Dimbleby says criminalisation is ‘unbearable’
JONATHAN Dimbleby has described the criminalisation of assisted dying in the UK as “increasingly unbearable”.
It follows the death of his younger brother Nicholas, who had motor neurone disease.
The British broadcaster, 79, is urging political parties to commit to a parliamentary vote to change the law.
He said politicians have been “extraordinarily cautious” and current laws are as “anachronistically cruel as capital punishment”.
Mr Dimbleby added: “[It was] distressing to see Nick finding himself unable to speak, to have to be carried everywhere, to be physically cared for.
Choice
“The law should be changed so that individuals like my brother, protected by crucial legal safeguards, would have the right to die at home at a moment of their choice.”
The cause is being championed by Childline founder and fellow broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, 83, who has called for politicians to grapple with the issue for the first time since 2015.
She said she joined Swiss assisted dying organisation Dignitas after she was diagnosed with terminal stage four lung cancer last year.
Nicholas Dimbleby, who was a strong supporter of having the right to die, was diagnosed with incurable motor neurone disease last year but died at home in Devon earlier this month at the age of 77.
Speaking about his brother, Mr Dimbleby told the Guardian: “He was a wonderful, strong person, mentally as well as physically, and he felt this erosion of life very deeply.
“He showed immense courage but as the disease progressed, he endured terrifying choking fits.
“Mercifully, his final hours were peaceful.”
He said he had witnessed “the acute psychological and physical pain” that can accompany death and emphasised that granting the right to an assisted death still means that people get to make an active choice.
The former Radio 4 Any Questions? host added he had not become a member of Dignitas, but suggested: “Perhaps I should. It’s an omission.”
Considering the possibility that the law could soon be changed, he added: “I fervently hope so for the sake of all of us who are still alive.”
The Health and Social Care Committee launched an inquiry in December 2022 to examine different perspectives in the debate into assisted dying and assisted suicide in England and Wales.
The publication of its findings today comes nine years after the last parliamentary vote on legalising assisted dying.
Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. In Scotland, it is not a specific criminal offence but assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to murder or other charges.