Prue Leith has said that support for the legalisation of assisted dying increases when people see “the agony of dying”.
The Great British Bake Off judge, who has been a long-time campaigner in support of assisted dying, added that current legislation is “just dreadful for dying people”.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Thursday (16 February), Leith said: “Thousands of [people] face a horrible death every year and what choice do they have?
“They can commit suicide, which is perfectly legal. They can put up with it, just suffer, or they can go to Switzerland, which is expensive and very few people can afford it, and who wants to go to Switzerland to die? At the moment, the law just isn’t working and we should change it.”
The TV presenter continued: “I think many, many people have come to the conclusion that we have to allow help for dying people who already want to die. The [former Archbishop of Canterbury] Archbishop Carey came to that conclusion only, I think, when he saw his mother die.”
Leith has spoken out in support of changing legislation since her brother David died of bone cancer in 2012.
The TV chef said that “seeing people in agony” often prompted support for the cause, adding: “It’s interesting that more nurses than doctors support our side of the argument because they’re the ones that see the agony of dying.
“Doctors generally do their rounds when everybody’s full of drugs and feel fine, and they don’t see the dying, the nurses do.”
Leith, 82, will explore the topic further in the Channel 4 documentary Prue and Danny’s Death Road Trip, in which she and her Tory MP son Danny Kruger discuss their differing views on the subject. While Leith supports a change in legislation, Kruger opposes her view and wants to improve palliative care.
Assisted dying and euthanasia are illegal in the UK, but campaigners argue that people should be given the “option to control their death”.
Earlier this week, the South African restaurateur told The Times that seeing her brother die “in absolute agony” made her question why those who are dying are not able to do so on their own terms.
“Why, if you can prevent it, would you allow somebody to insist on somebody having six weeks of pain and misery? They’re going to die anyway. They want out now, and when the family’s memories are good ones,” she said.
Prue and Danny’s Death Road Trip airs Thursday 16 February at 9pm on Channel 4.
