Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die Page #2

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in time

where I really can't risk

leaving it any longer.

And that's

my deciding factor, really.

You seem to be taking this

very calmly, and YOU seem

to be taking it very calmly.

If we start being emotional, we both

fall apart. We work quite hard

at keeping a good front.

I don't think

we're terribly strong.

I think

we're quite vulnerable underneath.

And if we go there,

and Peter says, "Actually,

I really don't want to do this,"

that's fine, we'll come home again.

Yes. Yes.

SIGHING:

Oh, hold on. I would be

more than happy to shake you

in your chair, I must confess.

I'd rather stand if I can.

OK. Here's your stick.

Thank you.

Now, if I can turn round as well,

that would be splendid.

Terry, it's been a real joy

meeting you.

It's been an education

to meet you, sir.

And the same applies to you, madam.

Lovely to meet you. And I will give

you a little kiss.

In the French manner

or the English? Oh...!

Let's keep going -

there's a lot of Europe! Yes.

'It struck me that the reason

that Peter was going now,

'perhaps a little earlier

than he should,

'was in order to protect his wife.'

The law regarding assisted dying

is not entirely clear-cut.

If you do help somebody

to commit suicide...

..you may be prosecuted.

If your motive was love

or compassion, then this

will be taken into account.

However, it remains illegal.

OK, Rob?

'In mainland Europe,

they do things differently.'

'In Belgium, assisted death

has been legal since 2002.'

I'm going today

to see the widow of Hugo Claus,

a very popular author in Belgium.

'He chose an assisted death.

'He had Alzheimer's.'

INAUDIBLE:

Hello. Hello. Hello. Veerle?

Nice to meet you, please come in.

Thank you very much indeed.

At a certain moment, my husband

realised that there was

something going wrong.

In the beginning,

he just tried to hide it... Yes.

..and I saw it,

but I pretended that I didn't.

You start making all the little

excuses, don't you? Yes, of course,

of course.

You say, "Everybody loses the car

keys..." Yes, yes.

..but you realise that not

everybody loses the car. Mm-hm.

What was it that gave him the clue

that something was wrong?

He started to mix up words.

And since words were his

core business, that frightened him.

And then I remember he said to me,

"If I have Alzheimer's, I will not

go on living till the bitter end -

"I will put an end to myself."

But he wanted

to write another book.

He said, "When I finish the book,

I will take the decision

"and I will die, but I first have

to finish the book."

If you're working on a book,

you'll keep going. Yes.

But he couldn't finish the book.

He had not the skill any more.

Were you with him when he died?

Yes. We went to the hospital.

And I remember I brought a very

good bottle of champagne with me

and I even brought some cigarettes,

and it's not allowed to smoke,

but I thought maybe

he wants have a last cigarette.

And when his cigarette was finished,

and we stopped talking,

he said,

"I think now I want to lie down."

I laid myself next to him

and I held him.

And I sung a song for him,

and he started singing with me

and...

..he died singing.

Yes.

I often think of that moment,

of course,

and it makes me sad, but,

in a way, I was glad for my husband.

Of course,

it was terrible, because I miss him.

It was so intense and so warm.

And how can people be against it?

I don't understand. Quite.

May I thank you very much

and give you a kiss?

I wish you...

luck. Thank you.

I think I'm going

to need a considerable amount. Yes.

I shall remember you.

I shall remember you. Thank you.

What an astonishing lady.

I can't tell you

how good it was to talk to her.

My wife will not object

to my ultimate decision.

I rather...

Yeah. I think that's probably

really all I can say

without repeating myself.

My wife is not a fan of assisted

dying and would rather not

talk about it on camera.

Like me, she is practical.

Like me, there are some things

about assisted dying

that she is nervous of.

'I think my wife would prefer

to look after me through

my illness until the very end.

'For many people,

an alternative to assisted death

is going into a hospice to die.

'I went to meet a man who, like

Peter, has motor neurone disease,

'but, unlike Peter, has chosen

to spend his days in a hospice.'

Hello, Mick!

Hello, fella. How you doing?

You are a taxi driver, aren't you?

Yeah. You were.

I still am, in me head.

I'm unbeatable. Can you still

drive around London in your head?

In me head, yeah. You tell

me where you want to go.

I'd like to go

to the Athenaeum Club, please.

Woolwich Road... Yeah.

..Greek Bridge,

Jamaica Road, Tower Bridge...

Coming from... Yeah.

..left down the Embankment... Right.

..on the left, Athenaeum Club.

That's right.

LAUGHTER:

Do you have a lot

of happy memories?

Ah, I have a million happy memories.

I don't.

They're disappearing

at a reasonable rate.

I find myself thinking, "Well,

I'm not doing too bad right now."

You're doing great, same as me. I

think that's the biggest compliment,

is when people come up and say,

"Seven and a half year

you've had motor neurone?

Cor, you're looking good for that."

I'm a believer in assisted suicide.

I believe you should be allowed

if you think, and your

family think, it's right,

then you should be allowed to do it.

But I would say to people...

And I actually got in touch

with Switzerland,

before I came to the hospice. Right.

But then I looked at it

on a more positive side...

and I thought, "Well, let's

have another roll of the dice."

And I'm lucky, cos I had the hospice

to fall on. Right.

That's been my saviour. Right.

The hospice came to MY rescue.

So you've got to say to yourself,

"Yeah, come on then,

let's have some of that.

"Yeah, come on, let's see

what you can do to help me."

Well, when IS the end?

Will I know when the end is?

What would you say, then, Terry,

would be your close to the end?

Not being able to dictate any more,

not being able to be a writer

any more. Oh, for sure.

Not being able to communicate.

If someone decides they want to go,

then they should be allowed

to go peacefully and...

So do you think people don't die

peacefully in hospices?

I would not wish to burden my wife.

Your wife might want

to look after you.

She says she does, but I know...

Why don't you believe her?

No, no, no...

She says she does. I know she does.

But I think I know more about

Alzheimer's and some of the

things that happen than my wife.

'It occurs to me that the similarity

between Mick and Peter'

is that they've

made their own choice,

and I think that is important.

Everybody should have the choice.

But, tragically,

there are some people who feel

they have no choice at all.

'In Britain, if you wish

to die without being

in anyone else's care,

'then your only option'

is the good old-fashioned

do-it-yourself suicide.

As a journalist, I came across

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