Healthy UK mother plans assisted dying in Switzerland, says she is unable to cope after son’s death

A woman from the West Midlands in England has said she intends to end her life at a clinic in Switzerland, citing prolonged grief following the death of her only son.

Wendy Duffy, 56, told the Daily Mail that she has made the decision after struggling for years 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.”

Duffy said she has travelled to Switzerland, where laws around assisted dying differ from those in the UK, where the practice remains illegal.

She told the publication that she had applied to Pegasos, a clinic in Basel, that facilitates voluntary assisted dying and had received approval. According to her, she has informed her family about her decision and made personal arrangements ahead of the procedure.

Duffy said she chose this route in part to avoid causing distress to others.

“I don't want to put anyone through that,” she said, referring to the potential impact of other methods.

Duffy revealed that she did not want to attempt suicide again as it “would leave anyone finding me dealing with that for the rest of their lives”. “I don't want to put anyone through that,” she added.

Duffy said she has undergone therapy following her son’s death but continues to feel unable to recover emotionally.

Duffy revealed that her son, Marcus, 23, died after choking on half a cherry tomato, which became lodged in his windpipe after eating a sandwich.

“They think he must have fallen asleep when he still had food in his mouth,” she told the Daily Mail. “That’s the only comfort, that there was no struggle.”

She described a profound sense of loss and detachment since the incident.

“That's when I died too, inside. I'm not the same person now as I was,” she said. “I exist. I don't live.”

She also shared that she had previously attempted to end her life.

Duffy said she is speaking publicly in the hope of contributing to discussions around assisted dying laws in the UK.

“I wish this was available in the U.K., then I wouldn't have to go to Switzerland at all,” she said.

Her case comes amid ongoing debates in several countries about whether assisted dying should be legalised under specific conditions.

Duffy said her family, including her siblings, are aware of her plans.

“They will get it. They know,” she said, adding that she intends to speak with them before the procedure.

She said that she has written letters to all her loved ones, decided what she will wear on her deathbed and picked a final song to listen to as she dies.

“You can choose whatever song you want,” she told the publication. “I'm going to go out to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars singing Die With A Smile.”