The campaign to reform assisted dying laws is set to be one of 2024’s most important debates.
The Daily Express and Dame Esther Rantzen want millions to be allowed the dignity to choose how and when they can end their lives legally.
Dame Esther, 83, has stage 4 lung cancer and has joined Swiss assisted suicide clinic Dignitas.
She has said she would be prepared to “buzz off there” if her medication stops working.
But current laws mean her relatives risk 14 years in jail if they accompany her to Zurich.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an internationally-recognised charitable body advising law makers, says it will run a citizens’ jury so that voters have all the information they require on assisted dying.
It plans to publish a report on recommendations from it.
Euthanasia is currently illegal under the Suicide Act 1961 and it can result in murder or manslaughter prosecutions.
Dame Esther and the Express are calling for a full Parliamentary debate, a free vote for MPs and reform to legalise assisted dying.
The Nuffield Council will not be making any recommendations about the law but will be “supporting an informed public debate on the topic” and publishing full findings from its engagement by the end of 2024.
Dame Esther’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox, 43, yesterday told how the TV host and lifelong campaigner enjoyed a magical family Christmas “filled with so much love, smiles and sparkle” – a festive treat that was not thought possible after she was diagnosed last January.
