Latest news with #EstherRantzen
ITV News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Dame Esther Rantzen 'astonished and relieved' to live to see MPs back assisted dying bill
Dame Esther Rantzen has told ITV News she is "astonished" to have lived to see MPs pass the assisted dying law. Speaking to ITV News' UK Editor Paul Brand, she said: "It won't come in my lifetime, I won't live long enough, but I am so relieved that it will help future generations to be able to look forward with hope and confidence to a good death." "I didn't think it was possible, it's happened, I'm astonished" The highly emotional debate saw MPs from all political persuasions argue for and against the bill. Dame Esther, who is terminally ill, has been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow dying adults to take their own lives in limited circumstances, without fear of their families being prosecuted for helping them. The 84-year-old has been campaigning for an assisted dying law for years and had previously told ITV News she was "determined" to live to see it passed. She revealed in December last year that she had joined Dignitas, to give her the choice of an assisted death in Switzerland. Speaking on Friday, she said she was full of "admiration" for MP Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the initial private members' bill and has been steering it through Parliament. "This is a very emotional topic, it was really important that it was guided through carefully and that all views are respected, and she maintained that." Dame Esther also said she was "astonished I have lived to see the moment." She added that Sir Keir Starmer had told her before he became prime minister that he would make sure she witnessed the debate. She said: "I didn't think it was possible, it's happened, I'm astonished and deeply grateful." Friday's vote does not mean the bill immediately becomes law as it will now transfer to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. The Upper House can make amendments to the bill and pass it back to MPs but it is expected this process will happen fairly quickly as the final date they can currently consider a Private Members' bill in this parliamentary session is July 11. There are several more stages of scrutiny in both chambers for the bill to go through before it heads to the King to receive royal assent and become law. Even with all of these processes it could still be another four years before the first person in the UK is able to legally make use of assisted dying services as the bill allows this time for the government to work out how it is implemented. Have you heard our podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Rantzen: MPs backing assisted dying Bill will protect people from ‘bad death'
Dame Esther Rantzen has said MPs backing the assisted dying Bill will make a 'huge positive difference' and protect terminally ill people from a 'bad death'. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will now head to the Lords after clearing the Commons on Friday afternoon, with MPs voting 314 in favour, 291 against, majority 23. Dame Esther, a notable supporter of campaign Dignity in Dying who has stage four lung cancer, told the PA news agency: 'This will make a huge positive difference, protecting millions of terminally ill patients and their families from the agony and loss of dignity created by a bad death. 'Thank you, Parliament.' Campaigners inside Parliament and outside in Parliament Square were jubilant and tearful following the result of the vote. Some MPs lined up to shake hands with or hug Kim Leadbeater, the Bill's sponsor through the Commons. Ms Leadbeater described the vote as a 'result that so many people need'. The Labour MP for Spen Valley said: 'Thank goodness we got the result that so many people need, but I also feel that it was done really respectfully and the atmosphere in the chamber was very civilised.' Outside, a cheer erupted as the result was announced on a livestream to a crowd who had huddled together in anticipation. Many cried and hugged each other, while others popped champagne. Dame Esther's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, called her mother in front of supporters and told her she wished she was here. Ms Wilcox came to Parliament Square following the vote and hugged fellow campaigners and friends. She told PA that she gave Ms Leadbeater's mum a 'big hug' following the result and added: 'I don't know whether to have a drink or a really big cry. 'There were a few of us in the public gallery and we were all holding hands. I felt like we were on a rollercoaster. 'It was the longest pause when everyone came in and we were waiting for the four and when I heard a three for the 'ayes' I was quite positive. 'It was quite extraordinary. I turned around and gave Kim's mum a great big hug.' Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, told the crowd: 'This is for all the people who couldn't be here today. This vote sends a clear message. Parliament stands with the public and change is coming.' Sian Berry, a Green Party MP and one of the proposers of the Bill, told PA: 'We all have experience of loved ones at the end of their lives that have influenced this. So many of my constituents have written to me telling me their stories. You really feel the importance of what you're doing this for. 'I'm confident we have made the Bill robust and I do believe this reflects public opinion.' Supporter Tim Murphy, 39, from London, said: 'My friend David went to Dignitas four years ago and he had to die sooner than he should have had there been a workable law in this country. 'This will impact so many people. So much of the [opposition] campaign has been hypothetical situations in the future but not taking into consideration the actual deaths that have occurred.' Those opposed to the Bill were visibly disappointed. People had gathered to pray before the vote but the crowd of white-shirted campaigners quickly dispersed following the result. Many packed up their signs and left the square and did not speak to the press. Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England who sits in the House of Lords, said: 'Every person is of immeasurable and irreducible value, and should be able to access the care and support that they need – a principle that I know is shared by those of all faiths and none. 'We must oppose a law that puts the vulnerable at risk and instead work to improve funding and access to desperately needed palliative care services.' Sean Redfearn, 26, representing Christian Concern, said: 'It's disappointing the nation is stepping closer for people to take their own lives.' 'There is no progress as progress suggests flourishing and there's no flourishing with allowing the ending of a life.'
