Suicide Clinic Helping Grieving Mother Die Promotes Death-on-Demand

This article was published by National Review online on April 23, 2026.

Wesley Smith

By Wesley J Smith

A grieving mother who is in good health has been accepted for termination by a Swiss suicide clinic. From the New York Post story:

A physically healthy British woman heartbroken over the death of her only son is heading to Switzerland to end her own life at an assisted suicide clinic.

Wendy Duffy, 56, attempted to take her own life after her son died four years ago — but is soon bound for Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal, after her application was accepted by a clinic, according to the London Times.

Duffy, a former care worker from the West Midlands, told the Daily Mail that she paid Pegasos, a Swiss assisted-dying nonprofit organization, $13,500 to euthanize herself under its care, saying suicide is the only way her “spirit can be free.”

Thirteen grand! A lot of money is being made by Swiss suicide clinics accommodating the death desires of despairing people.

Suicide is becoming romanticized:

She’s already chosen what she will wear on her deathbed and told the Daily Mail that Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With A Smile” will be playing as she passes on. Once she’s dead, she’s requested that all the belongings she brought with her be donated.

The consequences of legalizing assisted suicide are finally becoming unequivocal. We follow roads where they lead. Once we declare that facilitated death is an acceptable answer to suffering, there is no way to limit the causes of suffering that qualify one to be made dead. If it’s okay for a cancer patient, why not also a grieving mother, the owner of a business that collapsed, a bored elderly person “tired of life,” or someone struggling with mental illness?

This is why euthanasia laws always expand over time. Indeed, after decades of the promotion of “death with dignity,” we are becoming desensitized to the carnage. We are well on the way to determining that assisted suicide is a fundamental human right — as courts in Germany and Estonia have already ruled.

Can we finally agree that the issue is ultimately about whether we want to empower a death-on-demand culture? If that is what we want, at least be honest about it. If not, it seems to me the only defense is to refuse assisted-suicide legalization, regardless of the cause. Otherwise, institutionalized suicide’s triumph is only a matter of time.

Swiss Suicide Clinic Under Fire After Deaths Without Medical A Condition

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Article: Suicide clinics have many controversial deaths (Link).

Judith Hamilton, Alastair's mother.

Yahoo news reported the an article in People Magazine states that families of people who died at a Swiss suicide clinic are saying that their loved ones, who died, did not have a medical condition.

The article reports that Judith Hamilton, whose son died at the Pegasos suicide clinic stated that:

"It's like a business. If you have enough money, they offer you a service,”

The article reports on the death of Alistair Hamilton:

One notable case that received backlash involved Alastair Hamilton, a 47-year-old chemistry teacher with no serious or terminal illness. He traveled from London to end his life with Pegasos while his family believed he was going on a weekend vacation to Paris.

"He hugged me and said, 'I love you, Mum.' I didn't know it was his goodbye," his mother, Judith Hamilton, told RTS.

When Alastair stopped answering his phone and failed to return home, Judith reported him missing. She said she eventually found bank records that showed her son paid 12,000 Swiss francs (about $15,000) to Pegasos.

"It's like a business,” Judith claimed. “If you have enough money, they offer you a service.”

Pegasos was founded in 2019 and is available to adults over 18 who are of “sound mind” and have paid a fee. They offer assisted suicide “regardless of state of health,” which differs from other organizations that require patients to be terminally ill to end their lives.

To add to the grief, when Pegasus acknowledged Alistair's death they informed the family that his ashes were being sent in the mail. The article states:

Alastair’s brother Bradley told the outlet that they repeatedly emailed Pegasos after seeing the bank records but did not get a response. He alleged they were finally able to get a response from the clinic after involving the police and British embassy. At that point, Pegasos reportedly confirmed Alastair’s death and shared that his ashes would be sent to them in the mail.

