'Don't let me turn into someone who doesn't recognise the people I love most', says Dame Joanna Lumley as she speaks out in favour of assisted dying

Daily Mail​

7 days ago

Dame Joanna Lumley has spoken out in support of the controversial assisted dying policy, saying she would not want to carry on if she couldn't recognize her loved ones.
The actress, 79, said she supported the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow adults with less than six months to live to apply for assisted death.
The bill passed a vote in the House of Commons last month, despite objections from Labour ministers and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and will be discussed in the House of Lords in the autumn.
Dame Joanna, known for starring as Patsy in the BBC comedy Absolutely Fabulous. was asked about the bill in an interview with Saga Magazine.
She said: 'People are terribly anxious about it and think you may be coerced.
'But I'm saying this now, when nobody's coercing me - don't let me turn into somebody who doesn't recognize the people I love most, where I'm having a miserable time.
'When I get to that stage, when my mind is gone and I have to be fed, that won't be me any more - and I wouldn't mind saying "farewell".'
TV presenter Dame Esther Rantzen has been another vocal supporter of the bill and recently urged the Lords not to block the legislation.
Dame Esther, 85, has terminal cancer and is being backed by her daughter Rebecca Wilcox.
The support from Dame Joanna has been welcomed by campaigner Louise Shackleton.
Mrs Shackleton, 58, is currently being investigated for taking her terminally ill husband Anthony, 59, to Switzerland last December to assist his suicide, after he had suffered from motor neurone disease for six years.
She told The Mirror that she is set to bury his ashes today on what would have been his 60th birthday
She added: 'He would have been overwhelmed that such a huge star has spoken out.
'I would like to thank Joana on behalf of fellow campaigners for having the courage to speak out and to represent the vast majority of people who are in agreement with what she is saying but haven't got her platform.
'Hopefully there will be measured, educated and community focused progress to move this forward.'
The bill did have opponents from all parties including Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.
Writing for the Daily Mail, he revealed how he helped look after his grandmother, Dorothy, as a teenage boy – and how she continued to bring joy to the family as she defied a terminal diagnosis for nearly a decade.
He said the prospect of legalising assisted dying 'fills me with dread', adding: 'My Nana felt like she was a burden. I know how much she hated the indignity she felt at having to ask my Mum or us to help her with basic needs.
'People like her – and there are many such people – may consider an assisted death as another act of kindness to us. How wrong they would be.
'Our society pays little regard to end of life care. We need to do much more as a country to help the elderly, like my Nana, in their final years.
'But my experience has taught me that there can be dignity in death, and that even in someone's twilight years, there is joy to be extracted from life.
'So I'll be voting No. And as I do so, I'll be thinking of my great pal – my Nana, Dorothy.'
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged her MPs to vote against the legislation, describing it as 'a bad Bill' despite being 'previously supportive of assisted suicide'.
Mother of the House Diane Abbott also asked MPs to vote against the bill, saying: 'There is no doubt that if this Bill is passed in its current form, people will lose their lives who do not need to, and they will be amongst the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.'