Friday, April 24, 2026 - A British woman who is not severely ill is to d!e by assisted dying in Switzerland this week.
Wendy Duffy, 56, boarded a one-way flight to the central European
country yesterday, April 22, to use a £10,000 ‘su!cide clinic’ in
Pegasos.
The former care worker told the Daily Mail that she had planned
her d£ath for more than a year, including the final thing she would hear.
"You can choose whatever song you want. I’m going to go out
to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars singing D!e With A Smile," she
said.
"You’ll never be able to hear that song now without thinking of me,
will you?"
For decades, Switzerland was one of the few countries to allow a
doctor to help severely ill patients end their lives with medication, or the
"right to die".
Wendy, however, is physically healthy. She lost her only child, Marcus,
23, four years ago and now wants to di£ in a "neat" and controlled
way.
Pegasos has less stringent rules than Digitas; its assisted su!cide
procedures include a lengthy evaluation of a written request and medical
information and at least two face-to-face meetings with a doctor.
Patients must show they are mentally competent and have not been pushed
toward the decision by anyone with an ulterior motive.
Some European countries and Colombia offer people with an irremediable
suffering from conditions such as depression to seek assisted
d£ath.
Pegasos concluded that Wendy meets the clinic’s criteria and will now
undergo days of evaluation.
Wendy explained that the process of physician-assisted d£ath involved her
administering a medication herself by turning a dial.
Wendy added: "Then – ding, ding, ding – within a minute, you are in a
coma, and a minute after that, you are gone."
Speaking of her family: Wendy said: "Pegasos have been in touch with
them. I will call them when I get to Switzerland. It will be a hard call where
I’ll say goodbye and thank them. But they will get it. They know.
"Honestly, 100%, they know that I’m not happy, that I don’t want to
be here."
Pegasus founder Ruedi Habegger said: "Wendy is very decided. I saw
her at her hotel today, I had a long talk with her and with the psychiatrist
that is going to see her a second time before the VAD [voluntary assisted
de@th].
"He is very confident that we are doing the right thing letting her
go, that we should not stand in her way.
"She is absolutely not in a depressive state. I’m very experienced in
this field. There are no worries with Wendy, none at all."
A UK law that could permit physician-assisted d£ath under narrow
circumstances is being debated in the House of Lords tomorrow, April 24.
It has faced fierce opposition from more than 60 groups for people with
disabilities, who argue they may face subtle coercion to end their lives.
As for Wendy, she said d£ath is something she has seen a "million
times", including "Nice d£aths, horrible d£aths".
She added that nothing would stop her.
"You could give me a house full of dogs,' she adds. "I’m doing
this."
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