A woman from the West Midlands, England, said she intended to end her life at a clinic in Switzerland, citing prolonged grief after the death of her only son.
Wendy Duffy (56) said. Daily Mail that she made the decision after years of trying to cope with the loss of her son Marcus, who died in 2022 at the age of 23.
“I want to die and that’s what I’m going to do,” Duffy said, adding, “My life, my choice.”
Travel to Switzerland for assisted dying
Duffy said she traveled to Switzerland, where the laws surrounding assisted dying differ from those in the UK, where the practice remains illegal.
She told the publication that she approached Pegasos, a clinic in Basel that facilitates voluntary assisted dying, and received approval. According to her, she informed her family about her decision and made an appointment in person before the procedure.
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Duffy said she chose this path in part to avoid causing suffering to others.
“I don’t want to trick anyone into it,” she said, referring to the potential impact of other methods.
Duffy revealed that she did not want to attempt suicide again because it would “leave whoever finds me dealing with it for the rest of their lives”. “I don’t want to trick anyone into it,” she added.
Years of grief and mental health struggles
Duffy said she underwent therapy after her son’s death, but still feels unable to recover emotionally.
Duffy revealed that her son Marcus, 23, died after choking on half of a cherry tomato that got lodged in his windpipe after eating a sandwich.
“He thinks he must have fallen asleep with the food still in his mouth,” she told the Daily Mail. “That’s the only consolation that there was no fight.
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She described a deep sense of loss and separation from the incident.
“That’s when I died inside too. I’m not the same person I was,” she said. “I exist. I do not live.”
She also shared that she had tried to end her life before.
Call for UK law change
Duffy said she was speaking out in the hope of contributing to discussions about assisted dying laws in the UK.
“I wish it was available in the UK, then I wouldn’t have to go to Switzerland at all,” she said.
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Her case comes amid ongoing debates in several countries over whether assisted dying should be legalized under certain conditions.
Family aware of the decision
Duffy said her family, including her siblings, knew about her plans.
“They get it. They know,” she said, adding that she intends to talk to them before the procedure.
She said she wrote letters to all her loved ones, decided what she would wear on her deathbed and chose a final song to listen to as she died.
“You can choose what song you want,” she told the publication. “I’m going to see Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars sing Die With A Smile.”