Extra.ie
6 hours ago
- Health
- Extra.ie
Assisted dying on course to become law in the UK
British MPs have voted to change the suicide law in the UK and allow terminally ill people in England and Wales, the choice to end their lives. After a bitterly contested vote in the Commons this afternoon, the motion was passed by 314 votes to 291, a majority of 23, approving Kim Leadbeaters Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill, which will now be handed over the the House of Lords where it will undergo further scrutiny. Both houses must agree on the ruling before the Assisted Dying Bill can become law, but even with that, it's thought it may be 2029 before assisted suicide is offered in Britain and Wales. Esther Rantzen's daughter Rebecca Wilcox (centre) celebrates with Dignity in Dying campaigners in Westminster, central London, after the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed in the House of Commons. Pic: Yui Mok/PA Wire This is the biggest change to the law on suicide in decades, and passed through the House of Commons today despite fears from some quarters that it could mean people may die unnecessarily. Some opposed to the ruling are warning, that the bill was 'rushed through' and could negatively affect the disabled, domestic abuse victims and people with eating disorders like anorexia. Encouraging someone to take their own life, or helping someone to do it, is against the law in the UK and carries a jail term of up to 14 years. Dignity in Dying campaigners in support of the assisted dying Bill celebrate in Westminster, central London, after the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed in the House of Commons. Pic: Lucy North/PA Wire The laws as they stand in the UK have come in for fierce criticism from supporters of assisted dying, who describe the current laws as 'not being fit for purpose. The organisation 'Humanists UK' who have long campaigned for the right to choose, said in a statement this afternoon 'The House of Commons has taken an historic step towards meeting the aspirations of the public, who overwhelmingly support having choice, dignity, and compassion at the end of their lives. We welcome this and now look forward to working with Lords on the legislation. 'MPs have finally recognised the fact that assisted dying is already happening in this country. People are travelling to Switzerland if they have the money and mobility to do so. Others are dying in traumatic circumstances by suicide. Many more are suffering greatly, even while receiving the best possible care. Today, we are a significant step closer to ending that unnecessary and cruel suffering and MPs should be commended for taking this step.'
