by Dame Prue Leith has asked the government to allow “adequate time” when considering changing the law to allow for physician-assisted death.
Judge Great British Bake Off, 82, is making a documentary on assisted dying with his son and Tory MP for Devizes, Danny Kruger, who is of a different opinion on the debate.
The chef and TV presenter told Times Radio on Tuesday that his son has a “principled position” on the subject as he feels there is a danger of it leading to people feeling pressured to death.
And he continued: “While, I keep telling him that when you get to my age you talk a lot about death. I just feel it’s my life and if I want to end it – which I don’t like by the way, I’m really excited about my life – but I’d love to have the chance.
“I think the law should change. I think we should be allowed to ask for medical assistance to help us die when we have had enough of life ”.
He recalled how he watched his older brother David die of cancer, saying, “He just had the most terrible, terrible, terrible death and it’s true that palliative care can be really great, but the truth is it’s not great in this country. .
“And there are some cancers and some complaints, the drugs just don’t touch. There are some 7,000 people dying from unrelieved pain. “
Dame Prue added that Parliament must seriously address the issue with a “bill that the government promises will not be discussed”.
“What I would like most is for Parliament to give him the time he needs,” he said.
“I mean, up until now it’s been debated in the House of Commons a couple of times, but it’s still a private member’s bill, which can be filed against.
“What happens is that the people who oppose it – especially what happened more recently in the Lord – just propose all sorts of amendments that don’t really mean.
“They just want to talk for two days, in which case it collapses. So it has to be a government bill or a bill that the government promises not to be discussed, and then people won’t just stop that from happening. “
The Bake Off star has already talked about her brother’s painful death and how her late husband Rayne Kruger asked doctors if he could have “some help” to die.
She said Kruger, who she was married to for nearly 30 years before the author’s death from emphysema in 2002, wanted to go peacefully.
Assisted dying has been legalized in several US states, Australia and several European countries, and a bill will be presented to the Scottish Parliament next year.
