Episode Information

Laura is outspoken, feisty and 90 years old. Following a fall and a life-threatening case of pneumonia, she tells her daughter Cathy and granddaughter Sam that she wishes to end her life on her own terms. She wants to be in control of the process, to set the time and place, and be allowed to go with dignity. Initially she plans on doing this in her home, but shifts her focus after hearing about a clinic in Switzerland where her right to die with her family by her side is legal. She’s saved up the money for Cathy and Sam to go with her and be with her in her final moments. She also asks Cathy and Sam, both filmmakers, to make a film about it. She wants to make some noise about the right to die for elderly people. Both Cathy and Sam are opposed to the plan at first but soon realise their only choices are to support her or walk away. As they navigate their own roller coaster of emotions, they uncover a range of conflicting views in the wider community. Laura plans a farewell party before she goes. She wants her death to be a ‘happy event’ and questions why we have to make this major part of life so sombre and sad. The theme she has chosen for her farewell is the Mad Hatters Tea Party. Laura’s Choice exposes and explores complex and often taboo questions as three generations of women travel into uncharted territory and navigate the legal, moral, ethical and emotional issues that arise from Laura’s wish to end her life on her own terms with dignity.