A ITV news show found that Alastair admitted to Pegasus that he did not have a known medical condition but they assisted his suicide anyway:

Limited to 300 word answers, Alastair told them that his undiagnosed condition was causing him "pain, fatigue and discomfort" which had "devastated my life".

However, he admitted that "there is no current, definitive medical explanation" for his illness and that his family did not know he had decided to take his own life.

Despite that, Pegasos accepted his application and within several days of arriving in Switzerland he was helped to die.

Pegasos is not different than the other Swiss assisted suicide groups, they only appear more controversial because their business model is foreign suicides. Other Swiss suicide clinics, such as EXIT and Dignitas, that also focuses on foreign suicides, are also willing to kill people who are not dying.

The problem is assisted suicide. Allowing suicide businesses creates a profit for killing.

More articles:

• Euthanasia activist, Sean Davison arrested in death of a 79-year-old woman (Link). 
• A mother's warning about her son's death by assisted suicide in Switzerland (Link).

Irish woman learns about mother's assisted suicide death through WhatsApp

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Eliana Nunes reported for the Sun (UK) on August 5, 2025 that An Irish family was left devastated after allegedly receiving a text from a Swiss assisted dying clinic that their mum was dead and her ashes would be sent by post.

As reported in the Sun:

Maureen Slough, a 58-year-old from Cavan, travelled to the Pegasos clinic on July 8 to seek an assisted death - without her family's knowledge - according to the Irish Independent. 

Maureen reportedly told her family that she and a friend were going to Lithuania.

Her partner, Mick Lynch didn't even know about her impending death. The report states: 

"I was actually talking to her that morning and she was full of life,"

"She said after having her breakfast... she was going out to sit in the sun. Maybe she was heading off to that place. I still thought she was coming home."

Maureen and Megan

The report indicated that her daughter, Megan Royal, received a WhatsApp message from the suicide clinic stating that her mother had died while listening to gospel music by Elvis Presley. The report continued:

The family is shocked that the clinic would accept an application for assisted dying from Maureen, who they say had long struggled with mental illness.

She had also attempted suicide a year prior, after the deaths of her two sisters, according to the family.

Adding to their dismay, the family claims the clinic never informed them of her plans.

Friends are reportedly horrified by the clinic's method of returning the ashes via parcel post.

The report indicated that the family found out Maureen had paid a reported £13,000 to the Pegasos Swiss Association to assist her death.

The report also indicated that there is a dispute about communication. Pegasus claims that Megan (Maureen's daughter) sent a letter to Pegasos accepting her mother's death plan and confirmed it by email. Megan stated that the letter and email were fake.

The report stated that: 

Maureen's brother wants the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, along with Swiss authorities, to conduct an investigation.

"I am working on the assumption that my sister created this email and the clinic’s procedures were woefully inadequate in verification," he wrote.

"The Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals, and the circumstances in which my sister took her life are highly questionable."

Pegasos claims that they carried out an extensive assessment of Maureen's mental health - including an independent psychiatric evaluation. Pegasos also claims that: Maureen told the clinic she was in unbearable and unrelievable chronic pain and that they received supporting medical documentation from her pain-management consultant.

The report concluded with:

Maureen's family's story is not unique.

Other families have also hit out at Pegasos, claiming they were left in the dark about their loved ones’ plans to go through with assisted deaths.

In 2023, Pegasos reportedly vowed to contact a person's relatives beforehand after 47-year-old teacher Alistair Hamilton - who had no diagnosed illness - died, leaving his family shocked.

However, in 2025, the organisation appeared to break this promise.

Anne Canning, a 51-year-old British mum, who was battling depression after the sudden death of her son 19 months prior, ended her life at the clinic, ITV reported.

Previous articles concerning the Pegasos suicide clinic:

• Swiss assisted suicide clinic facing lawsuit and questions concerning foreign suicides (Link). 
• A mother's warning about the death of her son by assisted suicide in Switzerland (Link). 
• Euthanasia activist, Sean Davison, arrested in London England concerning the death of a 79-year-old woman (Link).
• Swiss assisted suicide clinic's many controversial deaths (Link). 
• My husbands death made me more opposed to assisted suicide (Link).
• Swiss study: Legalizing assisted suicide does not lessen the number of common suicides (Link).

