Give Us Our Last Rights<\/a> crusade.<\/p>\nReflecting on the huge impact of her public support, she noted that taking up another cause was the last thing she had expected at this stage of life.<\/p>\n
However, her situation \u201cseems to have struck a nerve with the public. So to my surprise the assisted dying campaign found me. But it would be nice to think I\u2019m still useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cI want the ones I love to have good memories of our life together. Not terrible memories of the way I die.”<\/p>\n
Ms Leadbeater announced on Tuesday that her Bill will return to the Commons for report stage on May 16, later than the originally planned date of April 25.<\/p>\n
She said the change would give MPs more time to consider amendments made at committee stage, while allowing the legislation to remain on track to complete all its parliamentary stages.<\/p>\n
Major amendments passed include an extension of the maximum implementation period from two years to four, and a decision to swap review by the High Court for a panel of experts.<\/p>\n
Dame Esther said: \u201cI always knew that any change in the assisted dying law could not possibly come in time for me.<\/p>\n
“So the delay \u2014 the law in England and Wales could be pushed back until at least 2029 \u2014 won\u2019t affect me personally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am extremely sorry for the sake of other terminally ill patients who will be denied the right to choose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sooner it is put in place, the more patients will be given that right and the more vulnerable people will be protected from pressure or coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Admitting that the campaign has taken a toll, Dame Esther said: \u201cI am not sure I enjoy constantly talking about death.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she added that it was \u201ccrucial\u201d and she was determined to support the work of Ms Leadbeater and other supporters \u201cin any way I can\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who called her programme That\u2019s Life!, as I did, clearly thinks work is life and vice versa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut love is what sustains and inspires you. The greatest loves of my life have been my late, much missed husband, Desmond, our three children and my closest friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cChanging the law can be done, but should be hard. Any new law must be very carefully scrutinised and thought through. There are hardly ever any easy answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a letter to MPs about the change of date, Ms Leadbeater said she had listened to colleagues who wanted more time to consider the changes to the Bill.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cI fully appreciate the dedication and seriousness with which colleagues are approaching this hugely important issue, and feel I have a duty to take these comments on board.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always said it is more important to do this work properly than to do it quickly, which is why I ensured the committee had plenty of time to do its work and why I think it is now sensible to allow all MPs a few more weeks for their own consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am absolutely confident that by doing so, it will not delay the bill\u2019s passage towards Royal Assent should both Houses give it their support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dame Esther has confirmed that her wonder drug is no longer working (Image: Steve Reigate) Dame Esther Rantzen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2935,2938,77,2934,2940,2936,2937,2939,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-5356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-assisted-dying","9":"tag-assisted-dying-campaign","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-esther-rantzen","12":"tag-kim-leadbeater","13":"tag-lung-cancer","14":"tag-terminal-cancer","15":"tag-terminally-ill-adults-bill","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114307006903340633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Dame](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/esther-6081382.jpg\" "\\"Dame")
<\/p>\n![\"BRITAIN-ROYALS-HONOURS\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/esther-6081387.jpg\" "\\"BRITAIN-ROYALS-HONOURS\\"")
<\/p>\n