‘I resent that I don’t have a choice – it’s just cruel’

A cancer sufferer who felt she had no choice but to travel to Dignitas left a message for politicians in the wake of her death, pleading for a change to the UK’s current “cruel law” which criminalises assisted dying.

Paola Marra died at the Swiss clinic on Wednesday, March 20, having fought breast and bowel cancer.

The 53-year-old former music industry and charity sector worker teamed up with renowned photographer Rankin beforehand to speak out about assisted dying.

In a poignant film released online and made available on YouTube, she said: “When you watch this, I will be dead. I’m choosing to seek assisted dying because I refuse to let a terminal illness dictate the terms of my existence.

“The pain and suffering can become unbearable. It’s a slow erosion of dignity, the loss of independence, the stripping away of everything that makes life worth living.

“Assisted dying is not about giving up. In fact, it’s about reclaiming control. It’s not about death, it’s about dignity.

“It’s about giving people the right to end their suffering on their own terms, with compassion and respect.

“So, as you watch this, I am dead. But you watching this could help change the laws around assisted dying.”

In an accompanying open letter to party leaders at Westminster, Ms Marra said that, due to the current law, she had to travel to Dignitas alone because she did not want her loved ones “to be questioned by the police or get into trouble”.

The Canadian, who had lived in London for more than 30 years, wrote: “I resent that I don’t have a choice. I think it’s unfair and cruel.

“And for so many dying people who can’t afford to pay an average of £15,000 to travel to Dignitas, this cruel law will force them to endure a painful death, or drive them to take their own lives.”

Rankin said he met Ms Marra on a project over Christmas and had been “floored” by her story.