Veteran actor and Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes, 84, gave a frank interview to Weekend Magazine about her deteriorating health, saying she would rather be “put down” than continue to decline.
Why Miriam Margolyes Wants to “Be Put Down”
Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter movies and amassed dozens more credits on stage and screen, has for many years been battling spinal stenosis and osteoporosis. Both conditions have limited her mobility, and Margolyes told Closer Magazine in 2024 that she’s “registered disabled.” Speaking to Weekend Magazine recently, Margolyes revealed that she would be open to assisted death if her physical health continues to deteriorate.
“I don’t want to go through a slowly diminishing period of pain and embarrassment,” Margolyes explained. “If a stroke meant I couldn’t speak, or I was doubly incontinent, or I lost my mind completely, I would ask to be put down. That’s because I want to be who I am. I don’t want to be less than I can be.”
Assisted Death Is Not Legal in Margolyes’ Country
Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) differs from euthanasia in that patients themselves administer the drugs which end their lives as opposed to a doctor doing so in a medical environment. Assisted dying is not currently legal in Margolyes’ home country of the United Kingdom, but the British Parliament recently voted in favor of a bill which would make MAID legal for terminally ill patients. To qualify, however, the patient must be of sound mind and have six months or less to live. They must also be approved by doctors and a panel made up of one social worker, one senior legal figure, and one psychiatrist. The bill is currently under review.
Margolyes Blames Lack of Exercise for Her Health Problems
In 2023, Margolyes admitted to British Vogue that she has only herself to blame for her reduced mobility and health problems. She said if she could go back and do one thing differently, it would be to exercise and stay fit. “I can’t walk very well. I’ve limited my life because of my longing for fudge or chopped liver, cheesecake. All these absurdities. I shouldn’t have been so greedy. I should have been stronger. I’ve let my body down,” she also told Weekend Magazine. “I haven’t taken care of it. I have to walk with a walker now. I wish I’d done exercise. It’s the most ghastly waste of time, except that it keeps you going. So, I’m foolish.”
