‘The people have spoken,’ Esther Rantzen says as polls show public backs assisted dying

Dame Esther Rantzen says the people have spoken and MPs must finally change the “cruel, messy, criminal law”, after four polls showed overwhelming public support for assisted dying.

One commissioned by the Express found 68% backed the key principles of the Bill that will face a landmark vote in the Commons on Friday, while just 11% opposed it.

A YouGov survey put support even higher at 73%, while think tank More in Common found 65% were in favour. And over-60s campaign group Silver Voices found 61% of its members supported giving terminally ill people greater choice at the end of life.

Dame Esther, who has stage four lung cancer, said: “Once again the people have spoken. Let’s hope this time someone is listening.

“We ‘oldies’ understand that even with the best palliative care, suffering can make life unbearable, not just for terminally ill patients but for those who have to witness their pain but cannot assist them due to our current cruel, messy criminal law.”

Savanta surveyed 2,288 adults for the Express this month and asked to what extent they would support or oppose legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people with less than six months to live.

The poll set out the , including that two doctors and a High Court judge must ensure a patient meets all the criteria and safeguards.

Some 68% of those questioned supported the proposed law change, including 40% “strongly”. Just 11% were opposed, 8% said they did not know and 13% were neutral.

People who had personally witnessed someone suffering with a terminal illness were even more likely (71%) to back the Bill. And there was strong cross-party support from 73% of Labour and Conservative voters and 72% of Liberal Democrat voters.

Dame Esther, 84, has campaigned tirelessly for a change in the law since that she had registered with Swiss suicide clinic Dignitas.

She said: “At last, MPs have a chance to reform it, and replace it with the Private Member’s Bill which allows us the choice not to shorten our lives, to shorten our death.

“And once again this survey shows, like all the previous surveys, that this is the change most people want.”

The Express survey also found that 62% of people would want the option to be prescribed life-ending medication by a doctor if they were terminally ill and suffering. Only 17% said they would not.

And 54% believed that legalising assisted dying would make the UK a more compassionate country, while 14% said it would make it less compassionate.

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll of 2,169 people found 73% supported Ms Leadbeater’s Bill, compared to only 13% who opposed it. Eight in ten agreed that if the law did change, two doctors should be required to assess the patient.

But only 55% agreed that a High Court judge was necessary and just 37% thought it should be necessary for the patient to administer the life-ending medication themselves, rather than a doctor.

Silver Voices also polled over 2,200 of its members this month and found 61% backed the Bill, while 26% opposed it and 12% were unsure.

The group’s director, Dennis Reed, urged MPs “not to duck this rare opportunity” to give terminally ill people control over their deaths.

He added: “We urge MPs to vote in favour of the Bill so that this important issue of choice over our own lives can be thoroughly examined in Parliament.

“However, the Government must allow sufficient time for the safeguards to be examined forensically and for international comparisons to be debated. If necessary, the Government should introduce its own Bill to replace the Private Member’s initiative.

“If the Bill is voted down next week, we may have to wait another decade before the issue comes back and people will continue dying in pain, indignity and discomfort for the sake of an extra few weeks of life.

“A ‘good death’ is so important for family memories as well as the release and reassurance for the terminally ill patient.”

More in Common’s polling of more than 17,000 people found 65% supported assisted dying and just 13% were against it. The think tank identified only seven constituencies where the majority of people did not support the principle.

Polls have consistently shown for years that most members of the public are in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people who are nearing death.

But MPs have so far failed to represent their constituents on the issue, and in 2015 voted down a similar Bill by 330 votes to 118.

The Express crusade has fought alongside campaign group Dignity in Dying for almost three years to highlight this injustice.

Sarah Wootton, Dignity in Dying chief executive, said: “With a matter of days to go before the historic Second Reading debate on Kim Leadbeater’s Bill, the British public have made their minds up – for compassion and safety’s sake they want to see this law changed.

“Many will have seen loved ones die in pain despite excellent care or take their own lives, both here and abroad. Some will want the choice themselves, so they can live knowing that they can die well when the time comes.”

Ms Wootton said the Bill was “the strongest proposal Parliament has ever considered on assisted dying”, and builds on best practice from laws proven to work safely overseas and the findings of a recent Commons Health and Social Care Committee inquiry.

She added: “We would not be alone in changing this law – we will bring England and Wales in line with the majority of assisted dying laws around the world, including those in 10 US states, across Australia and New Zealand, as well as legislation being considered in Scotland, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

“MPs must back this Bill on 29th November to ensure a full debate can take place. This is a critical opportunity to bring about real change for dying people and their families, one that they are clearly calling out for.”