A 56-year-old woman who ended her life at a Swiss assisted dying clinic had not told her 87-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, about her plans. Wendy Duffy travelled to the Pegasos Clinic in Switzerland alone and died peacefully on Friday morning, wearing one of her late son Marcus's T-shirts and listening to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' song 'Die With A Smile'.
Wendy, from the West Midlands, had been grieving the loss of her only child Marcus, who died four years ago aged 23 after choking on a tomato. She had spent a year planning her assisted suicide, which cost £10,000, and wrote letters to loved ones. Her sister-in-law Paula Duffy said: 'It is something she wanted to do and we couldn't stop her. She never got back to herself after the death of her son and she didn't want to carry on.'
Wendy had told her two brothers and four sisters about her decision but not her mother. Paula said: 'Her mum has dementia, she still lives at home but Wendy didn't want to tell her. She is not aware.' Wendy is believed to have visited her mother to say a final goodbye before travelling to Switzerland.
In an interview this week, Wendy said the decision to take her own life had been a 'happy' one because her 'spirit can be free'. She said: 'I wish this was available in the UK, then I wouldn't have to go to Switzerland at all.' The Assisted Dying Bill officially ran out of time on Friday after the House of Lords raised more than 1,200 amendments.
Ruedi Habegger, founder of Pegasos, confirmed that Wendy was assisted to die on 24 April 'in full compliance with her wishes'. Her ashes are due to be flown back to the UK and scattered at a memorial bench for her son.
