Joanna Lumley backs assisted dying and reveals exactly when she 'wouldn't mind saying farewell'

Actress DameJoanna Lumleyhas spoken out in favour of assisted dying, saying she would not want to carry on if she couldn’t talk or eat or recognise her loved ones.

The 79-year-old star said she supports the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was backed by MPs last month and is heading for the Lords this autumn. The new law would allow terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to apply for an assisted death.

Asked about the bill in an interview with Saga Magazine, Dame Joanna, best known for her role as Patsy in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, said: “People are terribly anxious about it and think one may be coerced. But I’m saying this now, when nobody’s coercing me – don’t let me turn into somebody who doesn’t recognise the people I love most, where I’m having a miserable time. When I get to the stage where I can’t speak and have to be fed, that won’t be me any more – and that’s when I wouldn’t mind saying farewell."

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One of the bill’s most high-profile supporters has been TV presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, 85, who has terminal cancer and is being backed by her daughter Rebecca Wilcox. Esther recently urged members of the Lords not to block the legislation.

Dame Joanna’s support has been welcomed by campaigners, including Louise Shackleton. Louise is being probed by police after reporting herself for going with her husband Anthony, 59, to the Dignitas group in Switzerland. Anthony, who had motor neurone disease, had decided to end his life, aided by Dignitas, in December.

Louise, 58, from North Yorkshire, told the Mirror how she would be burying his ashes today. She said: “Monday is my husband’s 60th birthday and it’s the day we lay him to rest.

“He would have been overwhelmed that such a huge star has spoken out. I would like to thank Joanna 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.”

Louise said she hoped the bill would make it through the Lords. She said: “Hopefully, there will be measured, educated and community focused progress to move this forward.”

Dignity in Dying CEO Sarah Wootton said: “Dame Joanna’s com­­ments show that just like the overwhelming majority of the public, she supports assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, which puts power in the hands of dying people to choose how they die. People want to know that when they are dying, they will have the peace of mind of being able to ask for a safe, peaceful assisted death.

“We urge the Lords to listen to dying people, bereaved families and the public.”

But the bill does have its opponents. Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, said after the last vote: “This is a deeply flawed and dangerous bill which fails to protect vulnerable and disabled people from coercion.”

However Louise responded: “The bill does not include disabled people, it does not include people with anorexia or the elderly, unless they have a terminal illness with an assessed sound mind and less than six months to live.”

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