Actress Joanna Lumley has admitted she would consider assisted dying if she became unable to look after herself.
The Fool Me Once star, 79, recently sat down for a new interview. During the chat, Joanna shared that she wouldn’t rule out voluntary euthanasia.
Last month, MPs backed the Terminally Ill Adults Bill, often referred to as the Assisted Dying Bill, in the House of Commons. That means, terminally ill adults with less than six months to live are able to apply for an assisted death.
Joanna Lumley talks assisted dying plans
“People are terribly anxious about it and think one may be coerced [into voluntary euthanasia],” she told Saga magazine when asked about the bill.
“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,” Joanna added, appearing to share fears of developing Alzheimer’s or her memory fading.
She insisted that if she ever felt that she was unable to communicate or feed herself, that would be the moment when she would consider the bill.
“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,” Joanna continued.
Joanna Lumley insists her ‘time must be coming quite soon’
In May, Joanna spoke to BBC Radio 2’s Vernon Kay. Following her 79th birthday, she admitted she “doesn’t have much time left”.
“As you nearly the top of the hill, you suddenly think, gosh, there’s not all that much time left,” Joanna said.
She continued: “My time must be coming quite soon, and I don’t want to have wasted a minute of being on this beautiful planet. I used to panic when I was young, but as I’ve got older, I’ve started to live day to day.”
Joanna stated that she now works out “what matters” with age. She insisted she “always knew that good stuff would come along when I was older. When I was 18, I longed to be 30. When I was 30, I longed to be 50. We mustn’t be led into thinking getting old is bad. Growing old is good,” Joanna added.
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