A woman who helped her husband travel to Dignitas claimed British laws made them feel “like thieves” escaping in the night.
Ilana Richardson, 78, booked flights to Switzerland for her husband Crispin Ellison, 69, after a long battle with motor neurone disease.
Mrs Richardson, from Hove, said her husband had decided to ‘maintain his dignity in death’ but relied on her for support in planning the trip.
She risked a nervous breakdown over the threat of prosecution for her assistance in Mr Ellison’s death.
Mr Ellison, who was involved in fundraising for charities, was diagnosed with ALS in 2015.
He traveled to Switzerland in 2019, although he would have postponed his decision to spend more time with his family if British law allowed assisted dying.
Ilana Richardson, 78, booked flights to Switzerland for her husband Crispin Ellison, 69, after a long battle with motor neurone disease
Mrs Richardson, from Hove, said her husband had decided to ‘maintain his dignity in death’ but relied on her for support in planning the trip
She said she was at risk of a nervous breakdown by the threat of prosecution for her assistance in Mr Ellison’s death
Mrs Richardson said: ‘Crispin was a very dignified man and wanted to maintain his dignity after death.
‘We knew that the police could possibly start an investigation and stop the trip, so very few people knew about our plans.
‘I was very stressed and had anxiety attacks. I couldn’t eat and thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.
‘It was what Crispin wanted, but he couldn’t do it. It gave me a much greater responsibility than I would have liked.’
Ms Richardson said they were in a position where they could afford to travel to Switzerland, but said the law meant those who could not afford to travel were denied a choice.
She added: ‘If Crispin could have died in Britain he would have waited until the last minute.
“Everything is expensive on this trip, but if it was here it would be so different.
‘We felt like thieves running away in the night, the law does not give people the freedom to do what they want with their life and death.
“It makes me angry that we had to go through what we did and that there are so many people who can’t afford it or are alone.
“It should be a matter of reaching out to doctors here and being compassionate. People do it because they suffer, not because they want to die.”