Esther Rantzen says 'we want right to choose to shorten deaths, not lives'

Dame has passionately declared that can indeed be "carefully legalised" as she calls on the public to contact their local MP ahead as proposed legislation is brought before Commons for the first time in nearly ten years.

The Childline founder, battling stage four lung cancer herself, has been outspoke on the issue since disclosing last December she had joined due to her fears of a painful, drawn-out death. As Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's bill approaches deliberation in the Commons, Dame Esther is calling on people to let their MPs know their feelings about assisted dying.

She said: "Please write to your MP and explain your reasons why this time they should vote for change and assisted dying should be carefully legalised. Tell them your story. I am writing to mine. Explain this is a life and death issue and all we are asking is the right to choose, not to shorten our lives, but to shorten our deaths."

"Your words may just make the difference. If so, thanks to you we may all, for the first time, be able to look forward with hope and confidence to a good death."

The 84-year-old former broadcaster expressed her "deep disappointment" with the Archbishop of Westminster's stance on assisted dying. In a letter set to be read in his diocese's churches, Cardinal Vincent Nichols stated: "He (God) brings our humanity to its full glory precisely through the gateway of suffering and death."

Dame Esther said: "The Archbishop himself is guided by the faith he has personally chosen. But surely that does not mean he should impose his faith on those who do not share it."

The Cardinal also cautioned that a change in the law might pressure those close to death into ending their lives prematurely, whether due to a "perceived burden of care", to escape pain, or for financial reasons – echoing common arguments against legal reform.

Dame Esther branded the current legislation as "cruel". She recounted being approached by a woman whose father-in-law committed suicide while enduring "terrible pain" from leukaemia. The woman had questioned: "Why did he not have the choice of a pain-free death surrounded by those he loved? It’s so wrong. We treat animals better."

Dame Esther added: "I have stage four cancer and have signed up to Dignitas, because that means I can go to Zurich and opt for a legally assisted death there if my life becomes unbearable. Sadly, the criminal law in this country means patients like me have to go alone and die alone to protect our families from being investigated by the police. So going alone to die in Switzerland is the only legal choice left to me."

She added that "no matter how good palliative care is, it cannot always guarantee a good, pain free death" and insisted that moving towards legalising assisted dying for those with terminal illnesses could "save their families and loved ones from a last memory of an agonising death".

However, critics maintain the argument that efforts should be directed at improving end-of-life care instead of amending legislation to permit assisted dying.