‘I worked with Dame Esther Rantzen and know her pain – I was arrested over Dignitas plans’

Ann Whaley, who had previously worked with Dame Esther Rantzen, had no idea that she was risking spending 14 years in prison after agreeing to assist her husband’s final wishes.

On Christmas Eve 2018, Ann Whaley headed out to sing in the church choir – a rarity for her, given that she was never usually able to leave the side of her beloved husband, Geoff Whaley. That night, however, Ann and Geoff’s son had returned to the family home for one final Christmas with his dad, who’d by that point made the decision to die at Dignitas.

Geoff had a wish to pass away on his own terms, with the travel scheduled for February 2019 in the same vein as Dame Esther Rantzen, who has sadly stopped responding to her treatment for terminal cancer. Geoff, 80, was suffering from motor neurone disease (MND), a condition that had left him paralyzed from the neck down. The father-of-two, known as “a very dignified man,” was also losing ability to communicate while being fully aware of his situation, facing a grim future Ann described as “being buried alive.”

Geoff lost the final digit of his right hand’s movement in December, making it impossible for him to use his iPad. He then directed his devoted wife of 52 years to request that she reserve accommodations for them in Switzerland in advance of their final journey together. Geoff had already organised everything else using his iPad, but with his last tiny bit of movement gone, he needed Ann’s help.

For Ann, there was no question of her saying no. She told the Mirror: “What am I expected to do? Have an argument with my husband, who just asked me to do these final two things for him? Of course, I wouldn’t.” As Ann lovingly carried out her husband’s final wishes, she had no idea that she was putting herself at risk of 14 years behind bars.

READ MORE: Dame Esther Rantzen’s heartbreaking fear if she’s denied death on her own terms at Dignitas

On the night of the choir practice, Ann’s first evening away from Geoff in two years, her fellow members asked her to join them for Midnight Mass, which she did. She didn’t know at the time that an interaction with a churchwarden and the new vicar would turn her world upside down.

Ann called out the new vicar as they were about to leave the service, noting that despite her and her husband’s active involvement in the church, she had only spoken to her once. Before letting out a “gasp,” he informed her that he had been busy. Ann continued: “Then the churchwarden came up and gave me a big hug, said, ‘ It’s lovely to see you’. The vicar sort of drew his breath as I said, “Well, we’ve got a date now, and at this.” He reported me to the police for domestic abuse, to be precise.

One of the most significant concerns among those who oppose the Assisted Dying Bill, which is still being considered in Parliament, is that unscrupulous individuals could use it to take advantage of vulnerable family members. Ann, who had already realized she had broken the law, was charged with doing exactly this.

On Christmas Eve, the door knocked on the following day. To Ann’s great surprise, it was the police. They were shocked when I said, “Do come in, would you like a cup of tea, etc,” she said. A detective sergeant was involved. It was the lower ranks, if you like, and a lady.

They were shocked to discover a comfortably off couple because we were both financially able to attend Dignitas, which is very expensive. However, with someone who was clearly not under pressure, was very vocal, and was confined to a wheelchair.

The red-faced detective sergeant turned to the inspector in charge, who informed him that things were still in order. The septuagenarian was suddenly found herself locked in a room at a police station and facing a possible sentence of 14 years in jail when the officers went back to interview her under caution.

Thankfully, Ann had a” marvellous “criminal lawyer on hand who was able to help her navigate the unfolding nightmare. Although the ordeal was not over, she was given a chance to leave the police car. You can picture a police car outside your home with everyone else merely peering through the curtains, Ann said.

Neighbourhood gossip aside, however, Ann was far more concerned about her husband and why she’d been taken away in the first place. Ann was required to remain put at home while the case passed through the Crown Court.

She said, “We couldn’t suddenly take the reins and leave Switzerland.” I’m not saying my passport was taken away, but I was trusted if you like. You know, to stay around was kind of. Anyway, because the assisted death date had been set, we couldn’t have arrived sooner.

After seven days of being advised not to do anything, the inspector himself paid a visit to the house. He said, “I’m not prepared to discuss it,” Ann remembered. However, officers were ultimately instructed to drop the case because it lacked the public interest.

When Geoff asked Ann to make those two final arrangements for him, he was still able to talk. He was beginning to lose his voice, and, in Ann’s words, he was aware that the time had come. His consultant also informed him that he was on his last breath and lacked three more months to live.

He had been unable to speak, Ann claimed, if he had waited longer. He would have been stranded. Unable to communicate in any way whatsoever, and he wouldn’t have been able to travel unless we got paid for the expense of a private flight to get us there. “

However, the intense media interest in Geoff’s case, with BBC cameras following the family all the way to the airport, contributed to those final weeks. They had agreed to this in order to make changes that could be made about Geoff’s story more widely known. But still, the attention was tough on their daughter, who feels” bitter “about those last few” precious “weeks she spent with her father, in a way that has greatly affected her.

Ann and Geoff made their planned trip to Switzerland in February, accompanied by their children, their children’s partners, and their godparents, after reaching the other side of their legal ordeal. Ann acknowledges their privilege to be able to make this journey together despite everything their families have gone through. Ann told us:” I will fight to the end of my days to get that available for people in this country who cannot afford it because it’s very expensive. “

Geoff told her he loved her one more time before she passed away peacefully in Ann’s arms. I’ve got friends who have lost their husbands in agonizing circumstances and have dreadful memories of them. I have a lovely memory of my dear husband telling me he loved me. What else, really, can a woman ask?

“Whereas I have friends whose husbands didn’t know them, whose behaviour with dementia meant that they lost them. My mother was demented. She lacked identity and was unaware of who I was. I was just the nice lady who visited her. And I was unable to assist her because of my loss of a very sympathetic mother.

Ann married a man at the age of 80 after her tragic cancer diagnosis caused her to “went through similar experiences”. The “very happily married” couple often talk together about their first spouses, and, six years on, Ann remains just as staunchly committed as ever to the cause of assisted dying.

She continued, “I’ve never been afraid. I’d go to prison if I had to because, in my opinion, the current assisted dying law in this country is incredibly cruel. It’s the cruellest thing, and if I have to go, if I had to go to prison just to make a point, well then I’d go”.

Ann once worked alongside Dame Esther during her early days at the BBC, and in later life, they now share an unshakeable commitment to changing assisted dying legislation. Both Dame Esther and her daughter Rebecca Wilcox, who Ann also knows, have opened up about their fears regarding prosecution should the broadcaster choose to fly out to Dignitas accompanied by family members.

On this note, Ann remarked: “I’m totally relaxed about it, and I know Becky will be all right because no government would dare prosecute anybody who had compassion. Despite the vocal few’s attempts to make out things that the safeguards will all cover, the current bill is very popular in parliament and is not in the public’s interest.

“Oh, the slippery slope and all the rest of it,” you might say. It’s really ignorance. It just won’t happen. Very few people, and very, very strict safeguards. You can’t just say, “Oh, I’ll get out of bed and say I want to visit.” It took months for my husband to go through all the tickboxes that were necessary in order to get what they call the green light in Switzerland. You can’t get it today and have it tomorrow.

The Home Office is available for comment, according to The Mirror.

Do you have a story tomorrow? Contact me at julia@gmail.com. banim@reachplc.com

READ MORE: Esther Rantzen’s Dignitas wish that could lead to daughter’s arrest for manslaughter

Source: Mirror