​Presenter Esther Rantzen sparks fierce debate on assisted dying

The Childline founder and broadcaster revealed in May that her cancer has progressed to stage four.

In an interview with BBC's The Today Podcast on Monday, Dame Esther also called for a free vote on assisted dying in Parliament.

Dame Esther became a household name at the BBC and is perhaps best known for presenting That's Life! – a programme featuring a mix of investigations, topical issues and entertainment – from 1973 to 1994. In addition to her success as a journalist and broadcaster, she set up the Childline charity in 1986.

Expressing support for Dame Esther on social media, former MP and government minister Anna Soubry said: “What a wonderful & remarkable woman Dame Esther Rantzen is – a courageous campaigner who’s made a real difference to the lives of so many. And she’s also right on #assisteddying.”

While the vast majority of online commentary was in support of Dame Esther, several palliative care professionals expressed concern that the excellent end of life care provided by the Hospice and cancer charities was being overlooked.

One said: “So sad that Esther Rantzen prefers to believe in @MDMDmydecision (assisted dying campaign) bad death stories rather than specialist palliative care.”

Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

The Health and Social Care Committee is due to publish its report into assisted dying and assisted suicide in England and Wales, having launched an inquiry in December 2022 to examine different perspectives in the debate.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Baroness Finlay, a cross-bench peer and Professor of Palliative Medicine at the Velindre Cancer Centre, said she is opposed to assisted dying, but accepts that not everyone is getting access to the palliative care they need.

"We still have hospices only getting a third of their funding from the NHS – we’re still relying on voluntary donations to make sure that people can live well for as long as they have”.

Earlier this month, representatives of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) gave evidence to a committee of elected representatives in Dublin, after the Republic’s ‘Dying with Dignity’ bill was passed in the Dail.

Rev Dr David Bruce told the committee that the PCI has concerns around the unintended policy consequences, should the law in the Republic be altered, particularly if “there is a lack of sufficient safeguards to protect vulnerable people,” especially if the provision is extended to anyone resident on the island of Ireland, which would include Northern Ireland.

"For people of faith, the starting point here is that human life is special – we may even say sacred – and that its preservation, its dignity and its protection, are moral values which we seek to protect,” Rev Bruce added.

According to the NI Department of Justice, "committing or attempting to commit suicide is not, of itself, a criminal offence in this jurisdiction".

However, it is an offence "to encourage or assist the suicide or attempted suicide of another person"