An assisted dying facility in Switzerland that helps people who are not physically ill to take their own lives accepts about five British cases a month, it has been reported.
According to The Times, Pegasos Swiss Association, a non-profit organisation, handles around 65 cases per year from the UK, with Britons also make up 18% of “Pegasos supporters” - those who pay an annual contribution to the organisation.
In April, Pegasos helped grieving mother Wendy Duffy end her life despite being physically healthy, four years after the death of her only child.
Duffy, 56, died at the clinic in Basel after struggling to cope with the death of her 23-year-old son, Marcus, who choked on a sandwich that became lodged in his windpipe, starving his brain of oxygen.
Having previously attempted to take her own life, Duffy told the Daily Mail that she had paid Pegasos £10,000, and that her siblings knew that she had applied to the clinic.
Pegasos was founded in 2019 by Ruedi Habegger, a right-to-die activist, and does not require applicants to show any evidence of physical illness to be accepted for an assisted death.
Pegasos will only reject applicants who fail a psychiatric assessment to prove someone has the mental capacity to decide to end their life. They are required to do so under Swiss law.
Habegger told the Daily Mail: “I can confirm that Wendy Duffy, at her own request, was assisted to die on 24 April and that the procedure was completed without incident and in full compliance with her wishes.
“I can also confirm that neither we nor any of the professional staff assessing her mental capacity had any doubt as to her intention, understanding and independence of both thought and action. In historical terms, at English law, hers was a case of ‘sane suicide’.”
Perry Davenport, a spokesman for Pegasos, said that the reason people came to the clinic was that they had a “wider interpretation” of who was eligible for an assisted death than Dignitas.
He said: “Everything that happens here is very strictly controlled and monitored. You have to have mental capacity to make a decision and there is a thorough psychiatric examination. But just because someone is depressed doesn’t mean to say they are not mentally competent.”
Davenport also revealed that he was with Duffy when she died at Pegasos.
He said: “She had a beautiful death. She was so happy to be joining her son on the other side.
“She missed her son terribly. They were very, very close. She wasn’t married. There were no other children. She won the hearts and minds of everyone around her in understanding how she felt.”
Another woman told The Times that she had also been accepted to have an assisted death at Pegasos after suffering from depression for more than 40 years.
The woman, 61, said she had thought about suicide “every single day” since her mental condition took a turn for the worse in 2019, and came across Pegasos around two years ago.
Having submitted the required documents, Pegasos informed her via a Zoom call that she had been accepted for an assisted death, and she has since paid the £10,000 fee to formalise the arrangement, though has yet to set a date to travel to the clinic.
She stressed that Pegasos required one month’s notice that someone to go ahead with an assisted suicide, so it was not possible to just “wake up one morning and decide to go”.
She said: “Having made this decision means that I don’t have to think about suicide every single day. I still think about it on the worst days and I still start to plan on the worst days, but I know that I’ve got Pegasos who will help me if all else fails.”
However, the sister of a woman who used Pegasos has said she was disgusted that the clinic did not alert her family.
Anne Canning, 51 travelled to the clinic to end her life in secret in January 2025, grieving the sudden death of her only son months earlier.
Delia Canning said finding out about her sister’s decision “felt like living in a horror film” and that she and her two brothers only learnt about it after they received goodbye letters from Switzerland, where they thought she was on holiday.
Days later, they received a two-line email from Pegasos confirming their worst fears.
Delia Canning said: “The impact Anne’s decision had on us was more about the shock and horror that such a thing could be arranged and executed in such a short timeframe, in absolute secret from all loved ones, with no other avenues being explored first.
“How could she have been in the right frame of mind to not think that the whole family would be completely torn apart and devastated? Somebody who is thinking that way is not very well. They need help, not a lethal injection.”
Assisted dying legislation in England and Wales ran out of time to be passed last month, having made its way through parliament for the past 18 months.
The bill had successfully passed two votes in the House of Commons, but did not reach a vote in the Lords.
The bill had proposed allowing adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
