{"id":55163,"date":"2026-04-24T17:49:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/55163\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:49:33","slug":"healthy-mother-said-she-plans-to-take-life-in-switzerland-because-she-is-heartbroken-over-sons-death-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/55163\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy mother said she plans to take life in Switzerland because she is heartbroken over son\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 fFxaM\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 fFxaM\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 fFxaM\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>A physically healthy woman said she <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/news\/uk\/home-news\/bill-uk-parliament-meg-hillier-lord-sarah-mullally-b2960480.html\">plans to end her life<\/a> at a Swiss <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/news\/uk\/politics\/assisted-dying-bill-terminally-ill-kim-leadbeater-b2752187.html\">assisted dying clinic<\/a> due to heartbreak over the death of her child four years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Wendy Duffy, 56, is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/news\/uk\/politics\/assisted-dying-bill-lords-esther-rantzen-b2928263.html\">set to end her life on Friday<\/a> after Pegasos, a clinic in Basel, reportedly approved her request. The former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/topic\/care-worker\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">care worker<\/a>, from the West Midlands, was almost left in a vegetative state after she had previously attempted suicide, she claimed.<\/p>\n<p>She told the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/lifestyle\/family-parenting\/article-15756029\/too-heartbroken-carry-mother-swiss-suicide-clinic.html\">Daily Mail<\/a> that no amount of therapy had convinced her that life is worth living, as she decided to pay \u00a310,000 to Pegasos, which claims to be a non-profit organisation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy life, my choice,\u201d she said. \u201cI wish this was available in the UK, then I wouldn\u2019t have to go to Switzerland at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777052971_445_2272518869.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Kim Leadbetter sponsored the Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill, due to be debated for a final day in the House of Lords on Friday\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Kim Leadbetter sponsored the Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill, due to be debated for a final day in the House of Lords on Friday (Getty)<\/p>\n<p>She told the publication she did not want to attempt suicide again as it \u201cwould leave anyone finding me dealing with that for the rest of their lives\u201d. \u201cI don&#8217;t want to put anyone through that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Duffy said her only child, Marcus, 23, died after choking on half a cherry tomato, which became lodged in his windpipe after eating a sandwich.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey think he must have fallen asleep when he still had food in his mouth,\u201d she told the Daily Mail. \u201cThat\u2019s the only comfort, that there was no struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her siblings \u2013 four sisters and two brothers \u2013 have all been alerted by Pegasos of her intentions, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPegasos have been in touch with them. I will call them when I get to Switzerland. It will be a hard call where I\u2019ll say goodbye and thank them,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut they will get it. They know. Honestly, 100 per cent, they know that I\u2019m not happy, that I don\u2019t want to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777052972_65_01KPTMT0YY8TQJHRNMT8EWR3W3.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Campaigners gathered in the capital on Wednesday\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Campaigners gathered in the capital on Wednesday (PA)<\/p>\n<p>Ms Duffy said she has written letters to all her loved ones, picked out what she is going to wear on her deathbed, and picked a final song to listen to as she dies. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can choose whatever song you want,\u201d she explained. \u201cI&#8217;m going to go out to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars singing Die With A Smile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pegasos Swiss Association was founded by Ruedi Habegger, a right-to-die activist, in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>The clinic faced controversy after it helped British citizen Alistair Hamilton, 47, end his life after he stated he was suffering from an undiagnosed health condition. Mr Hamilton told his family that he was going on a short break to Paris, but instead went to Pegasos for assisted suicide.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777052973_874_01KPTMSR9SQ5WRHEK9RZ37DN83.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Four terminally ill women stood on plinths to call on MPs to act on their democratic mandate and bring back the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill in the next parliament\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Four terminally ill women stood on plinths to call on MPs to act on their democratic mandate and bring back the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill in the next parliament (PA)<\/p>\n<p>The clinic later apologised to Mr Hamilton\u2019s mother and said it would change its procedures to ensure that relatives were always informed in future.<\/p>\n<p>The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will be discussed in the House of Lords on Friday, its final day. It is now not expected to pass during the current session of parliament. <\/p>\n<p>If made into law, it would give people who meet certain criteria in England and Wales the right to end their lives at a time of their choosing, subject to safeguards and protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Supporters have said the bill, which passed in the House of Commons last year, has been &#8220;slowed by procedural obstruction&#8221; in the House of Lords, while critics have raised concerns that the bill in its current form lacked sufficient safeguards for vulnerable people.<\/p>\n<p>If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/news\/uk\/home-news\/mailto:jo@samaritans.org\">jo@samaritans.org<\/a>, or visit the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.samaritans.org\/\">Samaritans<\/a> website to find details of your nearest branchIf you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/988lifeline.org\/\">988lifeline.org<\/a> to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<\/p>\n<p>If you are in another country, you can go to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.befrienders.org\/\">www.befrienders.org<\/a> to find a helpline near you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[30944,2191,3350,30512,70,30939,2198,30945,67,30940,30942,3047,30941,3008,2202,69,30943,5049,17,3576],"class_list":["post-55163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-central-london","tag-color-image","tag-england","tag-euthanasia","tag-government","tag-headshot","tag-horizontal","tag-kim-leadbeater","tag-law","tag-london-england","tag-member-of-parliament","tag-one-person","tag-parliament-square","tag-people","tag-photography","tag-politics","tag-politics-and-government","tag-social-issues","tag-switzerland","tag-uk"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116460949677849145","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}