A physically healthy British woman chose to travel to Switzerland to commit assisted suicide this week, unable to bear the pain and psychological distress resulting from the loss of her only son, who died four years ago.
Wendy Duffy, 56, a former social care worker from the West Midlands, has been approved by the Swiss clinic Pegasos, to which she paid £10,000, and is preparing for her final moments.
"My life, my choice. I wish this option existed in the UK," she told the Daily Mail, noting that euthanasia is not legal in her country.
The bill currently being debated in Parliament—which would still allow end-of-life care only for terminally ill adults in England and Wales—has now stalled amid controversy due to obstruction by members of the House of Lords, despite approval from the House of Commons. The woman's son, Marcus, died at the age of 23 after choking on a tomato.
“I could throw myself off an overpass or a building, but that would leave whoever found me dealing with that scene for the rest of their lives,” said Duffy, who had previously attempted suicide and risked becoming disabled.
Her family—four sisters and two brothers—were informed of the decision, made in the face of the impossibility of continuing to live with a psychological condition she considers unbearable. Duffy's case has shocked public opinion in the Kingdom and further fueled the debate on end-of-life care.
(Unioneonline)