Dame Esther Rantzen has accused peers opposed to the assisted dying Bill of “condemning generations of terminally ill patients to die in agony”. The broadcaster and Childline founder, who is terminally ill, said she is “bitterly disappointed” that some in the House of Lords “have conspired to sabotage our democracy”.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, progressing through Parliament for the past year-and-a-half, is likely to fall without a vote after a debate on Friday. It would have allowed adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval from two doctors and an expert panel.
More than 1,200 suggested changes — a record for a backbench bill — were tabled in the Lords, and the legislation has run out of time this session. Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the Bill in late 2024, has vowed to bring it back in the next session.
Dame Esther accused a “handful” of peers of using amendments to block the Bill under the guise of scrutiny. She said: “The public know and want the messy, cruel criminal law to be reformed.” She hopes MPs will use the Parliament Act to bypass Lords opposition, noting the law would come “too late for me, but in time for future generations”.
Her daughter Rebecca Wilcox confirmed it remains her mother’s intention to go to the Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas, a decision Dame Esther first revealed in late 2023.
