Like Esther Rantzen, I want to decide when and how I die

I am not scared to die, writes Dr Stephen Duckworth, who was paralysed in a rugby accident aged 20. It is time the UK changed its cruel and outdated legislation and gave people rights over their own death

Dame Esther Rantzen has terminal cancer and has revealed she has joined Switzerland-based assisted dying organisation Dignitas (PA)

The opportunity to celebrate our life, to say goodbye to the people we love, and to slip away peacefully on our own terms, avoiding unnecessary pain and suffering – is that not how all of us would want to go?

Dame Esther Rantzen has vividly pointed out how this is not possible under our current legal process. She has terminal cancer and previously sad: "I have joined Dignitas. I have thought, well, if the next scan says nothing’s working I might buzz off to Zurich – but it puts my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me.”

Currently, for those few Brits who can afford the £15,000 price tag, there is Switzerland-based assisted dying organisation Dignitas – but this involves travelling to a foreign country, and often dying before they are ready because airlines require individuals to be fit to travel.