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Dame Esther Rantzen wants assisted dying to be legalised. Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen has said she thought she would be “long gone” by the time MPs debated assisted dying. She previously revealed she had joined Dignitas, the assisted dying clinic in Switzerland, after a terminal lung cancer diagnosis. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow some people to have a medically-assisted death, will be discussed in the House of Commons later. While Dame Esther wants the law to change, those opposed fear people could feel pressured into ending their lives. Assisted dying generally refers to a person who is terminally ill receiving lethal drugs from a medical practitioner, which they administer themselves. It is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Under the bill, adults expected to die within six months could seek help to end their life. Two doctors and a High Court judge would need to agree they were eligible. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is behind the bill, said it could prevent “distressing” deaths. Dame Esther said she told Ms Leadbeater the current laws in the UK were “terrible” and “cruel” because they forced people to travel to Switzerland alone to die. She said if her family went with her, they risked being prosecuted for assisting her death.
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