Wendy Duffy, a 56-year-old former care worker from the West Midlands, has died at the Pegasos clinic in Basel, Switzerland, four years after the death of her only child, Marcus, aged 23. Duffy, who was physically healthy, had struggled to cope with her son's death and had previously attempted suicide.
Ruedi Habegger, founder of Pegasos, described Duffy's death on 24 April as a 'sane suicide', stating that the procedure was completed without incident and in full compliance with her wishes. He confirmed that staff had no doubt as to her intention, understanding, and independence.
Duffy's son died after choking on a sandwich, which starved his brain of oxygen. She had paid Pegasos £10,000 and informed her siblings of her application. She expressed a wish for assisted dying to be available in the UK, saying, 'My life, my choice.'
The case coincides with the failure of the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill in the UK Parliament, which would have allowed assisted dying for adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live. The bill ran out of time after not reaching a vote in the House of Lords, despite passing two Commons votes.
Duffy's circumstances would not have met the bill's conditions, which required approval from two doctors and an expert panel. Over 1,200 amendments were proposed in the Lords. The Pegasos clinic, a nonprofit founded in 2019, continues to provide assisted dying services to foreign applicants.
