesn’t always agree with me doesn’t matter, does it?
“I could even have champagne, which I’m deeply allergic to. Then the next day, go to this rather unappealing place where they do it. Listen to a favourite piece of music, say goodbye to everybody. Tell them to cheer up. I’m meeting my late husband, my departed dog and my mother at the pearly gates.”