A grieving mother has ended her life at a Swiss clinic four years after the death of her only child, in a case that has reignited debate over assisted dying laws in the UK.
Wendy Duffy, 56, a physically healthy woman from the West Midlands, died at the Pegasos clinic in Basel after struggling to cope with the death of her 23-year-old son, Marcus, who choked on a sandwich. The former care worker had previously attempted suicide.
Ruedi Habegger, founder of Pegasos, described Duffy's death 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 of thought and action.
Duffy had paid £10,000 for the procedure and told her siblings of her plans. She expressed a wish for assisted dying to be available in the UK, saying, 'My life, my choice. I wish this was available in the UK, then I wouldn't have to go to Switzerland at all.'
The case comes as assisted dying legislation in England and Wales, which would have allowed terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, failed to pass in Parliament after running out of time. Duffy's case would not have met the bill's conditions.
In 2024, a 29-year-old Dutch woman, Zoraya ter Beek, was granted assisted dying on grounds of unbearable mental suffering under Dutch law.
