Dame Esther Rantzen has said she is “rapidly running out of time” as she launches a final, emotional appeal to the House of Lords to stop what she calls the “unashamed sabotage” of the assisted dying bill.

The 85-year-old broadcaster, who has spent decades holding power to account, says she is now fighting one last battle — not for herself, but for future generations of terminally ill patients.

Despite being terminally ill, Dame Esther said she is still “planning to go alone to Dignitas” in Switzerland if her suffering becomes unbearable, admitting that even if the bill were to become law, it would come too late to help her.

“I am still planning to go alone to Dignitas if my life becomes unbearable,” she said. “Even if the new Bill became Law, it could not apply to me because I am rapidly running out of time.”

But she warned lawmakers that failure to act would betray countless others. “Our lawmakers will be letting down generations of terminally ill patients if they fail to reform the current cruel, messy, criminal law,” she said, adding that the House of Lords “should be ashamed”.

Dame Esther accused some peers of attempting to block the legislation for personal or religious reasons, saying they were trying to “impose their own beliefs on others”. She argued that a small number of unelected individuals were exploiting a weakness in the democratic process to derail a bill already passed by MPs.

Her daughter, TV presenter Rebecca Wilcox, stressed that the campaign was never about her mother personally. “Mum has the privilege, if that’s the word, to be able to go to Dignitas — and so many people don’t,” she said. “The fear, the trauma, and the lasting damage to families is avoidable. That’s the worst part.”

Rebecca explained that legal risks mean no family member can accompany her mother without facing serious consequences. “I can’t go. My brother can’t go. My sister physically can’t go,” she said. “So mum will go alone — and she will go earlier than she should.”

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed the House of Commons in June 2025 but has since stalled in the Lords, with more than 1,000 amendments tabled. If it does not receive final approval before the King’s Speech in May, it will fall.

Dame Esther described the delays as “filibustering and sabotage”, insisting the bill does not apply to disabled people and is limited strictly to terminally ill adults with six months or less to live.

“We treat our pets with more compassion,” she said. “Please, please show compassion and humanity.”

Even as her health declines, those closest to her say her determination has never wavered. “She has always campaigned for fairness,” Rebecca said. “Helping other people is who she is — and that’s what keeps her going.”