Esther Rantzen's daughter discusses her mum's health on GMB
Dame Esther Rantzen is reportedly "living from scan to scan", with her daughter providing a heartfelt health update after the 83 year old was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
The beloved broadcaster has joined Dignitas, an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland, as euthanasia remains illegal in the UK. Her daughter revealed that she could face up to 14 years in prison for "matricide" if she assists her mother in ending her life.
In December, Dame Esther disclosed that she was undergoing a "miracle" treatment for her cancer. However, if this proves unsuccessful, she plans to end her life.
During an emotional segment on Good Morning Britain, her daughter Rebecca Wilcox expressed: "We feel like we're living in an hourglass and the sand is pouring on us."
She continued: "There will come a point where our heads are no longer above it, and I really want politicians, MPs, people of this country to realise that we all have a choice in how we live, and I want us to have a choice in how we die. This is not about shortening anyone's life it's about shortening their death and making it dignified," reports the Mirror.
Presenter Rob Rinder informed Rebecca: "The problem is, somebody with a terminal diagnosis can't just travel [to Dignitas] themselves. It's not them that's committing the offence, it's ultimately you who is criminally culpable."
Esther's daughter passionately stated: "The risk of prosecution, whilst only three people were prosecuted last year, you face up to two years of investigation which is an impossible scenario when you're going through the worst moment of your life, because the person you have accompanied is clearly somebody you massively care about."
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"I can't let my mum go to her death alone. Who could? Yet I am a working mum, I can't risk 14 years in prison. I can't risk the two years of investigation. I also have the really important work I do with Childline which has a very involved DBS, I don't think they'd let me do that if I was under investigation for matricide!"
She further revealed that Esther would be forced to travel to Switzerland "months" before she actually needed to.
She expressed: "The law is unclear, the law is messy. Nobody really understands what's going on. You have to have two doctors sign off your travel doctors aren't really sure, the BMJ isn't really sure if they should allow doctors to do that. You have to go before your time she would go months before she actually needed to go."
"And she's going to a place that isn't known for its care and kindness. This is the most important thing, kindness is the tenet of our society, so can't we just reflect that in our palliative care and end of life care?"
