Mike Tindall Advocates for Assisted Dying After Father's Parkinson's Battle

Former England rugby star Mike Tindall has spoken about the difficult final weeks of his father Phil's life, who died at the age of 80 after a 25-year battle with Parkinson's disease. Tindall, 47, described his father's passing as a "relief" that he was now "free of his body," an experience that has led him to support the concept of assisted dying.

In a recent podcast interview, Tindall revealed that the last three months had been particularly challenging for his father. "He'd been awake, I think, properly once in the last three weeks. It's been a bad three months for him and it was horrible to see," he said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast. He characterized his father's death as a "godsend" given the advanced stage of his Parkinson's.

Tindall explained that Parkinson's had caused significant physical suffering for his father, including a curvature of the spine that prevented him from straightening up. "He had a big operation on his back and if anyone saw my dad, he was sort of bent over," Tindall recounted. "He couldn't straighten, he couldn't hook his head up." His father had also faced complications from bowel issues, including a near-fatal surgery for a bowel blockage eight years prior.

Phil Tindall had signed a non-resuscitation order, which became critical when he experienced another bowel blockage in June. Tindall noted that his father had been "dire from the start" during this hospitalization, with medical staff contacting the family three times to inform them it could be his final day. Despite these dire warnings, his father "managed to sort of get through that" each time.

By the end, Phil Tindall was unable to speak or move his arms, a state Tindall found particularly distressing. "He clearly had something to say and he couldn't," he said. "He'd lost all movement by then. So it's a relief that he's free from his body now, I think."

Tindall also shared a poignant conversation he had with his father about two weeks before his death. His father had stated, "I'm gonna die tomorrow," to which Tindall responded with reassurance and acceptance. "It's so easy to be selfish and go, 'I didn't really want him to go,' but I think he lived a great life. He didn't owe us anything," Tindall reflected.

The experience of watching his father suffer has solidified Tindall's view on assisted dying. He expressed frustration with Members of Parliament who recently voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. "Anyone who voted against the euthanasia thing hasn't gone through seeing your dad, who you admire so much, go through what he had to go through. It's just not fair," he stated.

The rejected bill would have permitted eligible terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with an expected prognosis of six months or less, to seek assistance in ending their lives. Tindall also mentioned a friend whose father with motor neurone disease is planning an assisted death, highlighting the complexity and emotional weight of such decisions.

Tindall concluded by noting that his father's passing has allowed happier memories to resurface. "It's quite nice to remember the better times when he was far more mobile. They're the ones that you remember."

Mike Tindall and his wife Zara, daughter of Princess Anne, were pictured together at Cheltenham in March this year. Phil Tindall was also pictured with Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips, waving off Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall after their wedding in 2011.