Dame Esther Rantzen's intervention in December 2023 turbocharged the national debate on assisted dying and set the campaign on a path towards historic victories in Parliament, according to Express health editor Hanna Geissler. Even as her health declined, Dame Esther lent her voice to the Give Us Our Last Rights crusade on countless occasions, using her platform to speak out on behalf of all those facing terminal illness.
A woman who knew her own mind
Geissler first met Esther at an NSPCC press conference in 2021, which she attended in her role as Childline founder. This was the only occasion on which Geissler remembers meeting her in person, as Esther had withdrawn from public life by the time she announced her decision to register with Dignitas.
As they began working together on assisted dying, Geissler quickly learned that the veteran broadcaster was a woman who knew her own mind. When Geissler called or emailed for a quote or to update her on campaign plans, Esther was never afraid to tell her — kindly but firmly — if she thought the paper was on the wrong track.
Focus on testimony
The pair agreed on how best to fight for assisted dying: by focusing on the testimony of people who were terminally ill, had experienced bad deaths, or had seen loved ones depart for Dignitas without saying their goodbyes for fear of criminal prosecution.
Although many of the Express's front pages featured Esther's words and her star power helped to keep the issue high on the political agenda, she often reminded Geissler that this was not about changing the law for her. It was about creating a more compassionate system that would benefit all terminally ill people and families suffering under the current law.
Opponents framed her interventions as those of a demanding, entitled celebrity, taking particular umbrage when Sir Keir Starmer promised her during a phone call shortly before he was elected to Downing Street that he would allow Parliament time to debate assisted dying. But the truth was, Esther knew that any change would not come in time for her.
A 200,000-signature petition
When the campaign launched a petition calling for a parliamentary debate on assisted dying, it quickly became the most popular on the Government's website, gathering 200,000 signatures and forcing a Westminster Hall debate. The three-hour event was one of the most well-attended by MPs.
As the campaign progressed, Geissler got to know Esther's daughter, broadcaster Rebecca Wilcox. Becca, 46, committed much of her time to rallies and events in Westminster, even as her family grappled with their matriarch's declining health.
Final legacy
After the most recent vote among MPs led to the bill falling, Becca wept with campaigners in Parliament Square as their hopes were dashed. Then she put her mum on speakerphone. Esther said she was "so sad that people in this country won't have the choice so many terminally ill adults have in other countries, of shortening their own deaths by asking for help". But the lifelong campaigner added: "I am sure a change in the law will come."
It was clear from Esther's voice that day that her health was poor. Her family had started describing her as "fragile" and "dying", making it clear that although miracle drugs kept her stage four lung cancer at bay for longer than Esther had expected, her time was now nearing an end.
Although the campaign has not yet been won, in the last year it came closer than ever before to changing the law on assisted dying. Becca never expected to find herself on the frontline of this particular battle but has become one of the most passionate and outspoken campaigners. She has vowed to continue her mother's final incredible legacy by keeping up the fight for assisted dying, and the Express will be with her every step of the way.
Geissler's thoughts are with Esther's family as they come to terms with this immense loss. She hopes they can take some comfort from the messages of love, gratitude and support flooding social media, TV and the airwaves. Esther's campaigning has changed the course of so many lives, including Geissler's own. "Thank you for everything, Dame Esther."
