Tina Turner Signed Up For Assisted Suicide In The Years Before Her Death

The legendary singer Tina Turner tragically passed away yesterday at the age of 83 after suffering from a “long illness.” Now, it’s been revealed that Turner admitted that she’d signed up for assisted suicide in the years before she died.

Turner Signed Up For Assisted Suicide

Daily Mail reported that Turner revealed in her memoir that she signed up for assisted suicide in 2016, before her husband Erwin Bach donated his kidney to her. The “Proud Mary” singer decided to do this after learning that her unmanaged high blood pressure had accelerated her kidney damage, meaning her body was in the process of shutting down.

“By December 2016, my kidneys were at a new low of 20 per cent and plunging rapidly. And I faced two choices: either regular dialysis or a kidney transplant,” Turner wrote. “It wasn’t my idea of life. But the toxins in my body had started taking over. I couldn’t eat. I was surviving, but not living.”

“I began to think about death,” she continued. “If my kidneys were going, and it was time for me to die, I could accept that. It was OK. When it’s time, it’s really time. I didn’t mind the thought of dying, but I was concerned about how I would go.”

Related: Tina Turner Said She Was ‘Really Ready’ For Death Before Her Passing, According To Cher

Turner Explores Her Options

Turner had moved to Switzerland years ago, and she started to explore her options there.

“One of the benefits of living in Switzerland is that assisted suicide is legal, though the patient has to inject the lethal drug herself,” she explained. “There are several organizations that facilitate the process, including Exit and Dignitas. I signed up to be a member of Exit, just in case. I think that’s when the idea of my death became a reality for Erwin. He was very emotional about not wanting to lose me, not wanting me to leave.”

It was then that Bach offered Turner his kidney, and he donated it to her in 2017.

“He said he didn’t want another woman, or another life; we were happy and he’d do anything to keep us together,” she recalled. “Then he shocked me. He said that he wanted to give me one of his kidneys. I was overwhelmed by the enormity of his offer. But because I love him, my first response was to try to talk him out of taking such a serious and irreversible step.”

Related: Tina Turner Revealed How She Wanted To Be Remembered In Powerful Interview Weeks Before Dying At 83

Turner’s Death

Turner is survived by Bach, who she married in 2013 after dating for thirty years, and she passed away at their home in Switzerland. She also is survived by two of her sons, with the other two proceeding her in death.

Fans were stunned yesterday when Turner’s death was announced.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow,” the official statement read. “Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.”

We’re certainly glad that Turner never ultimately took advantage of her assisted suicide. Please join us in saying a prayer for her family and friends as they mourn her.