Swiss canton cuts a deal with suicide group.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

An article by Marc Leutenegger that was published by Swissinfo.ch on February 21, 2025 states that the Swiss Canton Solothurn has cut a deal with the Pegasus assisted suicide group that will save money for the Canton by eliminating the need for the authorities to send a legal and medical team to investigate the death. Leutenegger reported that:

..the core of an agreement, unprecedented in Switzerland, that was signed late last year between canton Solothurn and the right-to-die organisation Pegasos. Under the new arrangement, if Pegasos provides video evidence that the suicide was carried out by the person themselves, as well as additional information, then the authorities do not send in a legal and medical team to investigate the death.

The agreement will make it easier for Pegasos and reduce the cost for the Canton. Leutenegger reported:

This reduces the costs of the post-mortem investigation to between CHF1,000 ($1,110) and CHF2,000 per case. What is more, the bill is paid by the right-to-die organisation, and therefore ultimately by the person who wanted to die.

According to Pegasos, the costs are subsumed in the total price of assisted suicide, which amounts to around CHF10,000 per person, be it with Pegasos or other, similar organisations in Switzerland.

According to Pegasos, the agreement above all helps to ensure a more dignified setting for the relatives. The farewell and grieving process is now no longer interrupted by the appearance of the criminal investigation team, the organisation wrote in response to a request. “This disturbed the family’s privacy in an intimate moment. Family and friends had to wait until the official procedures were completed.”

This agreement reduces the cost for the Canton with relation to assisted suicide. Leutenegger reports:

Thanks to the agreement, which came into effect in December, canton Solothurn can cut some high costs. Previously, each assisted suicide by a person resident abroad cost the canton around CHF3,000.

“We get a better result in terms of evidence in this way. The new arrangement also eases the burden on the public purse and on human resources,” says Solothurn’s chief prosecutor, Hansjürg Brodbeck. The authorities, meanwhile, reserve the right to carry out random checks.

It is expected that the number of assisted suicide deaths will double by 2035. Leutenegger wrote;

Lately, over 1,700 Swiss residents a year have committed assisted suicide. In addition, over 500 people from abroad travel to Switzerland for this purpose each year. And demand is increasing: observers expect the number of assisted suicides in Switzerland to double by 2035.

More information on the Switzerlands assisted suicide law.

• Swiss assisted suicide clinic's many controversial deaths (Link). 
• Euthanasia activist, Sean Davison, arrested in London England (Link).
• A mother's warning about her sons death by assisted suicide in Switzerland (Link). 
• My husbands death made me more opposed to assisted suicide (Link). 
• Swiss study: Legalizing assisted suicide does not lessen the number of common suicides (Link).

Swiss assisted suicide clinic provides death for $11,000.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The shocking news that two healthy American sisters died by assisted suicide in Switzerland is opening new questions about assisted suicide and the Pegasos suicide clinic.

Healthy American sisters die at Swiss suicide clinic (Link).

An article by Ronny Reyes published in the Daily Mail on March 23 explains that Lila Ammouri, a 54 year-old palliative care doctor, and Susan Frazier, a 49-year-old nurse, who were sisters, traveled from Phoenix Arizona to Basel, Switzerland on February 3, and died by assisted suicide on February 11 at the Pegasos suicide clinic. Pegasos is known for providing death for people who are not terminally ill.

Reyes reported that Pegasos charges $11,000 for an assisted suicide.

In order to use Pegasos services, individuals must be members of the organization and pay an annual fee of about $110. Once a member, a person can apply for VAD.

In order to apply for the process, Pegasos needs to know the reason a person is requesting a VAD as well as their current living situation and family background.