CNN
7 hours ago
- Health
- CNN
Britain's lawmakers vote to legalize assisted dying, a landmark move after a fraught national debate
Lawmakers in Britain have narrowly approved a bill to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill people, capping a fraught debate in Parliament and across the country that cut across political, religious and legal divides. MPs passed the bill by 314 votes to 291, in their final say on the question. The bill – which has split lawmakers and sparked impassioned conversations with their constituents the breadth of Britain – will now move to the House of Lords for its final rounds of scrutiny. Friday's vote puts Britain firmly on track to join a small club of nations that have legalized the process, and one of the largest by population to allow it. It allows people with a terminal condition and less than six months to live to take a substance to end their lives, as long as they are capable of making the decision themselves. Two doctors and a panel would need to sign off on the choice. Canada, New Zealand, Spain and most of Australia allow assisted dying in some form, as do several US states, including Oregon, Washington and California. Friday's vote in Parliament coincided with a charged public debate about whether the state should be dictating the choices available to Britons in the final moments of their lives. Proponents included Esther Rantzen, a BBC TV presenter with advanced lung cancer, who argued that the choice would save millions from unnecessary suffering. 'If we don't vote to change the law today, what does that mean?,' asked Kim Leadbeater, the MP who introduced the bill last year. 'It means we will have many more years of heartbreaking stories from terminally ill people and their families, of pain and trauma, suicide attempts, PTSD, lonely trips to (clinics in) Switzerland, police investigations.' The option, she said, is 'not a choice between living and dying: it is a choice for terminally ill people about how they die.' But opponents have criticized the bill on religious and ethical grounds, and raised issues with a legislative process they accuse of being opaque. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown argued that fixing Britain's strained end-of-live care system should be prioritized, writing in a rare intervention in The Guardian that the bill 'would privilege the legal right to assisted dying without guaranteeing anything approaching an equivalent right to high-quality palliative care for those close to death.' Seriously ill people 'need the health and social care system fixing first,' Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft said in Parliament Friday. 'They want us as parliamentarians to assist them to live, not to die.' Friday's debate was concluded with a free vote, meaning that MPs were allowed to decide for or against the bill according to their conscience, and free from any party-line whipping. The proposed bill is broadly in line with the Oregon model, and does not go as far as Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada, which allow assisted death in cases of suffering, not just for terminally ill people. It differs from euthanasia, the process in which another person deliberately ends someone's life to relieve suffering. It is currently a crime to help somebody die in England and Wales, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Performing euthanasia on a person, meanwhile, is considered murder or manslaughter.
Western Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Health
- Western Telegraph
Campaigners for and against assisted dying make feelings known at Westminster
Dame Prue Leith, Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, and the broadcaster, Jonathan Dimbleby, were among the high-profile figures supporting the Bill to change the law in England and Wales. Members of the Dignity in Dying campaign wore pink and held placards in memory of friends and family members. Those opposed to the Bill included groups dressed as scientists in white lab coats and bloodied gloves and masks, as well as nuns and other members of religious organisations. The mood amongst campaigners was largely calm and respectful on both sides. Dame Prue told the PA news agency she was 'both nervous and confident' about the outcome. 'It's so moving to see all these people with placards of people they've lost or people who are dying of cancer,' she said. 'It's hard not to cry because I think they have done such a good job. Let's hope we've won.' Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, supporting the Dignity in Dying protest outside Parliament (Yui Mok/PA) Mr Dimbleby said he believed the Bill would be 'transformative'. He added: 'What it will mean is millions of people will be able to say to themselves, 'If I'm terminally ill, I will be able to choose, assuming I am of sound mind and I am not being coerced, to say 'Yes, I want to be assisted – I have dignity in death'.' Rebecca Wilcox, the daughter of Dame Esther, said: 'It couldn't be a kinder, more compassionate Bill that respects choice at the end of life, that respects kindness and empathy and gives us all an option when other options, every other option, has been taken away, and it would just be the perfect tool for a palliative care doctor to have in their med bag.' Teachers Catie and Becky Fenner said they wanted other families to benefit from the Bill. Campaigners against the assisted dying Bill outside Parliament (Yui Mok/PA) Their mother, who had motor neurone disease, had flown to Dignitas in Switzerland to end her life at a cost of £15,000. The sisters said they did not get to properly say goodbye and grieve and worried about the legal repercussions. Catie, 37, said: 'We were left quite traumatised by the whole experience – not only seeing a parent go through a really horrible disease but then the secrecy of the planning.' Campaigners against the Bill, who were gathered outside Parliament, chanted 'We are not dead yet' and 'Kill the Bill, not the ill'. A display was erected with a gravestone reading 'RIP: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Bury it deep', and behind were two mounds meant to resemble graves. Andrew Hilliard, 75, said he was opposed for religious reasons. He was dressed in a white lab coat with a placard reading: 'Protect our NHS from becoming the National Suicide Service'. The chief executive of Care Not Killing, Dr Gordon Macdonald, said MPs should prioritise improving palliative care. He said: 'Most people, when thinking about the practical implications of this, for those most vulnerable, they change their minds.' George Fielding, a campaigner affiliated with the Not Dead Yet group which is opposed to assisted dying, said he attended to represent disabled people. He said: 'This Bill will endanger and shorten the lives of disabled people.'
