A well-known British TV personality says she may travel to Switzerland to end her life after a cancer diagnosis.
Esther Rantzen is a household name in the UK after presenting TV programmes in the 70s and 80s and was instrumental in setting up a support phone line in the UK for abused children.
In an interview with the BBC, the 83-year-old, says she’s joined Dignitas which offers doctor supported assisted suicide.
She’s waiting for a scan in a few weeks’ time which will determine how well treatment is going. She says if the drugs aren’t working she’ll travel to Zurich.
Rantzen’s revelations have already triggered a major debate about assisted suicide in the UK, which remains illegal.
UK nationals make up a significant number of non-Swiss using the services of Dignitas – more than 500 have ended their lives in this country since 2002.
The other assisted dying organisation in Switzerland, EXIT, only offers its services to Swiss nationals or long-term foreign residents.
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