Patients must also submit a brief biography, a birth certificate, marriage or divorce certificates, funeral instructions, health reports and proof of residence.

Aside from the membership fee, which could be waived if a patient is already a member of Exit International, the average cost of a VAD with Pegasos is more than $11,000.

Reyes further reported that two healthy American sisters recently died by assisted suicide at the Pegasos suicide clinic. He stated:

A Swiss government source told DailyMail.com that: 'The two American ladies died on February 11.

'They died the same day and the timings were close, if not at the same time.'

The sisters deaths were confirmed by the US consulate on February 18. Their brother Cal, 60, who lives in New York said he only learned of his siblings' passing when contacted by The Independent earlier this week.

In a previous article that was also published by the DailyMail, Reyes reported:

Dr. David Bilgari, a longtime friend of the sisters, said no one had heard from the duo since February 9, four days after they arrived in Switzerland, and that some of their final texts seemed to have been sent by someone else.

Prior to that, Bilgari told Fox 10 that co-workers had been texting them and felt that the person responding was not actually one of the sisters.

'Some of the text communications they had, we are certain they were not from them,' Biglari said. 'They were most likely fabricated with someone else.'

A spokesman for the Basel-Landschaft Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed to The Independent that the sisters had died by suicide 'within the legal framework'.

The concepts of euthanasia and assisted suicide are sold to the culture under the guise of ending suffering. These ladies do not appear to have been sick or suffering but they likely established a suicide pact that was carried-out by the Pegasos assisted suicide clinic.

It is time, once again, to universally reject euthanasia and assisted suicide and to promote a society that cares and not kills its citizens.

A Swiss group caters to Dutch who are not eligible for euthanasia

This article was published by Bioedge on January 24, 2021.

Michael Cook

By Michael Cook

You might think that the Dutch, who live in a country where euthanasia is legal, would have no need for the schemes of Dr Philip Nitschke, Australia’s rogue right-to-die campaigner. You would be wrong.

The Dutch magazine Trouw profiled an 87-year-old man, Kees Kentie, who went to Switzerland to die with the help of a new assisted suicide organisation, Pegasos, which is affiliated with Nitschke’s Exit International. As he explained in a recent tweet:

"The Swiss have not medicalised their end-of-life laws. Those tired of life can be helped, and couples can die together. Pegasos makes this possible. This pisses off the Dutch, where you MUST be sick, from NL, and a doctor makes the decisions, not you."

Kentie, who is not terminally ill, but frail and tired of life, wanted to die. But no Dutch doctors would help him as he did not fulfil the euthanasia law’s criteria.

So he looked into dying in Switzerland and found Pegasos which promises shorter waiting times and less red tape and conducts business in English.

Kentie went to Switzerland with two Dutch friends who made sure that he was comfortable and accompanied him in his last days. The paperwork was minimal. He had a brief chat with one of the officials of Pegasos. According to Trouw:

That Kentie is ‘tired of life’ is explained in the context of the conversation and from the supporting documents. It does not need to be explicitly asked. It was important that [his friend] Hooimeijer had earlier helped Kentie put his thoughts down on paper.

Half an A4 page long, Kees explained that he was at a time when he felt that his life was increasingly completed and that he had a fear of further decline. He wanted to stay in control until the very end.

Nitschke – who now resides in the Netherlands -- keeps Pegasos at arm’s length, but he promotes it on the website of Exit International, his organisation. The Swiss Medical Association regards it as unethical, although it seems to act within the law. According to Trouw, it “is the only one of the six Swiss death aid organizations to also provide assisted suicide to those who are 'tired of life', older than 'around 70 to 75 years' and not seriously ill.” It seems that it has less red tape because it by-passes the Swiss requirement for “unbearable suffering”. Instead of asking a doctor to certify this, it takes the word of the patient himself. However, the head of the ethics department of the Association, Thomas Gruberski, told Trouw, “We do not agree with that interpretation.”

Michael Cook is editor of BioEdge