Esther Rantzen’s daughter moved to tears by 650 ‘dying wishes’ at Parliament | Politics | News

The dying wishes of 650 people were displayed outside Parliament on Thursday in support of the assisted dying Bill.

Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter, journalist Rebecca Wilcox, was moved to tears as she read the words displayed on trees for the temporary instalment by campaign group Dignity in Dying.

Reading one message, she told the Express: “Listen to this one, it couldn’t be simpler than this: ‘My dying wish is to be pain free at home, looking at the garden.’ How does that hurt anyone?

“This one, my mum could have written: ‘My dying wish is that my children would know how much I loved them, and I don’t want them to have the trauma of seeing me in pain or undignified.’

“They are heartfelt, brilliant, simple, emotional, honest [wishes]. I really recommend people having a look at them if they have any doubts about this.”

READ MORE: Assisted dying Bill – every detail explained

Dame Esther, 84, has helped to propel assisted dying to the top of the political agenda since revealing her diagnosis of terminal lung cancer last year.

Rebecca, 44, said of her mum: “I think what she would like is for everybody to have a choice about how they die, when they die, where they die, and with whom.

“She doesn’t want to die alone in Switzerland. She doesn’t want to die here in pain. I don’t think anybody here would ever choose something like that.”

Rebecca said the legislation put forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater was “such a common sense Bill and it has got so many safeguards built into it”.

And she suggested Wes Streeting should read some of the messages because by opposing it he is “not representing his constituents or the UK”.

The Health Secretary has faced criticism for campaigning against the Bill in defiance of Government advice that Cabinet ministers should remain publicly neutral.

He claimed on Wednesday that legalising assisted dying would lead to NHS cuts, but was later unable to provide any evidence of a cost analysis.

Ms Leadbeater said she found it “disappointing that some members of the Cabinet have spoken out very vocally on the issue, and others have done as instructed and not expressed their views”.

She added that Mr Streeting’s remarks “would suggest he hasn’t read the Bill”.

Meanwhile, Commons Leader Lucy Powell assured MPs that the Bill would not be rushed through Parliament. She said it was expected to face a five-hour debate at the Second Reading on November 29 and, if it passes that stage, further scrutiny, debates and votes.

The 650 dying wishes on display from Dignity in Dying supporters represented both the number of MPs set to vote on the Bill and the number of dying people who take their own lives each year.

They were attached to 17 trees, representing the 17 people who suffer as they die every day despite receiving the best end of life care.

Actress Susan Hampshire, 87, also joined the event and said: “I just think it would be wonderful for people like my late mother, my two late sisters, my late husband, my later mother-in-law to have had a choice.

“But they had to suffer to the bitter end. There was nothing one could do.” Her voice breaking as she remembered her sister Ann, Susan went on: “To hear my darling sister begging me every day that she was in so much pain…

“She knew she could never get better and they couldn’t move her without it being agony. She couldn’t feed herself or anything.

“The law, as it is, is cruel to people in the last weeks of their life. I can only believe that the people who are against this have never cared for somebody to their last breath. As I have done this, I feel very strongly about it.”

Parliamentarians including Kit Malthouse, Andrew Mitchell, Kevin Hollinrake and Baroness Jenny Jones also attended.

Tory MP Mr Malthouse said: “To see, writ large, the wishes of people who are bereaved and dying is very effective.

“I just hope that MPs realise that behind what seems like a technical piece of legislation, there are real stories of pain and horror that could be avoided.”

The late campaigner who launched the Express’s assisted dying crusade would be “really excited” to see how far it has come, his son says.

David Minns was the first person to share his heartbreaking story in support of our campaign in February 2022.

He was terminally ill with blood cancer and feared an agonising end. His daughter Katie had suffered a horrific death from another cancer, sarcoma, just one year earlier.

David’s worst fears were realised in February 2023, when he spent his final days frightened, struggling to breathe and in agony.

His son Matt, 45, attended Dignity in Dying’s event outside Parliament. He said: “Dad really worked hard for this to get to where it is. He spent a lot of time and energy campaigning for this and he lived the experience of a person dying in pain.

“At no point in that process did he change his mind. It was very, very clear to him that no one should have to go through what he was and everyone should have a choice.

“If you don’t want to choose it, that’s fine, but to take that choice away from people when it’s possible to do it in a caring and safe environment – as this Bill creates – is unforgivable.”

Seeing both his loved ones suffer before death “made it even clearer that this is the right thing to do”, Matt said.

He added: “There’s a peaceful, dignified way to die and that is not the way that either my dad or my sister died.

“The thing that helps me cope with that is this campaign and I hope that the wonderful team at Dignity in Dying and the MPs who are working so hard on this will get it over the line.

“I hope that the people who oppose this will listen to the voices of the families and people who are dying, and recognise that the strength of the argument is on our side.”