Diana Rigg’s assisted dying plea weeks before death has chilling echoes of Esther Rantzen’s fight
ESTHER Rantzen is not the first Dame to call for assisted dying to be legalised – as Bond Girl Diana Rigg made the same plea weeks before her death.
The Game of Thrones star died aged 82 back in 2020 after a secret six-month battle with cancer.
But before her passing with the help of her daughter Rachael Stirling, she recorded a heartbreaking message pleaded for a law change surrounding assisted death.
In the recording, Rigg says: “They don’t talk about how awful, how truly awful the details of this condition are, and the ignominy that is attached to it.
“Well, it’s high time they did. And it is high time there was some movement in the law to give choice to people in my position.
“This means giving human beings true agency over their own bodies at the end of life. This means giving human beings political autonomy over their own death.”
It has long been a topic of debate whether or not assisted dying should become legal in the UK.
And this week Dame Esther Rantzen once again brought the argument to the forefront when she announced she has signed up for assisted dying clinic Dignitas after battling lung cancer.
Speaking on the Today Podcast, Esther, 83, said she did not know how long she had to live.
Esther said: “I have joined Dignitas.
“I have in my brain thought, ‘Well, if the next scan says nothing’s working I might buzz off to Zurich,’ but, you know, it puts my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me.
“And that means that the police might prosecute them.
“So we’ve got to do something.
“At the moment, it’s not really working, is it?”
Founded in 1998, over 2,100 people have died with Dignitas’ help, in assisted suicides at home or at the society’s house near Zürich.
The Swiss society helps members with severe physical or mental illnesses, as well as the terminally ill, to end their own lives.
Members who want an assisted death have to prove that they are of sound judgement, and have to be able to bring about their deaths themselves.
What is the law in the UK?
Assisted suicide is illegal in the UK and can result in 14 years in jail for anyone party to it.
The only exception is “passive euthanasia”, which is where treatment that might extend someone’s life is withdrawn.
A common example of this is a life machine being turned off by doctors or nurses.
The only alternatives for terminally ill patients in the UK are hospice care or refusing treatment, which mentally capable patients have the right to do.
They must submit a formal request, including a letter explaining why they want to die, and have their wishes approved by doctors who aren’t part of the organisation.
British patients wishing to die have travelled to Switzerland to pay for an assisted death at one of Dignitas’ rented apartments.
Both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in the UK, with euthanasia carrying a maximum penalty of life in jail.
The only exception to this is “passive euthanasia“, which involves the withdrawal of treatment to extend someone’s life, like a life support machine being turned off.
In Switzerland, active euthanasia is also illegal, although it is not a crime to prescribe lethal drugs, provided the recipient takes an active role in taking them.
Essentially, Swiss law only allows for providing the means to commit suicide, so long as the reasons for doing so aren’t selfish.
Dignitas reportedly charges between €4,000 (£3,600) and €7,000 (£6,400) for assisted suicide.